A Valentine's Day Vignette

Carolyne Roehm

 

I love this vignette and it would be so pretty to do with Valentine's Day coming up on a fireplace mantel, sideboard, or chest.

And keep in mind that red carnations as shown here are very "in" and a great alternative to roses. Here are some ideas to create this vignette in your own home.

Two's Company Brighton Pagoda Lanterns

Another option would be these lovely gold pagodas from Dillard's Southern Living Collection - they are on sale and so well priced - 

Southern Living Collection Gold Pagoda Lantern

And here are some options for a set of small blue and white Chinese porcelain vases - 

Set of 3 Mini Blue and White Chinese Vases

Set of 3 Mini Blue and White Chinese Vases

Set of 6 Blue and White Chinese Vases

Carnations are very budget friendly and they are the troopers of cut flowers - they last for two to three weeks if you keep the water fresh. Carolyne Roehm and Martha Stewart both love them too.

CARNATION FLOWER ARRANGING TIPS:

1. Use only one color - no mixing.

2. Use them by themselves - not with other flowers.

3. If they come with those ugly filler ferns or baby's breath - pitch those!!!

4. I love them in tiny blue and white Chinese porcelain vases or in silver mint julep cups or massed in large numbers in tall vases. PLEASE - not a few carnations in a tall vase - awful! Ginger jars sans lids make great containers too.

5.  "The popularity of the carnation waxes and wanes. In the French Grand Era, (Louis XIV), the carnation was the favored flower of the royal court. In America today, the carnation is seen as an old fashioned and overused flower. However, it is coming back into favor with both interior and floral designers. Their strong shape can add a touch of modernity to interiors. We find them today not in the pale pastels, but in piquant pink, fiery red and various hectic orange hues. And the way to arrange them has changed too. Gone are the spiky triangles with the lonely carnation heads stranded in mid air; and so have the single blobs of color strewn around bouquets. You can bind them together in bunches with ribbon and lean against vase sides at crazy angles; crowd them together in large numbers in tall glass vases; float in wide bowls or as a collection of small bouquets fringed by attractive round leaves. Carnations can easily tempt you into having a go! The new methods of arranging are based on simplicity and exuberance. Carnations make a vivid contribution to the metamorphosis going on in the style of our homes." (Floral Design Institute)

6. Did you know that the botanical name for carnation is Dianthus?