All You Need to Know about Carnations!

"If you gave me a fresh carnation, I would only crush its tender petals." - Paul Weller What in Carnation?

The Carnation is a flower with a robust history dating back to the times of the Ancient Greeks and Romans, where it was popularly displayed decoratively and heavily featured in art. It is believed to have derived its scientific name, Dianthus Caryophyllus from the Greek words for divine and flower, "dios" and "anthos", a name purported to have been invented by the Greek philosopher and botanist Theophrastus. Interestingly, some scholars believe the name "carnation" itself comes from the same root words for "coronation" or "corone", as carnations were favored and used in garlands during wedding ceremonies.

In modern times the Carnation is the national flower of Monaco, Slovenia, and Spain. Former President of the United States and Ohio Governorr William McKinley was known to regularly adorn his lapel with a scarlet carnation, and after his assassination in the early 1900s, Ohio state chose the scarlet carnation as its state flower in honor of the late President.

Carnations are very popular still, and often are worn for special events, holidays and occasions. In the early 1900s Carnations were established as the emblematic flower for Mother's Day by its creator Anna Jarvis. Ms. Jarvis selected white carnations to honor her late mother as it was her favorite flower. In Asia carnations are also used to celebrate parents. On Parents' Day in Korea, pink and red carnations are adorned and worn by the parents as part of a corsage.

Across the world, Carnations have a multitude of meanings and historical context. In countries like Austria and Italy for example, red carnations are used to celebrate International Workers' Day, often referred to as May Day, a celebration of the labourers movement that spread across Europe during the early 19th century, and occurs on the Spring of every year on the first of May.

In Portugal the red carnation is also viewed as a symbol of the Carnation Revolution, a military coup that lead to the fall o the Second Republic of Portugal, a then authoritative regime. The name stems from the fact that at the tail end of the revolution, Celeste Martins Caeiro, a pacifist who worked as a waitress was seen offering flowers, red and white carnations to the soldiers who were involved in the military coup during the celebrations that followed. Soldiers would then fashion the barrels of their guns, tanks, and even their uniforms with the flowers and because of the growing popularity of the trend, many flower sellers began donating their flowers to the soldiers.

Even more recently, green carnations have grown in popularity and have become a very fashionable St. Patrick's Day flower thanks to famously being worn by Irish writer Oscar Wilde, and by this extension is also considered a modern day symbol of homosexuality through its use in the book the Green Carnation by Robert Hichens, where the lead character is closely based on Oscar Wilde.

The Colors and What they mean to us?

Now that we've touched on the cultural significance of the Carnation, we can further deepen our understanding of this flower by focusing on the meanings of each indivisual color variety.

Where can I find bulk carnations at wholesale prices and what varieties are available to me?

Global Rose Online has a growing variety of Carnations available in solid colors, multi-colored, mini and regular varieties. Our flowers are competitively priced and we take great pride in our wholesale pricing and our offering of available varieties. All our flowers are expertly cared for and cultivated on our environmentally friendly farms and greenhouses where we carefully pick, package and deliver them directly via FedEx to our customers and for our customer within the continental United States delivery is free of charge.