Flower decorations
Garlands, wreaths, carpets, arrangements and the customs of decorating with flowers. 287 decorations so far, best known first.
Arrangements and bouquetsFlowers composed in a vase, a bowl or the hand: ikebana, bouquets, centrepieces.47Garlands and wreathsFlowers strung, woven or bound into a line or a ring.18Flowers that are wornIn the hair, round the neck, on the lapel and on the head.25Carpets and floor patternsPetals laid on the ground: pookalam, infiorata, flower carpets.20Parades, floats and big displaysFlower parades, floats, floral clocks, shows and installations.63Offerings and ritesFlowers given to gods, guests and the dead.50Flower craftsPressed, dried, preserved, distilled and made by hand.55Flowers in art and designPainted, woven, carved and printed flowers, and what they stand for.78Garden stylesWays of laying out a garden, from the charbagh to the cottage border.47Customs, festivals and the tradeFlower festivals, the language of flowers, markets and the flower trade.206
Decoration
Jhoti chitaଝୋଟି ଚିତା
White rice paste patterns drawn on walls and floors in Odisha for festivals
🇮🇳 India · Carpet or floor pattern
Decoration
Chowk poorana
Folk floor and wall art made with flour, clay and rice in northern India
🇮🇳 India · Carpet or floor pattern
Decoration
Lotus throneपद्मासन
A stylized lotus flower base for divine figures in Indian and Asian art
🇮🇳 India · Offering or rite
Decoration
Kalashकलश
A metal pot with coconut and mango leaves used in Indian religious rituals
🇮🇳 India · Offering or rite
Decoration
Kalamkariవ్రాత పని
Hand-painted and block-printed cottons from Andhra Pradesh using natural dyes
🇮🇳 India · Art or design
Decoration
language of flowers
A way of sending secret messages using flowers and their meanings
🇹🇷 Turkey and 6 more · Custom
Decoration
Tanzaku短冊
Long paper strips for wishes and poetry, hung on bamboo at Tanabata in Japan
🇯🇵 Japan · Custom, July
Decoration
Vanitas
A style of still life art showing the fleeting nature of life and worldly things
🇪🇸 Spain · Art or design
Decoration
Palm branch
A symbol of victory, peace, and eternal life made from palm leaves
🇪🇬 Egypt and 7 more · Offering or rite
Decoration
Flower preservation
Ways to keep flowers looking fresh long after they are picked
Flower craft
Decoration
Still life
Artworks showing arranged objects like flowers, fruit, and vessels
🇳🇱 Netherlands and 4 more · Art or design
Decoration
Bird-and-flower painting花鳥畫
A genre of East Asian painting showing birds, flowers, and nature’s creatures
🇨🇳 China and 2 more · Art or design
Decoration
Four Gentlemen四君子
The four symbolic plants of Chinese and East Asian art
🇨🇳 China and 2 more · Art or design
Decoration
Three Friends of Winter歲寒三友
Pine, bamboo and plum shown together as a symbol of endurance in East Asian art
🇨🇳 China and 2 more · Art or design
Decoration
Gul
A medallion motif woven into Central Asian carpets and textiles
🇹🇲 Turkmenistan · Art or design
Decoration
Botanical illustration
Detailed drawings of plants for science, books, and art
🇦🇺 Australia and 1 more · Art or design
Decoration
Flowers of the Four Seasons四季名花
A classic set of four flowers symbolizing each season in Chinese art
🇨🇳 China and 2 more · Art or design
Decoration
Millefleur
A tapestry and carpet style with scattered small flowers on a grassy ground
🇮🇳 India and 1 more · Art or design
Decoration
Pietra dura
Images and patterns inlaid from polished coloured stones, often on marble
🇮🇳 India · Art or design
Decoration
DelftwareDelfts blauw
Dutch tin-glazed pottery known for blue and white floral designs
🇳🇱 Netherlands · Art or design
Decoration
Morris & Co.
Handcrafted floral wallpapers, textiles, and stained glass from Victorian Britain
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 more · Art or design
Decoration
Rinpa school琳派
A Japanese art style known for bold, decorative paintings of nature
🇯🇵 Japan · Art or design
Decoration
Topiary
The art of shaping living shrubs and trees into geometric or fanciful forms
🇮🇹 Italy and 6 more · Arrangement
Decoration
Acanthus ornamentἄκανθος
A leafy decorative motif from classical architecture
🇬🇷 Greece · Art or design
Decoration
Millefiori
A glassmaking method that creates flower-like patterns in cross-section
🇮🇹 Italy and 3 more · Flower craft
Decoration
Chinoiserie中国风
European decorative style inspired by imagined Chinese and East Asian art
🇫🇷 France and 4 more · Art or design
Decoration
SunflowersTournesols
A celebrated series of still life paintings by Vincent van Gogh
🇫🇷 France and 2 more · Art or design
Decoration
İznik potteryİznik çini
Ottoman ceramic style from Turkey, known for vivid tiles and vessels
🇹🇷 Turkey and 5 more · Flower craft
Decoration
Mughal painting
A detailed miniature art style from Mughal India
🇮🇳 India and 1 more · Art or design
Decoration
Chinese garden中国园林
A walled landscape of water, rocks, plants and pavilions shaped by Chinese aesthetics
🇨🇳 China · Garden style
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Jhoti chita: ଜଗଦୀଶ ଉତ୍ତରକବାଟ, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Chowk poorana: Gurlal Maan, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Lotus throne: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Kalash: Redtigerxyz at English Wikipedia, CC BY 3.0, source
- Kalamkari: Anilbhardwajnoida, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- language of flowers: Alphonse Mucha, Public domain, source
- Tanzaku: ★Kumiko★, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Vanitas: Unknown, Public domain, source
- Palm branch: Einsamer Schütze, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Flower preservation: Flor4U|Wolfgang Roth|Blumenwerkstatt Roth, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Still life: Willem Kalf, Public domain, source
- Bird-and-flower painting: Qian Xuan, Public domain, source
- Four Gentlemen: Sun Long (孫隆) and Chen Lu (陳錄), Public domain, source
- Three Friends of Winter: Zhao Mengjian 趙孟堅 b. 1199 - d. circa 1264, Public domain, source
- Gul: Hawley, W. A. (Walter Augustus), 1863-1920, No restrictions, source
- Botanical illustration: artist not specified; the author of the corresponding article is Helen, Public domain, source
- Flowers of the Four Seasons: JGM, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Millefleur: David Jackson, CC BY-SA 2.0 uk, source
- Pietra dura: Jacopo Ligozzi / Romolo del Tadda, Public domain, source
- Delftware: Daderot, CC0, source
- Morris & Co.: Anonymous for Morris & Co., Public domain, source
- Rinpa school: 俵屋宗達 (Tawaraya Sotatsu) (1570-1643), Public domain, source
- Topiary: Burkhard Mücke, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Acanthus ornament: Ad Meskens, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Millefiori: unknown artist; picture taken by Marcus Cyron, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Chinoiserie: James Roberts (1800–1867), Public domain, source
- Sunflowers: Vincent van Gogh, Public domain, source
- İznik pottery: Turkey; Iznik, Public domain, source
- Mughal painting: Govardhan (attribution), Public domain, source
- Chinese garden: Jakub Hałun, CC BY-SA 3.0, source