The use of color is certainly important in the fashion industry, but there's
another industry where it's perhaps even more important-the floral industry.



Florists must be experts in the use of color to achieve the desired effect of
every single arrangement they painstakingly create. For example, florists must
understand which colors have a soothing affect (blues and greens) and which will
elicit a passionate feeling (fiery reds and oranges). They must also be in touch
with which colors are currently in style.



Colors do indeed go in and out of fashion just as our clothing and hairstyles
do. Years ago a bride wouldn't think of carrying anything other than a bouquet
of all white flowers. Today, however, color is all the rage in wedding bouquets.



To make certain they're always up to date with the latest trends, many
professional florists join organizations such as The Society of American
Florists (SAF) who keep an eye on floral preferences throughout the country and
conduct research directly related to the floral industry. One recent study
looked specifically at the colors people prefer when buying cut bulbs like
daffodils, irises, and tulips. The results of the study revealed that yellow was
by far the most popular color taking more than 38% of sales, while the next most
popular color, purple, held only 16% of sales.



Color plays such an important role in the floral industry that botanists spend
years trying to produce certain flowers in previously unavailable colors. One
couple in Cross Junction, Virginia, Don and Ginny Spoon, have spent the last 20
years crossing iris varieties in their search for the elusive red iris. At
present, they are about two shades away from achieving their goal. Their
interest in producing the unusually colored iris stems from an old Greek myth in
which Iris is the goddess of rainbows. The Spoons raise irises in every color of
the rainbow-except red. They'd like to change that.



Though color choices in your hair and clothing are important if you're a budding
fashion icon like Lindsay Lohan, they are even more important when choosing
flowers. If you're unsure of what color of flowers you should order when sending
a floral gift to someone in your life, check with your florist who is, after
all, a color expert.



Copyright: Copyright © 2006-2008 Wesley Berry, AAF