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Mono bouquets in Madrid: San Isidro's carnation and a flower for each month
On 15 May, San Isidro, Madrid's chulapas fix their white headscarves with carnations, and the same flower comes as its own single-variety section here. Mono bouquets in Madrid hold one kind of flower only, and the occasion and the recipient determine which flower fits.
San Isidro's carnation, ordered in Madrid as a single bunch
The carnation is the flower of the traditional Madrid costume, pinned into the white headscarf a chulapa wears on San Isidro. Ordered as a single-variety bouquet, it comes from the dianthus section, where carnations are sold on their own rather than mixed with other stems.
Spain imports more carnations than it used to, buying the flower both at home and from abroad. A carnation also outlasts most cut flowers: it holds in the vase for two to three weeks, against roughly a week for a rose, which makes it a steadier choice for a gift that needs to last.
The same month carries another date for flowers: the first Sunday of May is Día de la Madre, one of the dates Madrid buys flowers for.
From winter mimosa to May lilac: a Madrid spring in single varieties
Winter opens with mimosa, in flower from January to March and sold as its own mimosa bunch. Tulips follow through the coldest months: the cut stems are greenhouse-grown, forced out of bulbs that are chilled through an artificial winter, which is why they are available from December to May regardless of the Madrid weather outside. The Netherlands is Spain's largest supplier of flowers and plants overall.
Narcissus, hyacinth and ranunculus each fill their own spring weeks, and each has its own section to order from. Lilac closes the season in May, sold as a single-variety lilac bunch once the other spring bulbs have passed. One thing is worth knowing before the bouquet arrives: a tulip keeps growing in the vase and leans towards the light. Its shape can shift noticeably over a day or two, and that is normal rather than a sign it is fading.
Chrysanthemum, gerbera or alstroemeria: a single flower for the occasion
In Spain the chrysanthemum is linked to one of the dates Madrid buys flowers for: 1 November, All Saints' Day, when it is carried to the cemetery. Many people avoid it as a birthday gift, so it is safer to treat it as a flower for that day of remembrance, ordered on its own from the chrysanthemums section.
For a birthday or a happier reason, gerberas, alstroemeria, a sunflower bunch or a few hydrangea heads work better: a large flower head on several stems already reads as a full bouquet on its own. Gerberas bring that same cheerful, single-colour look, and alstroemeria lasts just as long as chrysanthemum in the vase, two to three weeks, so neither wilts before the occasion has passed.
Every mono bouquet is made up on order, and the florist sends a photo before the courier sets off. That first look is part of mono bouquet delivery in Madrid. Most orders are handed over the same day they are placed, and the exact timing shows on the bouquet's own page, detailed on delivery across Madrid. For a first choice, dianthus suits both spring and the May dates, while mimosa is the January-to-March choice.