When a married couple get to their 30th wedding anniversary, it is known as their Pearl Wedding Anniversary.
We are due a 30th wedding anniversary soon, so I have been asked if there are any particular pearl anniversary flowers that we (I!) would like as a gift. Now, I’m fond of white flowers, and can think of a few with the name ‘pearl’. But I was curious as to what I might be missing if I only asked for those I knew of. A quick internet search brought up over 550 pearl anniversary flowers and plants!
So I thought again, and decided that it might be helpful to others if I made a few suggestions for flowers and plants suitable for a pearl wedding anniversary gift that actually matched the time of year that the anniversary fell in. I mean, Rosa ‘pearl anniversary’ is a beautiful flowering shrub with pink blooms and a sweet scent, but if you were married in January and someone gives you a bare root rose as a present, it does require a stretch of the imagination to see beyond the twigs.
One of the things I discovered when I looked at the list of pearl anniversary plants was that many of them are called ‘pearl’ but bear little colour resemblance to either the soft pearl white and pearl pink which most of us would expect.
So I have included plants and flowers in my list that are either the soft colour of a pearl or have a resemblance to rounded pearls straight from the clam (as it were) or may look like pearl drop earrings.
You may think that wedding anniversaries falling in the summer are easy to find flowers for; spring and even early autumn are not too much of a stretch, for most people. Winter may be considered to be trickier, but I have a couple of scented choices that may surprise you.
Before we get onto the suggestions for Pearl Anniversary Flowers, a couple of practical considerations. I’m presuming that you know if the couple in question have garden, but –
- Is the flowering plant right for the soil in their garden? Camellia and rhododendrons need an acid soil, for example.
- If you’re not sure about the type of soil, could the plant stay on a pot?
- Is the plant right for the size of the garden? I love Californian Redwood trees, but they are definitely too big for my garden!
- Perhaps you could present it in a nice pot anyway?
Pearl Anniversary Flowers – Spring
Choisya × dewitteana ‘Aztec Pearl’, also known as Mexican orange blossom for its scented flowers. If you cut it back you should get a second later flowering. Evergreen so it provides a backdrop to other plants when not flowering.
Pelargonium ‘Pearl Eclipse’ is in as a hint to my family as “I haven’t got this one”
Pearly white flowers should first bloom in late spring.
Camellia – any of lovely pale pink camellias would be suitable for a pearl anniversary.
Cherry blossom – froths of pearl coloured blossom in spring and ripe cherries to eat in summer – says it all, really, a practical and beautiful tree.
Variegated white honesty; a must if you can find it, otherwise the green leaved white flowered honesty (Lunaria). You’ll have swathes of pearly white to greet you on spring mornings.
Dicentra spectabilis alba, the white form of bleeding heart. These little flowers hanging from arching stems always put me in mind of pearl drop earrings.
Pearl Anniversary Flowers – Summer
Rose ‘Pearl anniversary’, soft scent from repeat flowering blooms.
Achillea ptarmica ‘The Pearl’ is one I quite often use in planting schemes as it will flower from late spring though the summer and provides a foil to brighter coloured herbaceous perennials.
Penstemon ‘Mother of Pearl’; pale pink flowers tinged lilac. This little shrub will flower through from late spring to early autumn with deadheading.
Dianthus ‘Rose Devon Pearl’; I cannot resist a scented dianthus with its delicious overtones of cottage garden nostalgia.
Phlox paniculata ‘Mother of Pearl’ has fragrant flowers, white suffused with pearly pink
Nemesia ‘confetti’ is a lightly scented froth of pale pink that will, by dint of its name alone, take you back to your wedding day.
Pearl Anniversary Flowers – Autumn
Many of the summer flowers will keep on blooming into September, so one of my suggestions takes advantage of autumnal foliage…
Dahlia ‘Pearl of Heemstede’ has silvery pink flowers, and like all dahlias blooms in the late summer and autumn.
Calluna vulgaris ‘Silver Pearl’; if you’re lucky this white heather will flower all through the autumn months.
Hydrangea – both Hydrangea macrophylla (mop head hydrangeas) and lace cap hydrangeas would make a good present; a group of three white flowered varieties will glow like pearls even on a dull autumn day.
Fuchsia ‘Whiteknights Pearl’ – I’ve cheated a little putting it in here, but it will still be flowering; the blooms are white, with pale pink sepals.
Japanese anemone – I picked up this one in the photo when it was merely a stump labelled ‘Prinz Heinrich’. It turned out not to be royal, but it is pretty – and a pearly shade of pink.
Acer ‘flamingo’ and Acer shirasawanum ‘Autumn moon’ are just two of the Japanese maples which have delicate foliage colours; a counterpoint to the rich reds and bronze of most autumn leaves.
Pearl Anniversary Flowers – Winter
Heuchera ‘Pink pearls’ is in the winter section as it should have evergreen or semi evergreen foliage – which is why Heuchera are so useful! The pink pearls are probably more descriptive of the delicate flowers, but the pinky clump of foliage is a welcome addition to many borders.
Thymus vulgaris ‘Silver Pearl’ I’ve included in the winter section as its foliage is tinged with silver /pearly white. And I adore the aromatic foliage at any time of year.
Daphne bholua has strongly scented, pearl sized pink-white flowers on bare stems on a snowy day in January – how romantic is that?
Euonymus japonicus is an evergreen shrub with pearl white berries in late autumn and winter
Hyacinth ‘Pink Pearl’ is a bit bright but is so fragrant I’ll forgive it. It would be good in a pot, and as a ‘forced bulb’ houseplant for winter anniversaries. If you’re buying a hyacinth for me though, I prefer white as they seem to have the strongest fragrance of all the colours.
Viburnum x bodnantense ‘Dawn’ has scented flowers on bare stems; pink opening to paler, pearly pink. Another winter treat even if it’s not your pearl wedding anniversary!
and after the pearl anniversary flowers –
I hope the above suggestions have given you some ideas for a 30th wedding anniversary present, or possibly for a pearl- themed garden. At Plews Garden Design we can help design a planting scheme for a special occasion, whether that’s a wedding, an anniversary a christening or a special birthday…and you don’t even have to live near us for us to help. Do get in touch if you’d like to know more.
I’m certainly planning to have a lovely pearl wedding anniversary – or should that be “planting a weeding anniversary”…
There are more birthday, anniversary and wedding inspired ideas in the blog links below to get you thinking about plants and features for your own garden.
And if you need some help designing a flower border or a whole new garden, do please get in touch.
Or perhaps you would like help with learning more about your garden and gardening? Why not ask about our bespoke Gardening Lessons, where your classroom is actually your own garden. We can help you learn gardening basics, carry out worm and other experiments and also show you how to plan an ornamental border or kitchen garden. They make a good birthday present!
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