Did you know that flowers can carry meanings and symbolism? You probably intrinsically know this. For example, if you see someone buying a bouquet of roses on Valentine’s Day, you probably suspect it’s for someone they love or admire. We oftentimes associate roses with love and passion, especially towards a significant other. But did you know that many other flowers carry meanings that are unique to them? I won’t be able to describe them all, but I hope to cover a few of the most popular flowers.
(1) Rose
This is probably the most popular flower of choice by far! When you give a rose to someone, you are sending a message of love and positive feelings. Roses also come in many, many, many varieties, sizes, and colors! Red roses symbolize romance and love and are a solid choice for life partners to give one another. Yellow roses carry the meaning of friendship and should be given to friends (not romantic partner) to show a caring, lighthearted, and kind thoughtfulness.
(2) Tulip
These perennial flowers generally symbolize perfect and/or deep love. They come in many colors and are oftentimes associated with Spring and can be given to someone to celebrate new beginnings or fresh starts. In the Victorian Era, it was used to bring about a sense of charity and working together towards a common goal of greater good. This would be a good flower to give someone who moved into a new home or for a significant other on their relationship anniversary.
(3) Sunflower
A sunflower is associated with Summer. If you give a sunflower to someone, you are wishing them happiness and congratulations. Their large size and boldness embody their meanings of strength and positivity. They can also mean loyalty and admiration. In Chinese culture, they mean good luck and long-lasting happiness. This would be a good choice for someone who has achieved something, like graduating from school or accomplishing some other life event.
(4) Orchid
Orchids carry the meaning of joy and are good for any celebration. They generally symbolize beauty and charm but can also mean refinement and fertility. Different colored orchids can carry different meanings. For example, pink orchids express innocence and playfulness and are a good choice for a family expecting a child being born. Orange orchids express excited energy, enthusiasm, and success. So these orchids may be good to purchase for yourself and place in your work office for encouragement and inspiration.
(5) Iris
This beautiful flower symbolizes hope, communication, wisdom, valor, faith, and trust. They are often associated with royalty and have ties to French royalty in the Middle Ages. Iris flowers can come in a rainbow of colors that carry special meanings. Blue irises mean hope and faith and are good choices to give someone on their birthday, engagement, or wedding anniversaries. Yellow irises carry a meaning of pride, hope, and passion and are great choices for occasions involving work colleagues or job promotions.
Colors & Meanings
As I briefly described before, different colors of a specific flower can carry different meanings. So, when in doubt, I recommend looking up the meaning of your flower’s color that you’re sending. This is just in case you are accidentally sending a message you do not intend. For the sake of simplicity, I’ll review roses as an example:
- RED Roses symbolize deep love and romance. Perfect occasion for Valentine’s Day or a day to celebrate a relationship.
- PINK Roses symbolize grace, admiration, gratitude, and joy. These are good choices to send as a “Thank You” or to give someone you admire.
- ORANGE Roses symbolize energy, enthusiasm, and passion of the non-romantic kind. These are great gifts for friends or for yourself to inspire/encourage desired enthusiasm towards work or a project.
- YELLOW Roses symbolize friendship, plain and simple. Give them to your friends and not romantic partners.
- WHITE Roses symbolize purity and innocence. These are good choices for weddings or Christian baptism celebrations.
Numbers & Meanings
Did you know that sometimes the number of flowers you give can carry a special meaning? This is especially true for roses. If you want to give your partner a special message, try giving them a specific number of roses to reflect it:
- 1 Rose = “love at first sight.”
- 2 Roses = “deep and shared love.”
- 3 Roses = “I love you” (3 words, 3 roses!).
- 6 Roses = “I want to be yours.”
- 7 Roses = “I’m ‘head over heels’/infatuated with you.”
- 9 Roses = “eternal love.”
- 10 Roses = “You’re perfect.”
The Zodiac Signs & Their Flowers
Did you know that Zodiac Signs are associated with certain flowers? Pretty cool, huh?! I made a chart below that lists the Zodiac Signs and their flowers with those flowers’ meanings for your enjoyment!
So what do you think? What flowers are associated with your Zodiac Sign? What are your favorite flowers in general? Are there any other flowers I didn’t mention that carry special meanings? Maybe if you’re struggling on some flower ideas you can look back on this post for some direction or guidance. Thank you so much for your time, my friends, and if I could, I would send you all a yellow rose in gratitude. I look forward to learning more together with you in the future! I hope you have a great rest of your day!
“Thinking of you keeps me awake. Dreaming of you keeps me asleep. Being with you keeps me alive.”
– Unknown
- Image Captions (in order of appearance):
- Flowers Bouquet roses sunflower wheat. Image courtesy of Unsplash user Amy Simpson; not for commercial use. Signed property release on file with Unsplash Inc.
- Red Rose. Image courtesy of Unsplash user Gruescu Ovidiu; not for commercial use. Signed property release on file with Unsplash Inc.
- Dutch tulips in a vase. Image courtesy of Unsplash user Libby Penner; not for commercial use. Signed property release on file with Unsplash Inc.
- Gray Cat Near Gray Vase With Sunflower. Image courtesy of Pexels user Cats Coming; not for commercial use. Signed property release on file with Pexels GmbH.
- China Orchids. Image courtesy of Unsplash user White.Rainforest ∙ 易雨白林.; not for commercial use. Signed property release on file with Unsplash Inc.
- Texas Irises. Image courtesy of Unsplash user Julia Karnavusha; not for commercial use. Signed property release on file with Unsplash Inc.
- Summer Sun. Image courtesy of Unsplash user Yulia Khlebnikova; not for commercial use. Signed property release on file with Unsplash Inc.
- Photo of Roses On Flower Vase. Image courtesy of Pexels user Lynda Sanchez; not for commercial use. Signed property release on file with Pexels GmbH.
- Mexico Yellow Rose. Image courtesy of Unsplash user Alexis Mora Angulo; not for commercial use. Signed property release on file with Unsplash Inc.