Summer flowers to flaunt with

Agapanthus africanus

Nickname: African lily
Family: Amaryllidaceae

With her exotic looks, this African lily is a real showstopper. The flower is often a white or blue umbel full of dozens of little flowers. This flower is often seen at weddings. Why? She's also known as the 'flower of love'. Back in the day, people dried the roots of the plant to wear as a necklace to symbolise love and fertility. To up the romantic factor: the Greek ‘agape’ means love. ‘Anthos’ means flower.

Tip: This flowering plant has a large stem. Add her as one of the last ones in your bouquet, making her stand tall and proud between your other flowers.

Delphinium

Nickname: Larkspur
Family: Ranunculaceae

Oh Delphinium, we're so happy to see you back! This real summer bloomer makes a lot of hearts beat faster. Delphinium is Latin for 'dolphin', and with a little imagination, you can see that the flowers are a bit shaped like this friendly mammal. There are about 250 different variants of this flower, in various colours. The name larkspur is derived from the back-ends of the flower: they look a little like the boot spurs of knights.

Tip: Make sure that the Delphinium has a shady spit because even with the slightest bit of sun, they may start hanging. Refresh the water regularly and cut a bit of the stem while you're at it.

Campanula medium

Nickname: Canterbury bells
Family: Campanulaceae

Campanula is from the Latin 'campana' meaning ‘bell’. And this bell is a true 'belle' in your bouquet! In the wild, you'll find the bell-shaped flowers surrounded by bees and butterflies because they contain lots of nectar. The campanula symbolises gratitude and faith: a beautiful flower to give!

Tip: Should your campanula look a bit withered, just cut a bit of stem diagonally and put her back in your vase with fresh water. And before you know it, the bells will be 'belles' yet again.

Helianthus

Nickname: sunflower
Family: Asteraceae

The Helianthus is a true sunny stunner and everyone's favourite. Not surprising that it was Van Gogh's favourite flower too: the sunflower was an inspiration of many of his paintings. The flower comes originally from South-and Middle America where it blossoms in sun-soaked areas. The stem can grow up to 12 inches and during the day it turns with the sun to catch as much light as possible. At night it turns back to 'neutral', which is east. A blossoming sunflower is always facing east.

Tip: Sunflowers blossom for a short peak period: about one week. The stem grows softer which makes it a bit 'slimy'. This causes muddled water. Make sure to refresh the water every two days and check the colour of the water. The cleaner, the happier your flowers are! Also, remove as many leaves from the stem as possible. They take in a lot of water, which should be going to the flower.

Dahlia

Family: Asteraceae

This gorgeous bloomer is a sight to be seen. The beautiful shapes and colours of the petals make it difficult to stop looking at the dahlia. Round, pointy, monochrome, stripes or dotted: for dahlia lovers the wealth of choice. Dahlias were Queen Victoria's favourite flower, though they originate from Mexico. When they were first exported sometime around 1600 to the west, they were still called ‘Acoctli’, which is their Mexican name.

Tip: Remove leaves and flower buds that are under the rim of your vase. Ensuring that the flower gets all the power.