Why We Love the Daisy

We often view daisies as the simplest of flowers. They’re the first blooms we learn to draw as children. With their open and happy faces, they seem to lack the complexity of the more sophisticated flowers. But they’re an incredible nectar source for a wide array of insects, many of them are edible, and they’re almost all incredibly beautiful. All of which makes them one of the most popular flower around. But here are a few other reasons to love the delightful daisy.

Six Reasons Why We Love Daisies

There are lots of them

The daisy family – technically known as Asteraceae – is immense. With around 32,000 species, the daisy is the largest plant family around. They can be found on every continent except Antarctica. And they take a huge number of forms. But the simple daisy is the best-known member of the family.

Daisies come in a huge variety of colours

One of the benefits of having such an enormous family is that you can find daisy-type flowers in almost every colour. White, pink, blue, yellow, purple, orange, green, red, brown. In fact, the only colour really missing from the Asteraceae family is black, and the gerbera comes close with its deep red ‘Black Pearl’. And for the florist, this comes in very handy. With such a wide colour palette to choose from, daisies are welcome in almost every arrangement.

There are many different sizes

Again, this comes back to the size of the family. Because so many different species belong to the daisy family, you can find blooms of every size. As small and delicate as erigeron, which looks wonderful in a bouquet, thanks to its foamy form. And as big as the dinnerplate dahlia, or as chunky as the cardoon. Some of our most daisy-like favourites are the single dahlias, gerberas and germini, echinacea, and chrysanthemum. And with summer just around the corner, you simply can’t beat the sunflower.

Daisies have been around a long time

Archaeologists have found daisy fossils dating back to the Late Cretaceous period. It’s estimated that the Asteraceae family began to evolve around 85.9 million years ago. So, it’s not hugely surprising that there are many different species now available.

Many daisies last a long time when cut

Chrysanthemums have long been known as the florist’s favourite because they last so very long once cut. Two weeks in a vase is not exceptional – with care, you can often keep them going for much longer. But they are not the only daisies that do well when cut. The shasta daisy will last at least a week in a vase. Gerbera last around 10 days. Sunflowers can last up to 12 days. Most dahlias won’t last more than a week in a vase, but they dry beautifully and look superb. Even the daisies many people view as weeds, like the ox-eye, will last for a good week once cut.

Their meaning

The literal meaning of the word daisy is ‘day’s eye’ because they close their petals as the sun goes down, and open them again in the morning. Both the ancient Greeks and Romans viewed the daisy as sacred because of this tendency. And later on, in Christianity, they became a symbol of purity and innocence. While the Pagans believed that daisies possessed magical properties. These days, most people view daisies as representing joy and innocence.

Whether big and bold or tiny and delicate, we love daisies in all their forms. They are pretty and happy, and full of charm. Making them the perfect choice for any garden or cut flower arrangement.

If you love daisies too, get in touch with Blue Florist and ask us to incorporate the delightful daisy into one of our bespoke flower arrangements.