It's already October, which means that many people are getting everything ready to set up their altars for the Day of the Dead. Flowers, of course, are a main element, and at the Jamaica Market there are some seasonal ones that are not the classic cempasúchil, and that you can only get during this month to take into account, such as cloud, velvet or baby.
Mr. Enrique U. Moreno has a store in lane 2 of the market and gave us the best recommendations of flowers and foliage for this time of the year where yellows, oranges, dark reds, ochers and greens are more common and with which it is possible to put together a traditional offering or something out of the ordinary.
Silver lattice in the Jamaica Market.
For example, the celosia or velvet, which although they are a very common flower at this time of the year, there are October varieties such as the silver celosia, which has a different shape; you can find it in orange and purple. Safflower, on the other hand, is an orange and yellow flower that can give that vibrant touch to any vase and is a perfect option for a not so classic altar of the dead; this flower is special in particular because for many years it was used as a dye. Sunflowers are another of the most popular flowers of the season; Mr. Enrique comments that there are two types of sunflowers that you can find in the market: field sunflowers, which generally have more pollen in their center, and greenhouse sunflowers, which have a darker and more uniform center.
Safflower and Matsumoto in Jamaica Market.
A particular group of flowers are those whose bouquets are composed of smaller flowers, such as the estate flower, the allium or garlic flower, the ageratum and the wax flower; with any of them you can complement a floral arrangement or place small ones. Another flower that caught our attention was the immortal flower or paper flower, its appearance, as its name says, is very similar to paper, this same feature makes its life in vases or arrangements is longer. Some more exotic and brightly colored flowers that you can experiment with are birds of paradise, leuco and safari, which although they are not traditional flowers of this time of the year, they can be a great alternative.
Amaranth in the Jamaica Market.
To finish, foliage is essential, but if you don't want to use only leaves, you can choose among several interesting options, for example: amaranth and although it is a flower that occurs all year round and is mainly known for its nutritional value, at this time it is possible to find it to a greater extent in the market aisles: either hanging or in spikes, the colors that can be bought in Jamaica are wine, ocher and green. The bombi or air chayote is very particular, as it has many green hollow spheres covered with soft thorns, and from which it takes its name. The yoco is another green flower that is mainly used as foliage, although you can take a risk and make it the center of a floral arrangement.
Garlic Flower and Bombi in Jamaica Market.
Special thanks to Mr. Enrique for helping us to know and select the best flowers for this season.
Leuco and Agerato at the Jamaica Market.