A common gift to others on many occasions, including Valentine’s Day, are flowers. Flowers, of course, are very lovely to look at and have a delightful scent, but few people know that they have their own language. 

Floriography, the language of flowers, was credited to Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, English poet and aristocrat, after her death when the concept of a flower language arose. Making Floriography very popular during the Victorian Era. It became a secret way of communicating between one and another, hiding conversations, rivalries, love interests, and more.

The website bloomandwild.com gives more insight to the language of flowers in addition to having many popular varieties for sale. In addition to having many popular varieties for sale. Some elements of a flower that can carry meaning are color, birth month flowers, and a few categories of different love for Valentine’s Day, which is coming up. 

While each flower has a specific hidden meaning, a simple message can still be delivered through a color category. Red, a common color associated with romance, symbolizes passion, love, and affection, and can also represent courage, respect, and desire, a perfect flower color for love and admiration.

For pink, the meaning depends on the culture you’re sharing the flower within, for Thailand shows trust, China shows good fortune, Japan it shows good health, and in most Western cultures it means femininity and playfulness. Typically overall, pink represents grace, joy, and innocence making it the perfect color for a friend and/or romantic interest.

Yellow, eye-catching and vivid in color, represents joy, lightheartedness, happiness, and friendship, so be sure to give a yellow flower to someone who’s day you hope to brighten. White, plain, yet elegant that can accompany any other flower shows purity, innocence, and humility. While it may convey a sweet message for most events such as weddings and baby showers, in Asian countries this color flower symbolizes death and mourning, so be mindful when gifting a white flower to someone.

For a separate special occasion you can give them a flower that is just for that month and their Birthday! 

With Valentine’s Day approaching, to many this is the season for couples, but don’t forget that you can show your appreciation and love to friends and family as well. Here’s a few flowers to get your friends that all mean forms of friendship: Yellow Rose which also represents joy; Freesias also known to represent trust and thoughtfulness; Alstroemeria representing support, devotion, and strength; and last but not least is Chrysanthemum representing happiness, longevity, and love great for a long time friend! 

For people you’d like to send a thank you to this season here’s floral choices for gratitude: Pink Rose for admiration and appreciation, Hydrangeas for a wholehearted sentiment and understanding, Sweet Peas give a simple yet sweet thank you to anyone, and Iris represents hope and trust, great to give to a friend you’re thankful towards.

For the romantic part of Valentine’s Day, there are flowers with romantic intentions. Most well known are a Red Rose, for the bold and straightforward message of love, Red Tulip gives a devoted message of “perfect love”, Red Carnation noting love and fascination with another, and a loyal flower, Dahlia, represents devotion. 

February 14th, give a flower to someone who you appreciate, love, or simply want to show thanks to! Sometimes it’s not about how many flowers you give, but the type of flower you choose to give. Valentine’s day should be a day of many smiles given and had, so hopefully everyone is able to have a beautiful, sweetly fragrant Valentine’s Day.

More about this topic and flower symbolism from this article can be found at bloomandwild.com.