Flower decorations
Garlands, wreaths, carpets, arrangements and the customs of decorating with flowers. 260 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.19Parades, floats and big displaysFlower parades, floats, floral clocks, shows and installations.60Offerings and ritesFlowers given to gods, guests and the dead.44Flower craftsPressed, dried, preserved, distilled and made by hand.50Flowers in art and designPainted, woven, carved and printed flowers, and what they stand for.68Garden stylesWays of laying out a garden, from the charbagh to the cottage border.33Customs, festivals and the tradeFlower festivals, the language of flowers, markets and the flower trade.183
Decoration
Bonsai盆栽
The Japanese art of shaping miniature trees in shallow pots
🇯🇵 Japan and 7 more · Art or design
Decoration
Tokonoma床の間
A Japanese alcove for displaying scrolls and flower arrangements
🇯🇵 Japan · Arrangement
Decoration
Hanami花見
The Japanese tradition of gathering to enjoy cherry blossoms in spring
🇯🇵 Japan and 7 more · Custom, Jan to May
Decoration
Bouquet
A creative arrangement of flowers, given or displayed for many occasions
🇨🇳 China and 1 more · Arrangement
Decoration
Floriculture
The science and business of growing flowers and ornamental plants
Arrangement
Decoration
Corn dolly
Straw figures shaped for harvest customs across Europe
🇮🇪 Ireland and 3 more · Flower craft
Decoration
Varamalaवरमाला
A flower garland exchanged by bride and groom in Hindu weddings
🇮🇳 India · Garland or wreath
Decoration
Rangoliरंगोली
Indian floor art made with coloured powders, rice, or petals for festivals and daily welcome
🇮🇳 India and 1 more · Carpet or floor pattern
Decoration
Pushpanjaliपुष्पाञ्जलि
A flower offering in Hindu worship and classical dance
Offering or rite
Decoration
Onam
Kerala’s ten-day harvest festival with flower carpets, feasts and boat races
🇮🇳 India and 1 more · Custom, Aug to Sep
Decoration
Pohela Boishakhপহেলা বৈশাখ
Bengali New Year marked by processions, fairs, and flower-adorned gatherings
🇧🇩 Bangladesh and 1 more · Custom, April
Decoration
Ashtamangalaअष्टमङ्गल
A sacred set of eight auspicious symbols in Indian religions
🇮🇳 India and 1 more · Art or design
Decoration
Butaبوته
A curved floral motif found in Persian, Indian, and Central Asian art and textiles
🇮🇷 Iran and 5 more · Art or design
Decoration
Day of the DeadDía de (los) Muertos
Mexico’s festival of remembrance with altars, marigolds, and sugar skulls
🇲🇽 Mexico · Custom, November
Decoration
May devotions to the Blessed Virgin Mary
Month-long Catholic customs honouring Mary with flowers, altars, and processions
🇮🇹 Italy and 7 more · Custom, May
Decoration
Well dressing
Decorating wells with flower petal pictures in rural England
🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Carpet or floor pattern
Decoration
May Day Festival
A spring festival with flowers, greenery, maypoles and bonfires on the first of May
🇮🇪 Ireland and 5 more · Custom, May
Decoration
BeltaneBealtaine / Là Bealltainn / Boaltinn
The Gaelic May Day festival with bonfires and yellow flower decorations
🇮🇪 Ireland and 1 more · Custom, May
Decoration
MidsummerMidsommar
Europe’s summer solstice festival with bonfires, flowers and outdoor gatherings
🇸🇪 Sweden and 5 more · Custom, June
Decoration
Jack in the Green
A May Day folk figure made of greenery, worn in English spring parades
🇦🇺 Australia · Custom, May
Decoration
International Women's Day
A global day on 8 March celebrating women’s rights and equality
🇮🇳 India and 1 more · Custom, March
Decoration
TếtTết Nguyên Đán
Vietnam's spring new year festival with flowers, family, and lucky customs
🇻🇳 Vietnam · Custom, Jan to Feb
Decoration
Mărțișor
Red and white string brooches worn for spring in Romania and Moldova
🇷🇴 Romania and 3 more · Custom, March
Decoration
Flower power
A 1960s protest style using flowers as symbols of peace and resistance
🇺🇸 United States · Custom
Decoration
Bollenstreek Flower Parade
A spring flower parade from Noordwijk to Haarlem in the Netherlands
🇳🇱 Netherlands · Parade or display, April
Decoration
Nice CarnivalCarnaval de Nice
A vibrant February carnival with floats and flower parades in Nice, France
🇫🇷 France · Parade or display, Feb to Mar
Decoration
National Cherry Blossom Festival全米桜祭り
Spring festival in Washington, D.C. celebrating Japanese cherry trees and friendship
🇺🇸 United States and 1 more · Parade or display, Mar to Apr
Decoration
International Cherry Blossom Festival
A ten-day spring festival in Macon, Georgia celebrating blooming cherry trees
🇺🇸 United States · Parade or display, March
Decoration
The Daffodil Festival
Pierce County’s spring parade and daffodil celebration since 1934
🇺🇸 United States · Parade or display, Mar to Apr
Decoration
Cake decorating
The craft of adorning cakes with icing, fondant, and edible decorations
🇺🇸 United States · Art or design
Decoration
Papel picado
Mexican folk art banners made by cutting designs into colored tissue paper
🇲🇽 Mexico and 1 more · Flower craft
Decoration
Kusudama薬玉
A Japanese paper sphere made from folded flowers or units, often hung as decoration
🇯🇵 Japan · Flower craft
Decoration
Attarअत्तर, عطر
Traditional natural perfume oil distilled from flowers, herbs, and spices
🇮🇳 India and 2 more · Flower craft
Decoration
Rose waterگلاب
Flavoured water made by steeping or distilling rose petals
🇮🇷 Iran and 2 more · Offering or rite
Decoration
Floral scent
The aroma released by flowers to attract pollinators and signal other plants
Custom
Decoration
Arabesque
A rhythmic pattern of scrolling foliage and lines in Islamic and European art
🇪🇬 Egypt and 3 more · Art or design
Decoration
Tiharतिहार
Nepal’s five-day festival of lights, flowers, animals, and sibling bonds
🇳🇵 Nepal and 3 more · Custom, Oct to Nov
Decoration
Gosekku五節句
Five seasonal festivals once held at the Japanese imperial court
🇯🇵 Japan · Custom
Decoration
Knot garden
A formal garden pattern of interlaced low hedges in a square frame
🇮🇹 Italy · Garden style
Decoration
Flower bulb cultivation in the Netherlands
The Dutch tradition of growing bulbs for fields of spring flowers
Carpet or floor pattern, April
Decoration
Dry landscape garden枯山水
A Japanese garden of rocks, moss, and raked gravel for meditation
🇯🇵 Japan · Garden style
Decoration
Ikebana華道
The Japanese art of arranging flowers with form and meaning
🇯🇵 Japan · Arrangement
Decoration
Ohara-ryū小原流
A Japanese school of ikebana known for its moribana and landscape styles
🇯🇵 Japan · Arrangement
Decoration
Pichhwai
Large painted cloths showing Krishna, hung in temples for worship and festivals
🇮🇳 India · Art or design
Decoration
Rikka立花
A formal Japanese ikebana style with upright, symbolic floral arrangements
Arrangement
Decoration
Seika生花
A classical Japanese ikebana style with triangular lines and seasonal flowers
🇯🇵 Japan · Arrangement
Decoration
Pūjā in Buddhism𑀧𑀽𑀚𑀸
A ritual offering and devotional act in Buddhist practice
🇮🇳 India and 3 more · Offering or rite
Decoration
Chabana茶花
Simple flower arrangements for the Japanese tea ceremony
🇯🇵 Japan · Arrangement
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Bonsai: Ragesoss, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tokonoma: 663highland, CC BY 2.5, source
- Hanami: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Bouquet: James Vick's Sons (Rochester, N.Y.); Henry G. Gilbert Nursery and Seed, No restrictions, source
- Floriculture: James Locke, Public domain, source
- Corn dolly: Renata ( talk ), Public domain, source
- Varamala: Sumita Roy Dutta, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Rangoli: SreeramKalyan, CC0, source
- Pushpanjali: Yosarian, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Onam: Jiteshgt, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Pohela Boishakh: Abidhasan00, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ashtamangala: Redtigerxyz, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Buta: Thomas Watier, Public domain, source
- Day of the Dead: RubeHM, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- May devotions to the Blessed Virgin Mary: Žemaitijos kelias, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Well dressing: User:WhaleyTim, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- May Day Festival: Bryan Ledgard, CC BY 2.0, source
- Beltane: Stefan Schäfer, Lich, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Midsummer: Kora27, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Jack in the Green: SiGarb, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- International Women's Day: Karl Maria Stadler (1888 – nach 1943), Public domain, source
- Tết: vi:Lưu Ly, Public domain, source
- Flower power: Mathias Degen, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Bollenstreek Flower Parade: W. Bulach, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Nice Carnival: Honeydew, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- National Cherry Blossom Festival: MBisanz, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- International Cherry Blossom Festival: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- The Daffodil Festival: Imagesandevents, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Cake decorating: Michael Prudhomme, CakesMadeEasy.com, CC BY 2.5, source
- Papel picado: Ferfive, CC BY 4.0, source
- Kusudama: Angie, CC BY 2.0, source
- Attar: Kerina yin, CC0, source
- Rose water: E4024, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Floral scent: Forest & Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0, source
- Arabesque: Unknown author, CC BY 2.5, source
- Tihar: Sreekumar K. S., CC BY 2.0, source
- Gosekku: Kakizaki Hakyo, Public domain, source
- Knot garden: Photograph by Mike Peel ( www.mikepeel.net )., CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Flower bulb cultivation in the Netherlands: Original uploader was GerardM at nl.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Dry landscape garden: Jnn 。, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ikebana: Joe Mabel, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ohara-ryū: Gryffindor, CC0, source
- Pichhwai: Unknown artist, Public domain, source
- Rikka: Gryffindor, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Seika: Gryffindor, CC0, source
- Pūjā in Buddhism: Luca Galuzzi ( Lucag ), CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Chabana: Gryffindor, CC0, source