Flowers have a universal language today. However, it was not so before the Victorian era that marked the emergence and development of floriography or the language of flowers that was developed as a means of communicating feelings and emotions that were not spoken of openly in a social setting. While it will not be incorrect to assume that the present day awareness of this language is vestigial at best, you can brush up your knowledge about the meanings associated with different colors of roses as well as the number of blooms present in a rose bouquet to surprise your loved ones with coded messages.
Red is the most requested rose color for bouquets in any florist’s shop. This color stands for desire and passion and often signifies romantic love. It is little wonder then that lovers often gift deep red roses to each other to convey their feeling of love. While a closed red rose is believed to mean “I love you”, a full bloom red rose means “I am still in love with you”. On the other hand, a bouquet of red rose buds indicates first love or new love. However, if you want to send a bouquet of roses to a person for whom you have sweet thoughts, pink should be the choice of color for you. While light pink roses are associated with grace and gentility, deep pink roses signify gratitude and appreciation.
As for the yellow roses, their meaning has changed significantly from the Victorian times to today. Once meant to represent jealousy, they now stand for joy, happiness, freedom and are even used to express apology. White roses are the most popular choice of color for brides and weddings and are also known as the wedding rose. These signify innocence, bliss and purity and were traditionally used to convey the message of missing someone special. A universal symbol of love, roses in lavender shade convey the meaning of love at first sight while those in orange connote fascination with a person whom you want to know better with a view of getting romantically involved.
Apart from the color, the number of roses in a bouquet also has specific meanings. For instance one bloom stands for love at first sight while two stands for mutual love and nine stands for eternal love. Eleven roses are gifted to a treasured one while thirteen stands for a secret admirer. Fifteen roses are sent to apologize to the receiver while a rose bouquet with twenty-four blooms means that the sender cannot stop thinking about the receiver. Fifty roses signify regretless love while 99 roses mean that the sender will love the receiver for as long as he or she will live. One hundred and eight roses signify a marriage proposal while 999 roses are a sign of eternal and everlasting love.
Therefore, next time you select a bouquet of roses for your near and dear ones, you should consider more than just the visual appeal of the floral setting to ensure that the bouquet expresses your emotions or feelings for the receiver precisely.
