Which Mother’s Day Flowers Should You Choose? A Bouquet Guide

Any bouquet is indeed better than none on Mother’s Day, but some flowers carry more meaning and suit some mums better than others.

The chances are that your mum will adore whatever bunch you come up with, so there’s that safety net in your choice. Considering her favourite flowers and colours provides you with a personal guide we can’t hope to match here today.

What we can do is provide a bouquet guide if you’re considering giving flowers this Mother’s Day, with personal pointers for selection.

Let’s get to it.

Spray carnations, a long-lasting and relatively narrow flower that goes beautifully with roses and peonies.

Roses. Not just for spouses, roses have a gorgeous texture and scent, plus they come in so many different colours.

Peonies. Ruffled and luxurious. Their natural growing season starts in April, so they’re pretty close to Mother’s Day as far as seasonality goes.

Alstroemeria. A daintier flower than others, sometimes the lead in a bouquet, but most often a secondary flower.

Lilies. Your pick if you’re completely unsure. They open wide with beautiful form. A lovely combo with roses.

Chrysanthemums. Your mum might have some in her garden, and if not, someone she knows certainly does. They’re large, ruffled, and stunning.

Your mum’s unique, of course. We can’t throw her into a personality bracket, but there are probably some traits you recognise below to help you pick Mother’s Day flowers:

 

Your mum is the overly-caring type

She’s always thinking about and doing things for you and others. She’s deeply connected with those around her, even at the expense of her own free time. Being there for other people and taking an interest in them is what makes her, her.

We recommend spray carnations, they’re one of the longest-lasting cut flowers to symbolise your mum’s long-lasting love. They go wonderfully with the daintier alstroemeria, and even gerberas, daisies with a lovely cheer to them.

Your mum is a free spirit

Caring, absolutely, but definitely not overbearing. Your mum takes time for herself and doesn’t actively reach out to everyone.

Flowers with loads of texture and non-uniform shapes suit her character. The one that comes to mind is peonies with their ruffled appearance. Each peony is unique with a stunning quality to it, plus it looks luxurious in any setting.

Your mum is the heart of the family

Everyone comes to her house and gravitates to her at parties. She’s the one you and others go to for advice, comfort, and a touch of good love.

There’s no better flower for your mum in this case than roses, with their softness and backbone-role in flowerbeds bringing meaning to your gift.

Another pick is chrysanthemums, aptly shortened to mums; they go well with roses in mixed bunches and are usually quite large for an impressively wide bouquet.

Your mum adores the outdoors

You’ll find her drinking a good cup of tea outside at the faintest glimpse of sunshine, throwing all sorts of food to the birds, and tending to her garden.

Sunflowers, roses, and gerberas are your flower picks here. They’re garden commoners and bring a natural, familiar feel to your Mother’s Day gift.

Your mum is an innocent, pure soul

She never does any harm and keeps her thoughts to herself, but will also correct your own thoughts if they don’t reflect how she brought you up.

Your mum deserves lilies in pure white, yellow, or another bright colour. They’re the most ornamental of flowers and traditionally mean peace and prosperity. A potential hiccup is some associating lilies with funerals, in which case, roses are your go-to.

Most bouquets use two, three, or four flowers, though, plus whatever seasonal foliage there is that’s lying around to create some depth.

 

Going down the mixed route offers several exciting combinations:

• Lilies, white roses, and alstroemeria

• Pink spray carnations, pink roses, white lilies

• Yellow roses and white spray carnations

• Yellow chrysanthemums, iris, purple violets

• Pink roses and pink alstroemeria with yellow chrysanthemums

 

Those pairings are classics you can request at any reputable florist, although they might not have the colours we mentioned. Swap them out if so.

A single variety bouquet is usually smaller, but also a decent choice if you know your mum adores that one flower and not much else.

Does your mum dislike some flowers? Roses might be her thing rather than carnations, and even lilies might not be a good call if she associates them with a funeral. 

You could ask her if she likes or dislikes something; there’s no harm in it other than making it obvious you’re getting flowers. Ask her best friend if you want to maintain the surprise.

How big is big enough, how small is too small; you know the drill and thought process to picking a bouquet. You don’t want to hand anything over that won’t leave a mark, and most importantly, you don’t want a bouquet from anyone else to outshine yours.

 

The numbers are pretty consistent anyway:

• Eight to 10 flowers are normal for a standard bouquet

• A medium one might have 15 flowers

• Large bouquets can contain 20 or 30 main flowers

 

There’s a temptation, of course, to go as enormous as you can with Mother’s Day flowers, and that will go down extremely well because it looks expensive. But bigger doesn’t always work out best. Consider these factors:

• Where is your mum even going to keep the bouquet? If it’s on a side table or windowsill, then a large bouquet is not going to work.

• What vase is your mum going to keep them in? A narrow vase suits a small bunch best, and a thick vase a large bunch.

Flowers you purchase online and in-store are usually “in bud,” meaning that the primary flowers haven’t opened just yet. They’ll usually bloom within two days of purchase and last seven to 14 days with daily water changes.

Any bouquets that have already-open flowers are not fresh. They are usually a few days old or weren’t properly chilled following cultivation.

Freshness matters if you’re strapped for time, going to buy the bouquet a few days before, and keep it somewhere where it’ll be alright in the meantime. 

Don’t worry too much, though. Provided the flowers are fresh, they’ll stay looking good for several days if you keep them in clean water.

Flowers are usually enough. Sometimes, even a card is enough. Going a little further is always appreciated, though. A few extras to consider:

• A vase, but of course. Infinitely usable with any flowers in the future and prevents any problems with finding a home for your bouquet.

• Chocolates. Never a big thing, are they?

• A candle. Your mum can light it at night and think about you at that moment. Plus, it’ll last longer than the flowers (can’t say the same for the chocolates).

Our Mother’s Day bouquets put all the things we’ve discussed into practice with the most popular flowers, combinations, and gift extras. You might also want to consider our luxury flowers for an impressive gift. Those are larger and use more expensive varieties.