Baby's breath comeback
“Florals? For spring? Groundbreaking.” While Meryl Streep's character in The Devil Wears Prada may have been blasé about blooms, they're still a staple for many this time of year. Take, for instance, the annual Macy's Flower Show.
The department store mounted the event's 49th edition from March 24 to April 7 this year, filling its Herald Square location in New York City with bundles of blossoms. Celebrating the onset of spring and the colour red, the expo had over 16,000 flowers — including vibrant ranunculus, amaranth, hyacinth, roses and orchids.
But one of the hardest working flowers there was much more modest. It was baby's breath, according to Will Coss, the executive producer and vice-president of Macy's Studios.
“We wanted to lean into a dynamic naturalism with an unstructured feel,” Coss told Apartment Therapy. “Baby's breath helped us achieve that. Not only does it lend texture to an arrangement, but it also creates definition and is a useful tool for achieving volume and a dynamic display.”
Said to represent innocence, purity and love, baby's breath (or Gypsophila paniculata) is native to Europe, Asia and North Africa. Queen Victoria was a fan of the tiny white flowers and in 1838 used them in her wedding arrangements, according to the Farmers' Almanac website.
Baby's breath is relatively inexpensive and can last between 10 and 14 days if properly cared for. It can come in tinted or dyed hues as well as many species and cultivars, such as the Bristol Fairy with its quarter-inch blooms and the Perfekta with its half-inch blooms.
For decades, baby's breath was derided as a filler flower.
“In the '90s, many growers planted more of these flowers than the market demanded, resulting in an oversupply that drove down cost,” Cameron Hardesty of the flower delivery service Urbanstems told Country Living. He added that they “became ubiquitous, negatively impacting their value and tarnishing their reputation for years.”
But baby's breath enjoyed a comeback several years ago, even gracing Rodarte's runway show en masse for the fashion brand's spring 2018 collection.
If you'd like to elevate baby's breath in your centrepieces at home, take a cue from many Instagram-worthy arrangements. Flip the traditional ratio of baby's breath to other flowers, so that baby's breath is the star. Alternatively, consider clusters composed solely of the flower — whether just a few stems or many. Stick to one colour, or group several colours within the arrangement.