Secret Language of Flowers

Rose Red rose buds are the classic flower of pure and simple love, while white rose buds are symbolic of girlhood and worthiness. Red and white roses together are the sign of unity, but yellow roses stand for jealousy or a decrease in love. A crown of roses means a reward of virtue; bridal roses symbolize happy love.

Lilac Purple lilacs stand for the first emotions of love.

Coreopsis Coreopsis declares "love at first sight."

Ivy Ivy is a standard in bridal bouquets and wedding decorations; its leaves and tendrils represent friendship, fidelity and the intertwining bonds of marriage.

Honeysuckle Honeysuckle represents the bonds of love

Lemon Lemon blossoms the fidelity of love

Carnation A single pink carnation symbolizes pure love. White carnations are for remembered love and often worn in loving remembrance on Mother's Day.

Tulip Red tulips offer a declaration of love; yellow tulips symbolize hopeless love.

Other less-known symbolic plants and flowers represent love and desire. Acacia is the symbol for chaste love (yellow acacia is secret love). Red chrysanthemums mean "I love" while yellow mums have quite the opposite meaning. In Victorian times, lotus represented estranged love.

Every flower is a soul blossoming in nature. - Gerard De Nerval

A flower cannot blossom without sunshine, and man cannot live without love. - Max Muller

Belladonna: In Italian, a beautiful lady; in English a deadly poison. -Ambrose Bierce

What's in a name? that which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet.- Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

Since Iris is the Greek goddess for the Messenger of Love, her sacred flower is considered the symbol of communication and messages. Greek men would often plant an iris on the graves of their beloved women as a tribute to the goddess Iris, whose duty it was to take the souls of women to the Elysian fields. - Hana No Monogatari: The Stories of Flowers

Find additional meaningful flower quotes at Garden Digest, where we found some of these.

Flowers are a natural component of any joyful occasion. Birthday flowers, flowers for a new graduate, flowers to celebrate an anniversary and flowers showered upon a performing artist or athlete at the conclusion of their event are a lovely tradition.

Roses - the color of a rose has significance. Red stands for eternal love.

Carnations - white represents honor to a Mother who is missed - either through distance or death and red or pink for a Mother who is nearby.

Forget Me Nots - the official flower of grandparents day and captured memories

Poppies - red poppies are the flower of Remembrance Day - November 11, immoralized in the poem "In Flanders Fields"

National Grandparents Day is an annual holiday celebrated on the first Sunday following Labor Day in the United States. The blue forget-me-not flowers is the official flower of National Grandparents Day. These plants represent eternal and enduring memories.

History contains many instances of flowers that represent pain, suffering, death and negative feelings. Familiar examples include crown of thorns, poison hemlock, deadly nightshade, poppies, narcissus, nettles and dead roses.

Rue conveys disdain, and mushrooms suggest suspicion.

The Venus fly trap is a declaration of the recipient's deceit, and St. John's wort stands for animosity.

The Scotch thistle can mean retaliation, although more modern symbolism suggests it as a sign of strong resistance and prickly independence.

It's interesting to note that flower symbols in a religious context can have the opposite meaning when presented in every day life. For example, Narcissus represents egotism, and a yellow daffodil carries its most sinister message. However this flower also represents eternal life and resurrection.

Likewise, poppies symbolize both good and evil. The Wizard of Oz film used poppies in the drug-related negative manner, however poppies are a symbol of remembrance for those who lost their lives in armed conflict.

Nettles suggest cruelty, slander and deceit. Hemlock is eternally deadly, or is a say to say "you will cause my death."

Lavender suggests distrust, lobelia flowers are a statement of malevolence and hops declare injustice. Dead flowers, particularly roses, represent the death of love/feelings, while foxglove can be a sign of insincerity.

Ordinary marigolds represent grief or despair, but French marigolds mean jealousy, and African marigolds are the flower for vulgar minds in some cultures. In Mexican celebrations for el Dia de Muertos, marigolds represent positive loving remembrance of the departed.