Best 10 Flowers to Surprise Mum with on Mother's Day
Mother’s Day isn’t just any ordinary occasion. It’s a special day born out of the universal need to celebrate the enduring and unconditional love of mothers – so much so that the United Nations has designated it to be on the second Sunday of May each year. This year, Mother’s Day falls on the 12th of May, 2024.
It’s customary to present mums with gifts on Mother’s Day, and among them, flowers remain one of the most popular and beautiful ways of honouring them. In fact, flowers have been tied to the devotion of mothers for centuries that their significance makes them as great for birthdays and spontaneous, unexpected surprises.
Because flowers carry all sorts of meanings, it is important to choose the right varieties to get your intended message across. The blooms gathered here each symbolise a sweeping spectrum of heartwarming emotions from a lifetime spent with your first true love. Deep appreciation, warm affection, unwavering admiration and more, Dawn Q presents the Best 10 Flowers to Surprise Mum with on Mother's Day:
1. Carnations
Featuring Lilac Pink (Fresh) by Dawn Q
If there’s one flower that should claim the title of being the official Mother’s Day flower, it would be the carnation. Representing eternal love and beauty, carnations are boisterous blooms that come in ruffled petals of various colours, each with its own meaning. While red carnations symbolise affection, pink carnations denote gratitude and white carnations stand for faithfulness.
The founder of Mother’s Day in the United States, Anna Jarvis, distributed hundreds of white carnations, her late mother’s favourite flower, in her self-organised local Mother’s Day celebration in 1908. Carnations have since been enriched in symbolism, with coloured varieties incorporated into stand-out bouquets crafted specifically to honour living mothers.
2. Roses
Featuring Rose Meadow by Dawn Q
Roses are versatile and enchanting blooms. Although they are frequently associated with Valentine’s Day, they can also be used to express maternal love and its characteristic qualities. For example, pink roses represent femininity and grace; orange roses enthusiasm and energy; and white roses respect and loyalty. Meanwhile, red roses symbolising passion and love make for an unconventional and less preferable choice for Mother’s Day.
3. Sunflowers
Featuring My Light by Dawn Q
Sunflowers are a nod to the warmth and radiance of a mother’s love. Being such bright flowers, their big and bold blossoms don’t need much to make a statement. Consider gifting sunflower stalks on their own or as focal flowers accented with tasteful add-ons of baby’s breath, daisy and others.
4. Lilies
Featuring Lilies by Dawn Q
Lilies emanate elegance with their slender appearance and can permeate a whole room with their captivating fragrance. Moreover, these timeless blooms stand for purity and fertility, which fits right into the essence of Mother’s Day. In Christianity, the white (or Madonna) lily is used to signify the radiant soul of the Virgin Mary.
5. Gerberas
Featuring Right Next to You by Dawn Q
Gerberas, affectionately known as African daisies, are tied to innocence and beauty with their whimsical appearance. These perennial blossoms can be found in an assortment of warm shades like red, pink, orange, yellow, cream and pure white, allowing for high levels of personalisation based on your mum’s preferences. It helps that gerberas are available year-round, and incorporated into arrangements of different styles and sizes – so gifting on and beyond Mother’s Day is never a problem.
6. Orchids
Featuring Gold Coast Orchids by Dawn Q
One of the most sought-after cut-flowers worldwide, orchids are often the star of high-end stunning flower arrangements used for a variety of grand occasions. Lesser known but equally evocative, orchids depict love, refinement, fertility and most notably, strength; making them a prime addition that speaks volumes about the resilience and gentleness of mothers in spite of hardship. In Asian cultures, they are also linked with abundance and wealth.
Orchids are incredibly hardy – truly a practical flower for mums who are busy. While potted orchids can last for months and even years, cut orchids can typically outlive most other counterparts with just a bit of sun and water.
7. Tulips
Featuring Tulips (Fresh) by Dawn Q
Nobody can say no to tulips. A look at these delicate cup-shaped flowers communicates perfect and deep love, and their meanings can be further amplified with vibrant colours that exemplify anything from well wishes (pink), innocence (white), royalty (purple) to happiness (yellow). Celebrate Mother’s Day with a full and fresh tulip arrangement that extends exquisitely from bloom to stalk, whether she’d like to keep it as a bouquet or set them down in a vase.
8. Hydrangeas
Featuring Hydrangea by Dawn Q
Hydrangeas are definitively Mother’s Day-approved blossoms. First, their full and numerous petals reflect the generosity of mothers; secondly, their abundant blooms showcase nurturing care; and finally, their lush foliage suggests a love that knows no bounds. Integrating these voluminous flowers into a bouquet is sure to infuse appreciation and positivity that’ll touch the heart of any mother. Perfect for the supportive, sincere and resilient parent.
Just like other classics, hydrangeas are commercially available in a selection of vivid colours. Explore pink to deliver heartfelt depth, blue for understanding and apology, and purple to exhibit the royal role she plays in your life.
9. Peonies
Featuring Flowers to My Heart by Dawn Q
While not traditional Mother’s Day flowers, peonies make an excellent choice for many by virtue of their symbolism. Peonies, with their showy blooms and sweet aroma, represent good luck, compassion and honour, and in some East Asian cultures have even been crowned as the King of Flowers.
10. Irises
Iris flowers encapsulate all the hope, faith and courage a mother has in raising her children. They also signify wisdom and power. In Greek mythology, the iris is associated with the goddess Iris herself, who personified the rainbow and used it to transcend between heaven and earth. The charm of the iris flower lies in its main features of tall stems, pointed leaves and, breathtakingly, its unique fleur-de-lis-like petals of deep, striking purple.
Final Thoughts
Featuring Skyline Scarlet (Fresh Flowers) by Dawn Q
In our article, we curated ten of the most suitable flowers for demonstrating affection, admiration and appreciation for mothers on their well-deserved and very special day. From the tradition of carnations and the timelessness of roses, to the luxury of orchids and the generosity of hydrangeas, these flowers take the language of love to new heights, where a child’s devotion to their mother is in forever bloom, regardless of rain or shine.
If you’re foraging for the perfect bouquet or bundle of flowers to gift on Mother’s Day, Dawn Q has some of the most thoughtful creations that’ll delight, impress and fill their hearts with pride and warmth. Browse our extensive collection – and be on the lookout for our seasonal offerings – available in both fresh and preserved formats. Or, a more streamlined option is right here, where our team at Dawn Q has already collated the best picks for you to easily choose a bouquet. Each purchase comes with free delivery.
And to all mothers out there – we wish you a very Happy Mother’s Day!
