The date for our Mothering Sunday, or Mothers Day varies each year, originating in the 1600s, when it was set as the fourth Sunday of Lent. After a church service honouring the Virgin Mary, children offered gifts and flowers to their own mothers, while servants and apprentices were freed from work to return home to see them, gathering wild flowers on the way.
The connection between celebrating motherhood and Spring as a time of new birth is natural, so it is hardly surprising that flowers have come to play such an important part in marking this annual opportunity to make a fuss of the lady who brought you into the world.
Traditional English Spring flowers like the cheerful daffodil make an obvious focal point for floral bouquets at this time, but there is plenty of scope for adding some more unusual flowers into the mix and a pre-ordered bespoke bouquet or display offers far more scope for personalising the gesture of giving flowers than grabbing a mass-market bunch from a garage or supermarket forecourt.
Expert florist Erica Berry suggests thinking more about choosing Mum’s favourite flower as the starting point, and of course, her favourite colours. Some Spring favourites are scented hyacinth, colourful Ranunculus and delicate Anenomes.
Often the most valuable and appreciated gift you can your mother is your time, but beautiful flowers are a longer-lasting reminder of a fleeting Mothers Day outing or visit that, properly cared for, should last 1-2 weeks while flowering houseplants such as Orchids, Hydrangeas and scented Jasmine can flourish and say ‘thanks, Mum’, for years.
Erica Berry Flowers is a creative retail florist based on Railway Road, Ilkley.