●Floral Etiquette(1 / 1)

Since ancient time,flowers have been a source of joy and beauty.Flowers color the world with their beautiful hues.Their fragrances can be used to make heavenly perfumes.Flowers have been such a momentous part of human history and have turned to be a part of most important occasions in our daily life.They are conspicuously present on birthdays,graduation,funerals,weddings,etc.forming an integral part of our lives.Some flowers even have religious significance.

The language of flowers,sometimes called floriography,was a Victorian-era means of communication in which various flowers and floral arrangements were used to convey coded messages,allowing people to express feelings which otherwise could not be spoken.

It is an old tradition to assign hidden meanings to flowers and using these as symbols to express feelings and sending messages.Almost every ancient culture developed a language of flowers.Perhaps the most enthusiastic development and significance of language of flowers appeared during the Victorian era.Messages were popularly conveyed through the language of flowers,secret lovers sent seemingly innocent flower bouquets to each other to convey their feelings of love.Especially during the Elizabethan period,strict social norms of “moral conduct” bred hypocrisy and ways to circumvent the austere social codes.During the period romantic liaisons were conducted with assistance of the language of flowers,which developed into a language to convey romantic gestures and true love.

In modern times,the subtle differences of the language of flowers are all but forgotten.However,a red rose still conveys passionate,romantic love,yellow roses still stand for friendship or devotion and white roses still suggest virtue and chastity.Even if these are not the exact translations of the Victorian sentiments,flowers still speak in their language.Flowers also have symbolic and religious meanings.There are references given to flowers in Biblical literature,and during the Middle Ages,floral herbs were even believed by some to have magical powers.Therefore,flowers were given a place of honor in the royal gardens.

It is so easy to convey true feelings—if you pick the right flowers.Speak skillfully and bring the language of flowers into your modern life.Incidentally,be sure to add an accompanying card that explains their meaning,as your recipient may not be adept at the language of flowers.

The flower expert has composed a list of the most popular and more common flowers and their symbolized meanings,which lend their words to the language of flowers.However,flowers are countless and the meanings may change with different combinations.Read on to know the most basic flower meanings:

◇Red Roses: Red roses are always a wonderful gift for a lover for practically any occasion or for no occasion at all.Indeed the power of “I love you” behind red roses given to a significant other is a winner for any occasion,and is especially powerful when given for no occasion at all.The red rose signifies “romantic love”,so it may be common in some cases.However,most will find that red roses are a consistent winner.

◇Yellow Roses: Yellow roses signify friendship.They are a perfect gift for a colleagues or sibling.However,they might be too timid to express romantic interest.They do not express the romantic love of the red rose.

◇Pink Roses: Pink roses are the flowers of secret love.They are a perfect medium between the romantic love of the red rose,and the friendship of a yellow rose.They express a secret love,and should not be mistaken purely as a friendship gift like the yellow rose.

◇White Roses: White roses are the flowers of innocent love.They are perfect for family members and family occasions,even funerals.

◇Carnations: Carnations are the flower of fascination.They are perfect flowers to give to a romantic interest that has not yet blossomed into a relationship.

◇Orchids: Orchids are the flowers of beauty and love.They can be given for practically any occasion to practically anybody.Orchids are universally appealing flowers that do not bearing significant meaning for most occasions.

◇Daisies: Daisies are the flowers of loyal love.They are an ideal flower to give to a mother on Mother’s Day,or for any occasion.

◇Lily: The Lily is the flower of sweetness and purity.It is an ideal flower to give to a daughter or niece.

◇Chrysanthemum: The Chrysanthemum signifies of friendship,so it will go well on any occasion,but may not be ideal for expressing romantic interest.

Flowers are popular great gifts,and it is difficult to do too much wrong when getting flowers for anybody.But if you are well-versed in the language of flowers,you will be able to express yourself better with flowers.