With St. Patrick’s Day less than a week a way we thought we’d share a little information about the three most popular flowers connected to the holiday.

Bells of Ireland: These flowers are often called shell flowers and are very popular in bridal arrangements. They are known for their spicy/peppery sent and symbolize good luck.  Surprisingly, despite their name, these flowers are actually native to western Asia not Ireland.

Green Carnations:  Green carnations become a popular choice for St. Patrick’s Day until around 1900. Carnations themselves have been considered a symbol of Zeus by the Greeks and the name carnation is of Greek origin meaning “divine flower.” During the middle ages, white carnations were a part of weddings as a token of fidelity. And in 1894, Robert S. Hichens wrote a novel called, The Green Carnation, where the flower symbolized a character that wasn’t afraid to live life to the fullest.

Shamrocks: Probably the most popular flora to represent Ireland and with great reason as well. It is said that St. Patrick himself used to use the leaves to demonstrate the Holy Trinity. However, the history of shamrocks goes farther back to the Druids of Ireland as it was worshiped by them due to it possessing the mystical number of the Celtic religion. Pretty neat, huh? Here at Beneva we love the rich rainbow of colors that our flowers come in and green is no exception.  Happy St. Patrick’s Day from all of us at Beneva!

“May your troubles be less and your blessings be more. And nothing but happiness come through your door.”  ~ Irish Blessing