“A flower blooming in the desert proves to the world that adversity, no matter how great, can be overcome.”
– Matshona Dhliwayo
Did you know that gifting flowers can make you seem more emotionally intelligent, strong, & successful in other people’s eyes? Learning to speak the language of flowers can help touch people’s hearts with a simple unassuming gesture.
Flowers play such a pivotal role in our lives that you can see they feature in celebrations from birth through achievements, romance, wedding, & eventually death. Research too has proven their role in improving our wellbeing when added to our work or home environment.
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Speak the language of flowers – Giving visual identity to your emotions
The symbolism of flowers has gone through a lot of change over the years. We speak the language of lowers having put our own interpretation on them depending on geographic availability of varieties, the cultural significance of colors, situations connected with their gifting, and emotions of the giver. Like the yellow tulip has come to signify cheerful thoughts and sunshine from representing hopeless love earlier.
Not only do colors affect the meaning of flowers as a gift, they sometimes can signify totally different emotions depending on the situation. Like, while peony symbolizes a happy marriage, prosperity, and health, it can also be used to communicate shame or indignation.
Though hydrangea generally expresses gratitude, it can also symbolize heartlessness. Daffodils too can have ambiguous significance. They can symbolize new beginnings as well as unrequited love. So, be sure to use the right flowers while sending a bouquet.
Here is the symbolic significance of some varieties of flowers you’ll usually find at the florists:
1. Rose:
This universally loved flower signifies a lot of different emotions besides romantic love. The numbers are as significant as colors when it comes to roses. Broadly speaking, it signifies love in all its varied forms.
While 12 roses symbolize the ultimate declaration of love, 25 say congratulations, and 50 mean unconditional love.
White roses represent purity and innocence, yellow friendship, pink expresses gratitude, and the blue ones say ‘I can’t stop thinking about you’. Gifting a bouquet of wild roses would mean you admire the simplicity of that person.
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“Flowers are a proud assertion that a ray of beauty outvalues all the utilities of the world.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson
2. Orchid:
This exotic and regal flower symbolizes refinement and mature charm. It represents rare and delicate beauty in all its luxurious splendor. Different colored orchids covey different emotions.
Pink shows pure love, white is perfect for congratulating a newborn’s parents, and yellow symbolizes joy. Purple shows admiration and respect. Green expresses longevity and happy blessings. Yellow orchid like yellow roses signify friendship.
Orange orchids can be presented to someone to encourage them and boost their morale up as it symbolizes pride and enthusiasm. When you learn to speak the language of flowers, it opens up a unique & beautiful dimension of emotional connection.
3. Speak the language of flowers with Lily:
Lily generally symbolizes sophisticated beauty and purity, but different colors and varieties carry a significance of their own. Orange lilies mean passion, yellow delight and pleasure while white indicates modesty and unaffectedness.
White Calla lilies are perfect for a wedding bouquet as they not only stand for beauty and magnificence but also their color signifies innocence and purity. Easter lily is the emblem of the Virgin Mary, Lily of the Valley indicates the purity of heart, and Calla lilies symbolize magnificent beauty.
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4. What do daffodils mean in the language of flowers:
To those who speak the language of flowers, being one of the first flowers to bloom in spring, daffodils signify new beginnings. In Chinese culture, it symbolizes good fortune. Daffodils can also mean hope.
A bouquet of daffodils would be the right choice for gifting someone on their 10th wedding anniversary as they also mean joy & happiness.
5. Daisy:
This pretty little unassuming flower carries loads of diverse meaning. Though they basically symbolize purity, innocence, freshness, and new beginnings, they also stand for true love.
This flower also symbolizes true or loyal love where one can keep a secret. Sending a bouquet of daisies can mean responding with an ‘I like you too’. Daisies are perfect for new mothers as well as children because they signify new beginnings.
Gerbera daisy reflects cheerfulness while the English daisy stands for innocence. White daisy symbolizes cleansing, purity, and innocence. The yellow ones mean gentleness and fresh-faced beauty. If sending them as a get-well bouquet, choose light pink gerbera daisies as they symbolize sympathy and friendship.
“A flower’s appeal is in its contradictions – so delicate in form yet strong in fragrance, so small in size yet big in beauty, so short in life yet long on effect.”
– Adabella Radici
6. Tulip:
There are over 3000 varieties of tulip found around the world. They symbolize emotions & qualities closely related to love. Their color can range from white through a rainbow of colors ending in black.
White tulips are perfect for sending an apology or as a wedding gift because it represents both forgiveness as well as innocence and purity. Cream signifies commitment. Yellow tulip, though had a shady past, has come to represent cheerfulness and sunshine.
Orange tulip symbolizes energy, enthusiasm, and fascination whereas red ones symbolize true love. Purple obviously indicates royalty and nobility as is it does in the case of orchids. Pink expresses happiness and can cover almost any occasion you want to send a bouquet.
7. Speak the language of flowers with Carnation:
Carnation has been admired for centuries for its symbolic connection to love and god. Though its original color is purple-pink, people have created different varieties ranging from white to green. Carnation indicates beauty and pride.
The dark red variety symbolizes deep love while light red shows admiration. White carnation symbolizes good luck, pure love, and innocence. The pink one indicates ‘I’ll always remember you’ and the unconditional, unchanging love of a mother.
Carnation can be used to express negative emotions too. Yellow carnation is used to indicate disappointment or rejection and the striped variety means refusal or regret the inability to return emotions or love. A purple one might mean fickleness of character or situation.
8. Chrysanthemum:
Chrysanthemum symbolizes long life, optimism, beauty and joy. This flower was originally a gold-colored bloom that was cultivated later into hues ranging from white to maroon and even multicolored single flowers. Interestingly, a single flower of chrysanthemum is actually a collection of multiple small flower heads.
A bouquet of chrysanthemums is the perfect choice for someone’s 13th wedding anniversary. The violet ones are best as a get-well-soon gift, white chrysanthemum indicates devoted love and truth, red variety symbolizes love, and yellow means sorrow or unrequited love.
“If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly our whole life would change.”
– Buddha
9. What do violets mean in the language of flowers:
Named after the color they are usually found, violets can mean innocence, spiritual wisdom, & humility. But most of all, it symbolizes modesty. Violets are considered good luck flowers for newlyweds.
White violets symbolize purity & blue ones mean devotion. Men usually prefer the darker purple variety whereas women like the lighter ones.
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Benefits of flowers in our lives: Why speak the language of flowers?
There are countless situations which a thoughtful bouquet can handle better than a slurry of words or money.
Are words falling short to express your emotions? Gift flowers. Forgotten to buy a gift? Give flowers to still seem thoughtful & emotionally deep. Want to make someone feel special without going overboard? Send flowers.
1. Positive emotions:
Flowers bring up positive emotions & feelings not only for those receiving it but those too who put their thought in choosing the right ones for the occasion. Their vibrant colors lift our mood & spark memories of sunny summer days. And the soothing fragrance adds an element of the freshness of spring.
Three studies done by researchers at The State University of New Jersey showed that flowers sparked powerful positive emotions. Not only immediate but there were long-term effects too on mood, memory, & emotional reactions.
“Flowers bring to a liberal and gentlemanly mind, the remembrance of honesty, comeliness, and all kinds of virtue.”
– John Gerard
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2. Relationships:
Giving flowers shows you as more compassionate, caring, understanding, & capable of making others feel special. A thoughtful bouquet can express your emotions & freshen up any relationship.
Send an unexpected few blooms of their favorite flower to your loved ones to add a touch of thoughtfulness, romance, or tender gesture to your relationship. They add depth to the connection.
3. Life satisfaction:
Flowers make us feel welcome. It’s a no-brainer because when you enter an office, a home, or some store that greets you with a floral arrangement in the foyer you automatically feel more positive emotionally approaching that place, right?
Have you ever noticed how the smile you see on someone’s face when you gift them flowers is truly joyful? Flowers area symbol for sharing, & you don’t really need to speak the language of flowers to feel their comforting, soothing effect.
Though we know all this through intuition & experience, it has also been research-proven by Jeannette Haviland-Jones, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.
4. Productivity:
The environment we work in has a significant effect on our productivity. That’s why workspaces are becoming more open concept with relaxation zones moving away from the cubicle culture. Natural surroundings can affect stress levels, emotions, & state of mind in a positive way.
Behavior Scientist Dr. Roger Ulrich found in his research that adding flowers & plants to the workplace improved creative problem-solving in people working there. It inspired innovative ideas & creative performance.
“The splendor of the rose and the whiteness of the lily do not rob the little violet of its scent nor the daisy of its simple charm.”
– Therese of Lisieux
5. Stress:
You don’t even need to speak the language of flowers to see how they can help you de-stress effectively & effortlessly. Simply spend some time near the floral bushes in a park or fresh flowers in a vase inhaling the mild fragrance & happy colors. Put some lavender essential oil in a diffuser or rose petals in the bath for deeper relaxation.
“When life seems to be in a constant state of frenzy, flowers can provide us with a much-needed moment of calm.” says associate professor Erin Largo-Wight of the University of Florida’s Department of Public Health who conducted a study in 2018 about stress & the impact of flowers.
6. Memory:
Stress can send the mind into a hyperactive fight-or-flight mode & becomes too preoccupied to learn anything new. If you have ever gone “I can’t remember all the details, everything was just too tense”, you’ll know what I mean.
Flowers act as great stress relievers, soothing the mind, freeing it up to notice experiences & store them up as memories. A study done by The State University of New Jersey showed flowers helped senior members of the society refresh memory, become more social, & improve mood.
Smells are also so closely connected with memories that a whiff can trigger memories that we didn’t even realize was stored away in our subconscious. The fragrance of flowers can bring up a lot of memories, which over time the becomes a part of our conscious recollection. That means, you can recall more of your experiences, which is especially helpful for senior people.
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“Flowers always make people better, happier and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine for the soul.”
– Luther Burbank
7. Quality sleep:
When it comes to sleep, quality is as important as quantity. You can sleep for 8 hours yet wake up feeling tired or groggy. Good quality sleep helps you start the day fresh & full of motivation.
Keep a peace lily plant in your bedroom for better oxygen flow in your room & to detox the air. Good quality air with sufficient oxygen percentage will help you sleep better. Put a few drops of lavender essential oil on your pillow for a restful night. You will wake up feeling well-rested & full of energy.
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Speak the language of flowers – Do flowers speak?
Interesting facts:
Flowers can express more than words. They can symbolize human emotions in all its varied colors. Whether it’s a wedding, funeral, place of worship, expression of love, or adding beauty to our home – it’s nearly impossible to think of them without flowers.
They have come a long way having become such an indistinct part of our lives considering flowers didn’t exist 140 million years ago. Did you know that tulip was once more valuable than gold in Holland even though it belongs to the same family as onion?
Floriography or the symbolic language of flowers has a very interesting beginning too:
- The Turkish harems used to speak the language of flowers through symbolism. They used it to send coded messages. Though it isn’t confirmed whether other people were using flowers for similar purposes or not, this is regarded by many as the fountainhead of this beautiful visualization of emotions & thoughts.
- In 1718, the wife of the ambassador to Constantinople, Lady Montagu, was said to be so fascinated by this tradition that she brought it back to England.
- In her turn, Queen Victoria got enchanted with the symbolism of flowers and spread it across the British Empire in 1837. Considering the wide reach of British rule in the world at that time, people started to speak the language of lowers in distant parts of the globe.
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Flowers have become the perfect way to express emotions & feelings because they spell thoughtfulness & care. They make people feel special.
Get creative & think up occasions to send flowers beyond the usual ones. It can be a miss-you thought, a thank-you for someone who made you laugh on an otherwise tough day, or to a friend for always being there for you.
As the award-winning author MJ Ryan very rightly says, “A successful person is not necessarily someone with a lot of money and material goods, but rather someone who is in tune with people and knows how to touch their hearts,” Spreading happiness, kindness, love, & compassion becomes easier when you learn to speak the language of flowers.
So now that you can speak the language of flowers, tell us which one do you feel would be your perfect flower twin? Let us know in the comments below.
It would be a good opportunity for introspection & to think out loud what you feel are your innate qualities.
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