One of the questions we’re most commonly asked by our customers is what certain flowers mean or represent. Because flowers aren’t just beautiful. For centuries, they’ve carried all kinds of meanings. Not just the obvious ‘I love you’ red rose, but the distain of the yellow carnation and the innocence of daisies. In the Victorian era, flowers became an established form of communication, an exquisite language that could be seen but never spoken. And while today, most people pick out flowers simply because they like them, or because they’re available in a shade that their loved one favours, sometimes you want to get everything just right. And that means selecting flowers that show real thought.
So, while we’re always happy to answer your questions, we thought it might be useful to provide this short guide to the meaning behind our most commonly requested flowers.
The Meaning of Flowers
Rose
OK, so pretty much everyone knows that the red rose symbolises love, passion and desire, but what about the other colours? Are you sending mixed messages when you give a different coloured rose? Well, maybe. Here are a few of the most popular rose colours and their meanings:
· White – Innocence, purity, loyalty and youthfulness
· Pink – Femininity, sweetness, gratitude and joy
· Yellow – Friendship, hope and wisdom
· Orange – Excitement and passion
· Ivory – Calm, grace, perfection and thoughtfulness
Chrysanthemum
Chrysanthemums have always been popular cut flowers. They’re bold, blousy, come in an almost limitless array of colours, and they last for weeks when cut. But the reason they were loved by the Victorians is because they represent honesty.
Iris
The iris is another one of those blooms where colour really matters. The most popular among florists are the purple and blue iris, which represent wisdom and hope, respectively. But the yellow iris speaks of passion, while the white symbolises purity.
Alstroemeria
Sweet-smelling, long-lasting and available in a wide range of colours, alstroemeria is a real floristry ‘doer’, but they also have a meaning that is quite as beautiful as the bloom. It is a flower that tells its recipient that they are beloved. This might be used as a sign of friendship, acknowledgment in a long-term relationship, or a reminder that you are not alone at a time of loss.
Freesia
We use a lot of freesias in Blue Florist arrangements because they are a delight to behold and they smell divine. But the freesia also represents innocence and reflection, which makes them a great choice for a range of occasions.
Lily
Lilies are slightly awkward to define as each variety holds its own meaning, which is further refined by the colour of the bloom.
· Asiatic lily – Marriage and purity (white), romance and healing (pink), celebration (orange or yellow).
· Oriental lily – Purity and rebirth
· Calla Lily – Faith, strength and purity
· Tiger Lily – Opulence, pride and positivity
Tulip
Tulips are widely believed to symbolise perfect love… Aided by the word itself, which can sound like ‘two lips’ when pronounced slightly sloppily! But again, colour comes into play, with red being the colour of romance, white the colour of apology and forgiveness, and yellow being used to represent happiness (it used to be used for despairing love, but we prefer the new meaning!). And if you really want to go into the particulars, you can send someone variegated tulips to tell someone that they have beautiful eyes!
Gerbera
You only have to look at a gerbera to tell that it’s a happy flower. It means cheerfulness, innocence, loyalty and love. And it’s an absolute cracker to send as a cut flower because it lasts and comes in a huge number of shades.
Orchid
There are more than 25,000 species of orchid in the world, so we’ll not go into the meaning of them all here. But thanks to their suggestive form, most orchids are associated with fertility. And this is certainly true of the most common potted orchid, the phalaenopsis. However, different shades also carry different meanings.
· White – Innocence, purity and elegance
· Pink – Grace, femininity and happiness
· Yellow – Friendship
· Purple – Respect and royalty
· Orange – Enthusiasm and pride
Receiving any gift of flowers is always a lovely thing. And it often doesn’t matter what you send to someone, the point is that they mean enough to you that you’ve gone to that effort. But next time you’re choosing flowers for a really special occasion, it might be worth doing a little research and find out a bit more about their meaning. That way, you really can let your flowers do the talking.