I have decided to start a weekly series about different types of flowers since I get asked daily about what goes into our floral designs and how we design for our clients.

I wanted to start with hydrangea as I have several topics to talk about when it comes to this beautiful and bountiful flower.

First and foremost – Hydrangea is my favorite flower!  I have planted it in front of my house and I love working with it.  It is used in bridal bouquets, altar arrangements, pew decor, centerpieces, garlands, cake decor, etc.  However – this does not mean that it should always be used for all of these design elements of your wedding.

Second – I only use local or Dutch hydrangea.  This has everything to do with being eco-friendly and quality combined.  The other set of hydrangea that you see floating around in photos all over high-end weddings (which is a disgrace and shame on those florists!!!) are South American hydrangea – mainly from Columbia.  Why is this such a sin in my design head?  For three reasons:

1) Quality – South American hydrangea almost never holds up outside of water for over two-three hours – so you can forget having  this in your bridal bouquet or cake (or in floral foam for the most part).  Hydrangea is a “succulent” flower – which means it literally sucks water up through its stems and through its petals. Compared to local and Dutch hydrangea – the quality of South American hydrangea pales in comparison.  It can also cost (wholesale-wise to the florist) anywhere from 7-10 times less than Dutch Hydrangea – and some florists will charge the same just because it is hydrangea (knowing that most clients will not be be able to tell the difference between Dutch and South American hydrangea).  This is a “secret” I am sure many florists will be cursing my name after they read this post.   Don’t blame the messenger folks – I have seen it with my own eyes and you know who you are!  The only time I ever use South American hydrangea is when there is literally no other option (color wise) and my shipment is delayed, held in customs and/or I have called 7-10 other distributors (this is not an exaggeration) for Dutch or local hydrangea.  There is no substitution for quality my friends!  NONE!

2)Pesticides – Most South American farmers use heavy pesticides on their crops while most local farmers and Dutch farmers don’t need to.

3)Fair wages and fair trade – All Dutch farmers use fair trade practices and obviously local farmers use fair wages.  This is almost never the case with South American farmers.  Why?  The only authority they are dealing with is Veriflor – which is an international organization that has little or zero power over companies and certainly cannot invest precious time and money on enforcing trade and wage issues.

(I won’t even touch on the subject of the power of drug lords that reign all over farmlands across Columbia – I will let you do the math on that and make your own evaluations).

Finally – I wanted to touch on the idea of the price of hydrangea.  There are generally two camps.  One camp says – “O yes – this is super inexpensive as they are large “filler” flowers and are cheap”.  Another camp says – “O My – these are so expensive as they have to be shipped in from other countries.”  I beg to differ on both of these camps.

Hydrangea is neither expensive or inexpensive.  The only time hydrangea is inexpensive is when you are chopping it down from your grandmother’s backyard or you are getting inferior product from South American farmers (and I would never call hydrangea a filler flower – EVER).  The average farmer working in South America makes an average of $413/month (just under $5000/year) – and that is just an average “good” month.  Some see that as a way to feed their families and a way to survive. As a florist and a human- I detest the way farmers are treated in South America…a subject that will come up often in these posts. Hydrangea is one of the easier flowers to harvest and therefore the farmers get paid even less!

An example of South American Hydrangea texture and shape – notice the underdevelopment of the florets as compared to all the other photos in this post.

Hydrangea is only “expensive” when you are dealing with Dutch hydrangea.  Not necessarily because it is flown in from Holland…but it more has to do with the varying market conditions which happens at the famous Aalsmeer auction-house. The price will also range depending on the time of year and amount of rainfall.  Your basic supply and demand happens in Holland – which is all about fair wage and fair trade practices.  A good, dependable florist knows that they will have to charge a little more for Dutch hydrangea – not just because the price can fluctuate so much, but also due to its superior quality over South American and some local varieties (depending on where you are).

In the end – quality costs more.  To me – expensive means that you are not getting what you are paying for.  It means something is overpriced.  Dutch hydrangea is not overpriced – it always has a fair price based on its availability at market (just like gold and diamonds).

What I am trying to say here?   Don’t skimp on the type of hydrangea in order to save $100.  You could end up with a droopy bouquet in your photos for the next 60 years of your life and lackluster centerpieces while wearing a Vera Wang dress.  Does that make any sense?

The difference in price may mean an additional $20-25/centerpiece.  So – let’s say on average you are having 150 people at your wedding.  The average wedding in the DC area is around the $37-$40,000 range.  Average bridal gown pricing is in the $3000 range.  $20 x 15 centerpieces equals $300.  You will probably spend that much on your shoes if you are wearing a $3000 gown….why not spend that on nicer flowers for 15 centerpieces!  This may sound very self-serving to you since I am florist.  But think about it.  You are spending an average of $40,000 on about 6 hours of your life.  The only thing that separates your wedding from other weddings that have been in that same space is your style – which will shine through in the linens, your dress, your cake and flowers.  The linens will be covered in food, the food will be eaten (as well as the cake) – you are left with flowers to add to the decor and ambiance of your wedding.  Why not spend that extra $300 to take your wedding to that next level when it is literally less than 1% of the average $40,000 budget?

Some other bits of information about hydrangea:

Hydrangea comes naturally in shades of white, purple, blue, pink and green.  Some of the antique varieties (mostly in the fall season) have hints of red and sometimes grey (which are called antique varieties).  If you see hydrangea in peach, yellow, orange and some other weird color (like a vibrant aqua or  turquoise) – you have been duped by the wonders of floral spray paint.

Don’t get me started on silk flowers – I can’t tell you how many times a bride has argued with me (yes argued) that they saw hydrangea in orange at Michael’s and that there simply had to be orange hydrangea in the world.  Folks – silk flowers are fake flowers – meaning that they could come in any color that dye comes in!!  What can I say?   Don’t get fooled by the silk flower section of the dollar store and AC Moore!

Another point of advice that I beg you – try (by all means) to stay away from floral foam when in comes to hydrangea (especially in the summer months).  Again – hydrangea thrives with lots of water.  If it is not drinking water directly from the source – it will fade rather quickly.  We highly recommend using hydrangea in centerpieces that have water in the vases.  Yes, hydrangea is used all the time in floral foam.   Does it last as long as the rest of the flowers in foam – nope!

Hydrangea in bridal bouquets and bridesmaids bouquets is only recommended if you are using Dutch hydrangea, getting married in the fall through spring or you are staying in air conditioned (cold) spaces.  Hydrangea does not like the heat!

I also do not recommend hydrangea for cake decor.  It looks fantastic in photos…but.. most cake photos are taken just after they have been decorated (not after 4 hours in the summer heat in a tent).

There is a lot to say about hydrangea – but these are my main sticking points.  Used wisely – hydrangea can make your wedding timeless, classic and downright gorgeous.  Don’t skimp on it – go all out and get quality!

Happy Hydrangea Seeking!