A season-by-season guide to flowers in Greece

Every couple arrives with an image already in mind. Often that image contains a flower that does not exist in the month they are marrying. This is not a problem — it is simply the first conversation to have.

A flower in its season is stronger, lasts longer in heat and costs less. Three things at once, with no compromise on how it looks.

Spring — March to May

The most generous season. Peonies from late April through May, tulips, ranunculus, anemones, and blossoming almond and apple branches for height. The palette is naturally soft: cream, blush, butter, with fresh greenery that needs no help.

If you love peonies, May is your month. It is the only window in which you have them abundant, affordable and at their absolute best.

Summer — June to August

The busiest wedding season, and the most demanding. Garden roses, hydrangea, lisianthus, dahlias from late July, Queen Anne's lace, and bougainvillea on the islands.

The truth about summer: the question is not what exists, but what survives. At forty degrees a delicate bloom collapses within two hours. So for summer weddings we work with sturdier material — hydrangea kept in water, callas, fleshier botanicals — and save the fragile things for indoors or after dark.

The most common reason flowers wilt is not the quality of the stem. It is that they went into direct sun four hours before they were needed.

Autumn — September to November

An underrated season, and possibly the most beautiful. Dahlias at their peak, chrysanthemums in their refined varieties, amaranth, branches with turning foliage, fruiting stems and olive.

The palette deepens on its own: rust, deep red, burgundy, gold. This is when flowers converse best with the light — and October light in Greece is among the loveliest of the year for photography.

Winter — December to February

Less variety, more discipline. Amaryllis, tulips from January, hyacinth, callas, eucalyptus, fir, and bare branches for graphic structure.

Winter design works best when it stops trying to look like spring. White, green, silver, a great many candles — and the room does the rest.

The one thing worth remembering

Tell us the palette and the mood you want first, not the specific flower. From there it is our job to find what is at its best in your month and use it well.

There is nearly always a seasonal bloom that does exactly what you are imagining — you simply did not know its name.