Pink Flowers for Church Decoration

In their book Arranging Flowers for the Sanctuary, Patteson-Knight and St. Claire provide a list of pink and rose-colored flowers for church decoration.

The month of the Immaculate Heart (August) is coming soon. Since many depictions of the Immaculate Heart show the Blessed Mother's heart surrounded by a wreath of pink flowers (usually roses), August is an especially good time to decorate churches and sacred spaces in the home with pink flowers.

Here is the list of pink and rose flowers from Patteson-Knight and St. Claire:

Amaryllis, Anemone, Aster, Azalea
Calla lily, Camellia, Canna, Carnation, Chrysanthemum,
Clove Pink; Coxcomb; Cyclamen
Dahlia
Foxglove
Geranium, Gladiolus
Hyacinth, Hydrangea
Iris
Larkspur, Lilac, Lily
Magnolia
Peony, Petunia, Phlox, Poinsettia
Ranunculus, Rhododendron, Rose
Scabiosa, Snapdragon, Stock, Sweetpea, Sweet William
Tulip
Zinnia

By "amaryllis" the authors are referring to the flower commonly called "Pink Ladies" not hippeastrum, which is often marketed under the name amaryllis. Pink Ladies bloom in late summer.

I was astonished to see iris on the list since I had never heard of a pink iris before but I did find some images of pink irises online. They are very beautiful!

I also learned that Clove Pink (Dianthus caryophyllus) and Sweet William (Dianthus barbatus) are both types of carnations and can be very similar in appearance.

Geranium, gladiolus, petunia, phlox, rose, snapdragon, stock, and zinnia all bloom during the summer, so any of them might be a good choice for church and home decoration during August.

For a formal arrangement, I might use pink roses or cut-down gladiolas for form and pink snapdragons for height. For home, potted pink geraniums or phlox or a simple vase of pink stocks might work well.

Source:
Patteson-Knight, Francis and St. Claire, Margaret McReynolds; Arranging Flowers for the Sanctuary (Harper & Bros., New York, 1961), p. 39.

Image:
Pink gladiolas from Wikimedia Commons. In the public domain.