Summer Flowers - Gloriosa Lilies, beautiful, long-lasting, pre-ordering is a must!

Summer Beauties meet Gloriosa Lilies

Gloriosa Rathchildiana
(from my garden)

Gloriosa lilies are cherished by floral designers all over the world for its very exotic look.  Stunning in form and vibrant in color, this flower is commonly used in contemporary arrangements, tropical arrangements and wedding work.  In its fresh-cut form gloriosa lily is cut in 2 ways:  with the vine intact - with 3 or more blossoms on the vine with stems at least 18-24" long or as single stemmed flowers with stems 6-8" long.  Cut Gloriosa typically has a long vase life of 5-10 days.  In our shop this flower's vase life has exceeded a week or more, especially the long stemmed vine form.   The price of this flower will vary widely from month to month whether if found in its short stem or long vine form.

Yellow Gloriosa Lily

Gloriosa Boutonniere

Native to the tropical regions of Asia and Africa, this stunning flower is also known as the "climbing lily" or "flame lily".   This summer bloomer is available from July to October.  A member of the lily family yet unlike their close cousins (the asiatic lily) this lily climbs upward with the aid of tendrils on the tips of the leaves which can attach themselves to most anything.  Available year-round from sources in Holland but locally grown seasonally in the summer is when this flower is at it's greatest glory and when it is most abundant.  Of course, in the winter this flower is rather scarce and very pricey. 

Roses, dahlias &
gloriosa lilies in a
modern flower design

Orders for this lily must be made in advance since it is shipped only a few times a week in limited quantities.  Since it is often a rare commodity, when in season one should enjoy its beauty or share it with those who appreciate its living art form.

When our florist, Edelweisss Flower Boutique-Santa Monica - uses gloriosa lilies in our flower designs we express the dramatic nature of its vibrant petals.  This flower visually has so much natural movement and flow, particularly when used within arrangements.  From everyday floral designs to wedding bouquets ultilizing the form and beauty of this unique flower one can create very powerful compositional expressions in a client's flower arrangements.

To the left is a summer bridal bouquet using orange gloriosa lilies with large orange dahlias - petals edged with white, red spray roses, orange roses and yellow mokara orchids all tied off with an orange wired- ribbon.  Notice this bouquet plays off the texture of the petals of the gloriosa lily and the dahlias.