What's in a Rose?

After April showers come the season that flowers bloom. Once flowers bloom, many enjoy picking them and sharing them with the people they love. The origins of giving flowers date back to Ancient Greece, Rome, Egypt, and China where verbally expressing emotion was taboo; however, expressing one's feelings by giving flowers was acceptable. Then in Europe during the Middle Ages, each flower was given a specific meaning. Today meanings can be broken down by type of flower, color, and how many were given. If you want to express yourself correctly, how would someone know which to use?

For the fun of this blog, we are going to specifically discuss the rose, as it is the most common flower people gift one another. Roses also have many different colors so the expressions can be endless. When you want to express an emotion, you can use this chart:

Picture	Rose Color	Meaning/Symbolizes
	Red (bright)	Commitment, Romance, Respect, Passion
	Burgundy (dark, deep)	Deep Passion, Unconscious Beauty, Loyalty
	White	Innocence, Elegance, Spirituality
	Cream/ Off-White	New Beginnings, Growth, Peace
	Pink (light)	Sweetness, Peace, Tenderness
	Pink (dark)	Excitement, Flirtation, Creativity
	Yellow	Friendship, Warmth, Joy, Youth, Energy
	Lavender	Majesty/Royalty, Uniqueness, Wisdom, Mystery
	Peach	Gratitude, Modesty, Sincerity
	Coral	Desire, Excitement
	Orange	Enthusiasm, Energy, Desire
	Salmon	Enthusiasm, Excitement, Admiration, Appreciation
	Blue	Tranquility, Resilience, Strength, Rarity
	Black	Mourning, New Beginning, End of Major Event, Tragic Love
	Green	Abundance, Peace, Stability, Mental Balance
	Red/White Together	Unity and Oneness
	Mixed bouquet	Connecting meaning from single colors into one thought/message
	Kaliedoscope / Rainbow	Modern creation bleeding meanings together on the same rose

When expressing the correct meaning, it is especially important to have the right statement behind the emotion. Roses speak not only in color but in numbers as well! Click the pictures below to expand and see the statement behind the number of flowers that are received.

As you can see, it is important to know what you want to say to choose what flower(s) you gift. While these are fun to know the most important part is remembering the person who is to receive these. No matter how the original emotion is connected, a personalized touch always trumps a standard one!