Recently, Alexandra Farms sent a group of designers a box of garden roses and one simple invitation: forget what Valentine’s Day usually looks like. No sample photo to copy, no formula for how much red is enough, no rule that romance needs to be sweet or symmetrical. The only shared element was the selection of varieties: Constance, Effie, Garden Romance, Wanted, Sahara Sensation, Golden Mustard, Hettie, Lavender Bouquet, Loli Spr, Miyabi, Phoebe, Princess Holly’s Hope, Princess Midori Spr, and Tess, and the freedom to answer the question in their own way.
One Palette, Many Temperatures for Valentine’s Day With Garden Roses by Alexandra Farms
The garden roses provided by Alexandra Farms covered a wide stretch of colors: deep reds sitting next to sandy neutrals, peach leaning toward orange, greens that felt herbal, pinks that refused to be gentle, and lavenders with a cool, delicate mood. Designers Caanan Marshall, Jake Kale, Nancy Zimmerman, Ace Berry, and Tina Thelen worked with the same palette of unconventional colors for V-day, and the results all conveyed different visions.
Jake Kale designing with garden roses by Alexandra Farms
One designer let Rose Golden Mustard and Spray Rose Sahara Sensation lead, building something that felt closer to a desert photograph than a February gift. Another paired Rose Princess Midori Spr with Rose Lavender Bouquet, creating a piece that read more like an evening than a celebration. The same stems, two opposite atmospheres.
Nancy Zimmerman getting creative for V-day, using a beautiful palette of garden roses
Unconventional Colors, Surprisingly Right for Valentine’s
Valentine’s work often arrives with traditional instructions. Hearts, symmetry, a certain volume of petals, a familiar sweetness. By stepping away from the typical, the designers began to treat the roses more as gems with personality.
Valentine’s Day creations by designer Caanan Marshall
Rose Effie, for example, stopped being only ‘a pink rose’ and became a soft, slightly unruly character that could sit next to peach tones without apologizing. Tess, usually the dependable romantic, turned dramatic when placed beside Rose Miyabi and the dusty warmth of Rose Garden Romance. Rose Wanted, with its confident red, no longer dominated the room but played a supporting role.
Tina Thelen’s classic design uses a mix of pink tones
The color palette provided to the designers encouraged this kind of wandering and creativity to let loose and go for unconventional color options for Valentine’s Day designs. Instead of working towards a specific design, the garden rose varieties allowed the designers to create something out of the ordinary and classic loveable reds for this special date. They fully let garden roses appear in ways they might not usually be seen in!
Ace Berry with his Valentine’s Day design
Watching Designers Think With Their Hands
What made the creative floral endeavor interesting were not just the finished arrangements, but also the paths that led to them. Some designers began with structure, deciding on lines and gaps before selecting stems. Others worked by hand, adding and subtracting until the piece shaped into something they loved.
A different, but colorful masterpiece
A couple of designers treated the roses like paint, layering tones in the same way they would test colors on a wall. One arrangement used Rose Loli Spr as a punctuation mark, distributed in small clusters that completely altered the overall tonality of the final result. Another held Rose Princess Holly’s Hope low and close, allowing the taller types to speak over her.
A gorgeous, unconventional V-day design using Rose Princess Holly’s Hope
The conclusion? When your love for roses is endless, you can create any arrangement that symbolizes forever love, for you, for someone, and for how they beautify any space and feeling. Give unconventional palettes a chance and see what is possible for Valentine’s Day designs.
Tones of red mixed with lavender? It’s a yes!
Photos courtesy of Alexandra Farms
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