Whether it's a birthday, anniversary, housewarming party, or funeral, a bouquet of fresh and beautiful blooms can help convey your thoughts and sentiments. However, it is important to know about different flowers and their meanings so you can include the right types and colors in the arrangement. Otherwise, sending celebratory flowers on a somber occasion or deeply romantic flowers to a friend can lead to a major faux pas. Plus, choosing the right blooms for an arrangement shows how much you care for the recipient and the event.
Now, let’s delve into some common types of flowers and their meanings so you can ace bouquet-gifting.
List of Flowers and Their Meanings
From roses, chrysanthemums, and carnations to daffodils, daisies, and lavenders, different flowers symbolize different emotions and virtues. Hence, while putting together a pretty and meaningful bouquet, consider the following:
Rose
While red roses are a timeless expression of eternal love, intense passion, and romance, pink ones convey happiness. White roses, on the other hand, are symbols of innocence, purity, and fresh starts. On sad occasions, they can also express sympathy, respect, and remembrance. Purple roses epitomise enchantment, admiration, or new love, while yellow ones mean joy, warmth, and friendly feelings.
Carnation
Pink carnations signify eternal remembrance, while red blooms convey deep love. White carnations epitomize pure and sweet love or innocence. However, stay away from yellow or striped ones, as yellow expresses rejection and disappointment, while striped carnations indicate refusal.
Chrysanthemums
Boasting lush heads, mums aren’t just gorgeous but also convey different meanings based on their hue. Red ones are a symbol of passion and love, while the white beauties convey truth. Golden mums often stand for rejuvenation, longevity, and nobility, while yellow ones can express unrequited love. On the other hand, purple chrysanthemums are all about care and thoughtfulness.
Daisy
The symbolism behind flowers and their meanings adds depth to their beauty, making them more than just decorative elements. Daisies, for example, are simple yet charming blooms that represent innocence, purity, loyal love, and youthfulness. White daisies are especially linked to innocence and purity, often chosen for funerals. Deep red ones signify love and passion, while yellow daisies radiate joy. Pink daisies express gratitude and admiration, while orange ones embody warmth and energy.
Daffodil
There is nothing like a bunch of sunny yellow daffodils to express happiness and regards. These lovely blooms are also symbols of new beginnings, eternal life, and rebirth. However, avoid gifting a single daffodil as it represents misfortune.
Lavender
Understanding flowers and their meanings allows for more thoughtful and meaningful floral choices. The fragrant lavender deserves special attention. Both purple and blue blooms are epitomes of serenity, purity, grace, and devotion. The purple hue also stands for luxury, elegance, and royalty.
Lily
Stunning lilies are great for different bouquets, depending on the shade you pick. White ones exude peace, purity, and innocence, which make them ideal for sad events. Red, on the other hand, conveys affection, love, and ardor. Pink lilies represent joy, wealth, and youth, while yellow are all about happiness. Since orange lilies indicate hate in some cultures, stay away from them.
Sunflower
While there are many flowers with their meanings, sunflowers are the safest picks for any celebratory event, be it a birthday, promotion, graduation, or housewarming. These spectacular yellow blooms represent positivity, happiness, pride, adoration, fulfilment, and loyalty.
Tulip
Cup-shaped and elegant, tulips come in various hues, each with a unique meaning. Yellow tulips convey cheerfulness and warmth, while white ones express forgiveness. Purple ones are a symbol of royalty and sincere respect, while red tulips stand for true love and ardent passion. And if you want to tell someone they have amazing eyes, gift a bunch of striped tulips.
Orchid
Graceful, exotic, yet delicate, orchids perfectly showcase how different flowers and their meanings add depth to floral symbolism. Red orchids express love, romance, and beauty, while purple ones symbolize luxury, royalty, and admiration. Yellow orchids represent joy, friendship, and appreciation, whereas white varieties signify honor, purity, and innocence. Blue orchids, on the other hand, convey loyalty and confidence, making each color a unique expression of emotion.
Peony
Lush and layered, peonies were once associated with shame. However, today, they convey hopes and good wishes for a happy life, especially at weddings. Peonies also epitomize good fortune, good health, and prosperity.
Hydrangea
Featuring voluminous heads and available in pretty colors, hydrangeas usually symbolize heartfelt emotions, abundance, and gratitude. Pink ones convey harmony and romance, while blue blooms epitomize patience and sincerity. Purple hydrangeas are more about friendship and royalty, while white ones exude grace and purity. Green ones, though rarer, convey prosperity, good fortune, and even rebirth.
Iris
Despite their dainty appeal, irises are an epitome of trust, faith, wisdom, valor, and hope. They are a wonderful choice when you wish to thank a foul-weather friend. The purple ones indicate royalty, too, while yellow irises convey passion. White irises, like many other white flowers, stand for purity.
Conclusion
Now that you know about different flowers and their meanings, pick the perfect ones for a bouquet meant to light up a happy occasion or offer support and sympathy on a sad day. Remember that certain flowers and their colors might have different meanings in different cultures, so make sure you don’t end up sending something that shows disrespect or a lack of goodwill. Take extra care if you know the recipient’s personal preferences or are aware of any allergies.
Additionally, sending a tastefully arranged flowers bouquet to a loved one is a piece of cake nowadays, even if you don’t have a garden. Reputed and experienced florists in your area can handle it all for you, no matter the season or event.
Consult Alpha Floral for Meaningful Flowers
Whether you have a wedding, birthday, funeral, or anniversary coming up, you will find some of the most amazing floral bouquets at Alpha Floral. From simple and minimalistic to exotic and lavish, our vast collection is sure to spoil you for choices. Moreover, the Santa Barbara florists here can help you decode the meaning of both common and unusual blooms for different situations so you can make an informed decision.
Simply shoot an email to alphafloral@gmail.com or ring us up at (805) 965-5165.
