One of the things we hear all the time at La Terre is: “Wait… what kind of flower is that?”
Thus begins the introduction to identifying another flower.
It’s not through memorizing names or learning botanical terms, but rather curiosity. Standing in front of a cooler or bouquet bar and realizing flowers are a lot more nuanced than “roses and tulips”.
The longer you work with them, the more you realize flowers have personalities. Some are structural. Some are airy. Some quietly support everything around them, and some completely take over a room.
Moving to the stems — some are strong and upright, giving structure to arrangements and gardens alike. Others bend, arch, or trail, bringing movement into a space. Even in a simple bouquet, you can begin to recognize which flowers are supporting and which are speaking.
Once you start noticing some of the minute details, identification becomes much easier.
Take stock and snapdragons, for example. It can be easy to mix them up when they’re still closed, but when you hone in just a tiny bit more, you see their individuality.
Stock is softer and more clustered — almost cloud-like when it opens. It has a very distinct fragrance, something a bit spicy and nostalgic all at once. Snapdragons are more architectural. Taller, more vertical, with individual blooms climbing the stem in a cleaner line. They feel a little more animated, a little less romantic.
Then there are dahlias and cremones.
At first glance, both can visually read as big, statement flowers. However, dahlias tend to have more movement to them. Their petals spiral or layer in ways that feel alive and a slightly imperfect, perfection. Cremones are more uniform, more controlled, and almost firework-like in shape, especially when fully open.
Roses might be the best example of all.
Most people think a rose is just a rose. An iconic red or a friendship yellow. For all of its classic purposes, there are dozens of varieties we work with regularly, and they all behave differently. There are the ones that are open wide and ruffled like garden roses — think Candlelight, Paris, Free Spirit. Others stay tighter or more sculptural like Toffee and Dark Expression. Some have barely any scent, while others perfume an entire room before you even see them.
At the shop, identifying flowers becomes part of how we design with them.
We’re constantly looking at how a flower moves, what it adds, what it softens, and what it highlights. A strong stem next to something airy. A structured bloom next to something wild and reaching.
It’s less about perfection and more about learning the language of flowers over time. You don’t need to know every name immediately; you just need to start paying attention.
That’s how it begins for all of us.
