Have you ever wondered how roses made their way to the front of the pack among all the flower options for Valentine's Day gifts? We did!
Sending flowers was considered to be a token of love long before anyone marked February 14th as a special day on the calendar.
The Roman goddess, Venus, and the Greek goddess, Aphrodite, were both considered to be symbols of love, fertility, beauty and pleasure. They were often portrayed in garden settings adorned with flowers. Flower gifts were associated in ancient Roman and Greek times with feelings of love and romance.
Fast-forward to the Victorian era, where an entire language called floriography was developed. It was a means of communicating messages, which could otherwise not be spoken, based upon the types of flowers and arrangements sent. Even the scent of a particular flower on a handkerchief conveyed a special meaning.
The sizes of the flowers selected, the type of arrangement, even the use of the right or left hand in the flower delivery, revealed thoughts from the sender. This is when roses really made their way to the forefront of flower gifts.
Roses were the selected flower gift to represent deep feelings of love. Even the different colors of roses selected had meaning. Here are some of the single color meanings historically assigned to rose colors:
Red rose: passion
Dark red rose: beauty
White rose: purity
Pink: appreciation, happiness
Dark pink: gratitude
Yellow: joy, friendship
Yellow with red tip: falling in love
Coral: desire
Color combinations and the number of roses given also had significance in Victorian times. Men seriously had to know their stuff!
Although the language of flowers is certainly not studied and known with the commonality that it used to be, across the world roses have maintained their high standing as the floral gift choice for love. It was certainly not as simple then as it is today to have a flower shop select the very best, most beautiful roses and wrap them into a lovely bouquet for your girl (or guy!). You can shop online for flowers and have them delivered right to their door! That's something even Queen Victoria couldn't have imagined.
Contact us to have your beautiful floral gift delivered in British Columbia, Alberta, and now Saskatchewan and Manitoba!
