The most popular flower that is given for Valentines Day is the red rose. Flowers other than roses are also used as favorites on Valentine’s Day including tulips and carnations. Flowers have been known to represent many things over the years from love, friendship, adoration, lust, passion, and even war. The colors chosen represent different things in different cultures but some are universally known like white carnations and their significance to innocence.
Red Roses
Red roses date back to China and Egypt thousands of years ago. Why the red rose? Red roses are the flower that is most associated with love and romance around the globe. The color red has an association in every culture, in most it means passion, strength, and love. That is why red roses are chosen the most over all the other colors. Pink, yellow, and white roses are commonly given to signify a secret admirer, a crush, friendship, and familial love for someone on Valentine’s Day.
In the fifteenth century, roses were used to signify the side that one was on during the war of the roses. A red rose was for those who were on the Lancaster side and the white rose was to signify those on the York side of the battle. Roses have been attributed to royalty and wealth as far back as the seventeenth century. In fact, at that time they were used as legal tender to pay royalty and to conduct trades. Rose water was also commonly used for paying debts as well.
Tulips
Tulips are another favorite Valentine’s Day flower. The name tulip comes from the Persian word for turban because they were first discovered in Turkey. Tulips are used by many as flowers given in vases and bouquets for the lover’s holiday instead of roses. Tulips can be used in many colors including red, white, pink, orange, yellow, and multi-colored. Tulips represent a number of things including purity with the white tulip, love and passion with the red tulip, happiness with pink tulips, desire with orange tulips, and even royalty with purple tulips. In the Netherlands, the tulip was once traded as currency until the tulip market crashed causing widespread economical damage for years.
Carnations
Carnations are another flower that is used in Valentine’s bouquets as well. Carnations usually signify love as do most of the Valentine’s favorites. A lighter red carnation stands for one’s interest in another or a crush. The deeper red carnation is a symbol of love and passion. Pink carnations are usually given as a sign of thanks. White carnations are used a lot to signify a mother who has passed away on Mother’s Day so they are not commonly used in Valentine’s Day gifts. The carnation is the national flower of Spain. It’s name comes from Latin meaning a flower from the gods.
When looking for the right flower in Canada, for example, a great way to search is by looking up flowers in Halifax NS. Choosing the perfect flower bouquet includes not only the type of flower, but also the color of flowers chosen. When choosing flowers that signify love, one could search for red roses, tulips, or carnations when searching for flowers in Halifax NS. When using the gift for friendship, white and yellow flowers are best. For admiration using pink flowers is best.
Article contributed by :
Barrington Flowers
1505 Barrington Street
Halifax, NS B3J 3K5
Flower Facts Around Halifax 