Flowers : The Language of love

Bashful, refined purity

Flowers : The Language of love

For centuries, flowers have been a way for men to show their love or at least amorous inclinations on Valentine’s day. But did you know that there is a lot more to flowers than just their beauty and fragrance? Each flower , green and sometimes even the color of the flower, was given a meaning in the Regency and Victorian eras of English society so that people could subtly tell each other how they felt. Yellow roses spoke of jealousy while white roses spoke of purity. Pink roses suggested the beginnings of love while red roses meant true love. Even the size of the roses meant something. Rose in bud form meant the beginning of a relationship or even ‘nice to make your acquaintance’ , while half blown (half open) roses meant that things were definitely beginning to heat up. Full blown roses signified that love was in full bloom and maybe even that an engagement was imminent.

But roses weren’t the only flowers that had meaning. Sometimes a mixed bouquet could say many things at all at once just by how the flowers  and greenery were chosen. Some traditional meanings of typical wedding flowers are:

Alstromeria: Devotion

Carnation: Pure passionate love

Chysanthemum: Cheerfulness

Delphinium : Heaven

Ferns: Fascination

Freesia: Innocence

Gardenia: Joy

 Ivy: Fidelity

Heather: Beauty ( also considered lucky in Ireland and Scotland)

Lilac: Youthful innocence

Lily: Sweetness, purity, splendor

Orchids: Refinement

Peony: Bashful

Ranunculus: Charm

Statice: Remembrance

Stephanotis: Happiness in Marriage

Sweet pea: Delicacy

 As an example, a bouquet of roses, stephanotis,  alstromeria and ivy  would have the meaning of Devoted love, fidelity and a happy marriage. So when you sit down with one of our florists  to design your bouquet, think about what it means as well as how you want it to look. It will give more dimension and meaning to your wedding and give you something to talk about for years to come.