What fun that we can send messages by sending flowers. The trick is to know the floral language and choose the right flower for the right moment.
Let’s start with the easy one – red roses communicate love, passion, and perfection. Perfect for lovers and expressing desire no wonder it is a Valentine’s Day staple. If the rose is pink, the meaning changes to happiness, gratitude, and friendship.
Victorians sent ranunculus to would-be crushes and charming friends. Pink and white tulips are a way to tell someone they are graceful and have beautiful eyes. Combine these and roses into an arrangement with deep pink carnations meaning they are unforgettable – now that is a bouquet!
Daisies are for playfulness, happiness, and innocence. The Blue iris says I believe in you, as well as wisdom, hope, faith, and that your friendship is important.
Delphiniums tell us of lightness, brightness and that everything is delightful. Blue salvia wishes healing and thoughtfulness.
The lovely orchid is a romantic and, some would say, an erotic flower. Its graceful stems represent love, luxury, beauty, and strength. In ancient Greece, orchids were associated with virility.
A favorite of brides, peonies are the flower of riches and honor. They represent romance, prosperity and are thought to bring good fortune and a happy marriage.
The language of flowers, Hanakotoba in Japan, and Floriography in the Victorian era of 1837-1901 are ways of conveying emotions through flowers and herbs. Each associate a different meaning to each flower.
Over time and through different cultures, the meanings may have shifted, but the language of giving and receiving flowers is very real and filled with emotions. Giving or sending flowers can be as fulfilling as receiving them.
Sharing a violet may convey modesty, faithfulness, innocence, and understated beauty. Sharing an anthurium, with its heart-shaped leaves, is a gift of hospitality.
Want to wish someone good luck? Consider a bouquet of pink hydrangea for success, hellebores to relieve anxiety, Queen Anne’s lace for protection and warmth, and bells of Ireland for luck.
No need to only send cut flowers. Why not send potted plants that can be placed in the garden?
Begonias represent friendship. Zinnias help us remember friends who are absent. A package of zinnia seeds would be a fun addition to tuck into a card you are mailing to a far-away friend.
Whatever you do – don’t send the dreaded yellow carnation, meaning “You have disappointed me.” The two-toned carnation symbolizes a parting of ways – not what you want to receive on Valentine’s Day.
Although the cactus may convey endurance, it is not what I want to receive on February 14. If love is in the air, beware of sending Bachelor’s Buttons with their meaning of celibacy.
Discovering the language of flowers is fun, but I am not fluent. Including the meaning of the flowers and their intended message in a note with the bouquet is special touch.
When sending flowers, I tend to send what is in season and what I think someone would enjoy. I like flowers given for no reason and come as a surprise. They never fail to give me a warm fuzzy feeling whether I’m the giver or receiver.
