With Valentine’s Day soon approaching our thoughts turn to hearts and flowers, candy and romance of all kinds, or the massacre of a rival gang with tommy guns á la Al Capone – everyone celebrates it a little differently. I, for one have always enjoyed Valentine’s Day, probably because of my unnatural obsession with the colour red. Everything is red and pink and I love it!
With so many options with which to celebrate this (some would say, over-hyped )holiday, let’s look at flowers. In the Victorian era, flowers were used as a way of expressing emotions, especially to a person someone fancied, or in some cases didn’t fancy. Definitions were developed for each kind of flower and several dictionaries were published to help people decode the messages. One could only hope that the person you were sending flowers to used the same dictionary.
So, let’s take a look at some flower meanings for flowers found in popular Valentine bouquets.

 

For instance, this bouquet has  light pink roses which symbolize “grace and joy” and white roses to symbolize “innocence and secrecy”.

 

 

The Gerbera daisy in all colours has a general meaning of “happiness” in all it’s forms. The colour orange with the daisy symbolizes “sunshine of life”. Red roses symbolize “love and respect”.

 

 

Yellow carnations may not be the best choice to give on Valentine’s Day as they mean “You have disappointed me” and/or “rejection”. That is unless, you are trying to  send a certain message.

Red carnations are more romantic with the message “my heart aches for you”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A cactus is a lovely gesture, as it will thrive despite any neglect it may receive and symbolizes “endurance.”

 

 

 

 

Say it with flowers this Valentine’s Day!

 

Use these helpful sites to create a personal message for your loved ones.

http://thelanguageofflowers.com/
http://www.flowermeaning.com/
http://www.teleflora.com/meaning-of-flowers