Valentine's Day has long been associated with the giving of flowers - though, mind you, not just any flowers.
As one of the most enduring symbols for love and appreciation, roses are said to convey various sentiments from passion, gratitude and friendship to fragile emotions. Many people also believe each rose color sends out a different message, so lovers had better pick their love gift wisely.
Some of the popular traditional meanings associated with rose colors are:
Red: "I love you." Red roses symbolize deep love, romance and passion. They have long been a symbol of beauty and perfection and can also symbolize courage. Similarly, a darker shade of red or burgundy depicts a beauty that is uncontrived and unadorned: the color lets a woman know how truly beautiful she is and how much she is loved.
White: "You're heavenly." White roses represent purity and innocence and symbolize reverence and humility. They are often used in bridal bouquets to represent spiritual love, unity and new beginnings. This is the flower to send to show how pure your love is - white orchids work just as well, as do pearls.
Pink: "You're lovely." Pink roses convey a message of elegance and grace. The deeper shades signify appreciation and gratitude while light pink signifies admiration, joy and sweetness. Pink rose bouquets often impart a gentler meaning than their red counterparts, ideal for the more fun and playful couple.
Yellow: "You're a true friend." The bright, sunny color of yellow roses evokes warmth and happiness, akin to feelings shared with a true friend. It is the color to send to a current friend desired to become something more, or for those who'd like to slow things down a little - positively, of course.
Orange: "You're fascinating and make me feel warm inside." This bright and bold color represents enthusiasm, energy and desire. Orange roses can also convey pride in an accomplishment or celebration of a new beginning or venture. There's no denying the powerful look of a bouquet of orange roses, aimed both to fascinate and intrigue.
Lavender: "I'm enchanted by you." Lavender or purple roses represent love at first sight. With its origins tied to royalty and ceremony, purple flowers represent dignity, pride and a hint of magic. This is a cool, refined color for the truly devoted, giving way to give to a long-lasting romance with a unique individual.
Peach: "I'm so glad to be with you." Peach conveys many different sentiments such as gratitude and admiration. While paler roses symbolize modesty, the combination of orange and pink in peach is a marriage of love and appreciation of your spouse or girlfriend.
Coral: Coral Roses represent desire, passion and excitement. It also says "I admire your accomplishments" and represents good fortune. A warm color that is a shade of love, but more importantly, desire. Send coral roses to your partner to let them know how much you really want them. A sign of enthusiasm and desire for the recipient (most often given to men by women).
Blue: "You intrigue me." Blue roses symbolize mystery or something desired yet may be hard to attain. These roses do not occur naturally and are artificially colored. Naturally, the deeper the color, the more intimate the message becomes.
Combination: Those wishing to let a friend know that you're falling in love with them can opt for yellow roses with red tips; the yellow symbolizes your current friendship while the red hints at a deeper connection. Another combination is the white with red tips: this makes a striking combination embodying all of the feelings and emotions of a true bond.
Black: Can mean "You're very tempting" or "It's over." Black is generally associated with negative things, so most people would probably stay away from the color. However, black does have a certain mystery and elegance to it, particularly when given aside of some other gift - after all, no woman could ever refuse a stem of black rose accompanied by a black, velvet lined jewelry box with something special inside.
*JP/
compiled
from various sources
