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5 Flowers for Mother's Day (plus Teachers, Nurses, and Armed Forces)

Top 5 Flowers for Mother’s Day (plus Teachers, Nurses, and Armed Forces)

Flower GardeningApril 29, 2021gail

From carnations to tulips, bouquets to baskets, flowers are a time-honored gift for Mother’s Day.

But what if you want to approach your floral gift-giving in a new and inspired way this year? We suggest that you leave the carnations and bouquets behind and opt for vibrant flowers potted in containers or given as a gift to be planted in the garden (be sure to help with the digging). Seeds, perennials, and dramatic annuals are also unique approaches to giving flowers as a Mother’s Day gift.

Keep in mind that we have a lot to celebrate this May!

There are several holidays that give us the opportunity to show our love and appreciation for important people in our lives. The flowers listed below are all great options to give as gifts to anyone you’d like to show your gratitude to. We’ve carefully curated our favorite five flowers to give to mothers, teachers, nurses, and military service members.

Take a look at our Top 5 Flowers for Gifts list below and let us know what flowers you love to give as gifts.

Celebrate These May Holidays with Flowers:

 May Day – May 1st
National Teacher Day – First Tuesday of the Month
 National Nurses Day – May 6th
Mother’s Day – Second Sunday of the Month
National Armed Forces Day – Third Saturday of the Month
Memorial Day – Last Monday of the Month

Sunflowers

SunBelievable™ Brown Eyed Girl Helianthus makes for a perfect Mother's Day Gift

Photo by ©Doreen Wynja

One of the National Garden Bureau’s Plants of the Year, sunflowers are often gifted as seeds. May is the perfect time to gift seed packets in many regions. Seeds are a fabulous gift on Mother’s Day because they also provide a fun, interactive experience with children. Be sure to set some time aside to plant the seeds with mom, and then track their progress together as they grow.

If you’re looking for some spectacular ready-grown flowers to show your appreciation this month, consider compact, seedless varieties like SunBelievable™ Sunflower. These sunny annuals look bright and cheery in a container and can be planted into the landscape to offer a pop of color. They’re a fabulous gift option for saying “thank you” to moms, teachers, nurses, military, and party hosts. Plus, they bloom all season long, so keep them in mind as gifts all the way through the fall!

Peony

Cora Louise Itoh Peony for Mother's Day Gift

Photo by ©Doreen Wynja

If you’re looking for a truly memorable gift, we recommend going with an Itoh Peony. Itoh Peonies are a magnificent perennial (Zones 4-8) that boasts extra-large flowers, prolific blooms, sturdy stems, and a compact growth habit. They are the stunning result of breeding the best herbaceous peonies with the best tree peonies. We love the Cora Louise Itoh Peony, for example, and its lush white petals, deep purple central flares, and bright yellow eye. You simply can’t beat this color combo!

Giving this superb variety of peony as a flower for Mother’s Day (or other May holidays) will not only impress but will also prove to be a gift that keeps on giving. Itoh Peonies are vigorous perennials that return every season, so the recipient can enjoy their gorgeous blooms for years to come. Plus, they make excellent cut flowers and don’t require staking like other herbaceous peonies.

Hibiscus

Chateau™ de Chambord Rose of Sharon as a gift for Mother's Day

Photo by ©Doreen Wynja

All Hibiscus species feature the large, tropical flowers that many plant lovers adore. Cold-hardy hibiscus species like Rose of Sharon and Hardy Hibiscus are the perfect gift in colder weather zones. Plus, the Hardy Hibiscus is another worthy addition to The National Garden Bureaus Plant of the Year list! These fabulous perennials (Zones 4-9) are a favorite way for gardeners in colder climates to enjoy the tropical beauty, sizzling colors, and bright impact of the beautiful hibiscus. They make a fabulous gift for Moms, Teachers, Nurses, and more!

A favorite cold-hardy Hibiscus species, Rose of Sharon, can be truly stunning in the garden. They can grow up to 6’ tall and 4’ wide, so they are a spectacular choice as a focal point at the back of the garden or near an entryway. Choose a vigorous, long-blooming variety like Chateau™ de Chambord Rose of Sharon to get the best long-term performance.

Lavender

Javelin Forte™ Deep Purple Spanish Lavender for Mom

Photo by Brandon Friend-Solis

Whether given as a perennial, annual, or in an aromatic bouquet, lavender makes a lovely gift for anyone who deserves a little extra love and appreciation this season. Well known for its soft, calming aroma, and beloved for its easy-going attitude in the garden, many lavender varieties are drought-resistant, vibrant, and pollinator-friendly. Different lavender species have different cold hardiness, so be sure to check the label before you buy to make sure you know what you’re giving.

One of our favorite lavender varieties is the showy Javelin Forte™ Spanish Lavender (Zones 7-9). It flowers earlier than other lavenders, making it a perfect flower for Mother’s Day. Spanish lavender varieties feature a unique top with tall bracts that look like little ribbons flying from the top of the flower. We love Javelin Forte™ for its high number of flowers on the lengthy peduncle, high heat and drought tolerance, and evergreen foliage. Plus, bees love these flowers and appreciate the abundance of nectar that they provide.

Gardenia

First Love® Gardenia, a beautiful fragrant double bloom for Mother's Day

Photo by ©Doreen Wynja

Last but certainly not least, is the beautiful, aromatic gardenia. This is a flower that is a favorite gift thanks to its irresistible fragrance and delicate beauty. A creamy, dramatic gardenia can be given as an annual in cooler climates (or wintered over in a sheltered area) or a perennial in Zones 8-11. Plant your gardenia gift in a container to complete the floral gift or offer to scout out the perfect place for it in the landscape.

The fragrant, double blooms of First Love® Gardenia, for instance, not only offer the potential of creating a jaw-dropping gift display, but also the opportunity to create a sincere and loving note based on the sweet plant variety name. This particular variety is the first of its kind to bloom in early spring and is a compact variety that makes a simply stunning container specimen.

The next time you set out to get a thoughtful gift for the people who make an impact in your life, we hope you keep these 5 fabulous flowers in mind. They all make for a dramatic first impression and can offer a long-lasting cheerful presence to outdoor spaces of all kinds.

Written by NGB member: Monrovia Nursery

“This post is provided as an educational/inspirational service of the National Garden Bureau and our members. Please credit and link to National Garden Bureau and author member when using all or parts of this article.”

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