Who would’ve thought that the once humble class of flowers commonly called as “floral fillers” will be bloom to become the star of one of today’s latest floral trends?
What Are Filler Flowers?
As the name suggests, filler flowers are used to mainly bulk up, complement, and add interesting textures to a flower arrangement. They are typically tiny and delicate clusters of flowers in lighter or matching hues that are mixed with bigger, brighter blooms.
The New Flower Design Trend
But more recently, especially with the growing fascination over rustic Bohemian, lush wildflower, and greenery themes in weddings, we’ve been seeing florists around the globe use filler flowers solely.
They’re often simply gathered up as a bunch, tied with a lace ribbon, and used as a clean but classy wedding bouquet. We’ve also seen them shining brightly as centerpieces, snipped off with their leaves and arranged loosely in all sorts of containers, from glass mason jars to intricate ceramic vases.
To pull off a filler flower arrangement is easy. The key is to keep it simple.
Baby’s Breath
Perhaps the most widely used filler flower is the baby’s breath. Otherwise known as gypsophila, it is a member of the extensive carnation family and is native to certain parts of Europe, Asia, northern Africa, and Australia.
In the olden days, particularly during the Victorian era, baby’s breath was used as border plants. It’s also a staple to rose bouquets and floral corsages. These days, a bride carrying a bouquet of baby’s breath is not unheard of.
Spirea
Puffs of white and pretty, spirea comes in white and pink spring flowers. In gardening, this flowering plant is cultivated as a hedge and in perennial gardens. But in floral design, spirea is a star in its own right with its stunning sprays of white.
Queen Anne’s Lace
If legends are true, this biennial flowering plant got its name from the lore that says Queen Anne of England pricked her finger and shed a drop of blood on a pristine white lace she was sewing. Interestingly, this floral filler belongs to the carrot family with the ancient Romans eating it as a vegetable and other cultures adding it as an edible to their wine and cooking as well.
Queen Anne’s lace usually blooms from late spring to midfall and has airy, flat floral clusters that strongly resemble patches of white lace.
Lily of The Valley
These little white bells are referred to as “majalis” in the scientific community, which literally translates “of May or belonging to May.” It’s the birth flower of those born in the month of May. Lily of the Valley symbolizes purity, sweetness, and humility.
Possessing a kind of beauty worthy of royalty, Princess Grace of Monaco, Princess Diana, and Duchess Catherine of Cambridge all chose lily of the valley for their wedding bouquets.
In 2011, when she married Prince William, the Duchess Catherine of Cambridge walked down the aisle carrying an immaculate all-white wedding bouquet, featuring Lily of the Valley, which sources say could have been plucked from an English country garden.
Despite being classified as a floral filler, Lily of the Valley can be irrationally expensive because of its short blooming season and fussy growing requirements. These divine-looking spring blooms are very hard to come by that not many flower shops have them and when they do, the cost can be unforgivingly high, say, up to $400 a bunch.
Wax Flower
Arguably a better-looking twin of baby’s breath, wax flowers works great when used on its own because of its bigger flowers and a wide variety of shades. Aside from white, it also comes in vivid shades of pink, fuchsia pink, peachy kind of pink – you name it.
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