What a flower means

 Today this one is for my mom, who loves flowers so much she's got at least 18 orchids in her house. We're going to look at the meaning of flowers in American culture, which may not match other cultures. Ready? 

Courtesy of theflowersavenue.com

Did you know there are birth flowers, just like birthstones? Myths also have something to do with flower meanings. It's all symbolism. I'm leaving out the mention of crystals on this one for reasons that it is sometimes used in witchcraft forms. I am not here to promote witchcraft. I will include a menagerie of flowers in this post. I cannot possibly hit on them all. I'm going to leave a brief chart, in case you want to know your birth flower. Next, I'm going to go into common flowers you'll hear about in most places and stores. 

Courtesy of Pinterest

The Common Flowers

The orchid is where I will start, a rare flower people would go on expeditions for and sell to others. People lost their lives just to give the orchids to rich people who'd pay a high price. It represents delicate beauty, fertility, love, refinement, thoughtfulness, and charm. The name orchid means testicle, surprisingly, and only because of its shape. They are on every continent except Antarctica. In some places wild orchids are protected. Ancient Greeks found this flower to represent virility. Aztecs mixed vanilla orchids with chocolate to promote power and strength. The Victorian era displayed them as a luxury and to show refinement, which means only the rich had them. There is no such thing as a black orchid. 

Different colored orchids represent other things. Blue-tinted ones are rare and represent rarity. Below is a list of what each color means at a glance.

Red - passion, desire, strength, courage

Pink - grace, joy, happiness, innocence, femininity

White - reverence, humility, innocence, purity, elegance, beauty

Purple - admiration, respect, dignity, royalty

Yellow - friendship, joy, new beginnings

Orange - enthusiasm, boldness, pride

Green - good fortune, blessings, good health, nature, longevity

Courtesy of gardens-with-purpose.com

Do you want one? You can pay what you want for them. You can pay five to ten dollars at a grocery store or buy the rarest variety for your greenhouse for thousands of dollars. Your choice. The cheap ones don't take much care, except for water and sunlight. The expensive ones require a greenhouse more expensive than most people's homes and plenty of attention.

The Rose has a whole language by itself. You see them everywhere in greenhouses and can find ones bred to be hard to kill. One flower versus a bouquet makes a difference in this flower's meaning. Let me just put the colors in a paragraph each for you. 

Not only that but what hand you accept the flowers with often plays a role in the meaning. Accepting with the right hand means you agree and affirm. Your left hand shows disagreement. A crown of roses indicates a reward of virtue, a bouquet in full bloom indicates gratitude, and a rose in a tuft of grass indicates everything is to be gained by good company. A faded rose says "beauty is fleeting".

Red is most certainly love, as well as respect, admiration, and devotion. Deep red can mean heartfelt regret or sorrow. A single red one means "I love you" or "You are the one for me". Two roses symbolize "Let us be together". At three, we get the meaning "You and me and our love for company". Six means "I am halfway in love with you". A dozen is "be mine". Somewhere between twelve and fifty means "I am yours" and fifty roses say "my love for you is limitless". Twenty-five roses can be given to congratulate someone. 

White represents purity, chastity, and innocence. Also included are new beginnings, sympathy, humility, or spirituality. One white rose says "my feelings are pure". If it is withered it is a symbol of the loss of innocence or death.

Yellow is friendship and caring. It is platonic. If you want to send flowers to a friend this is the color to send. They are warm and welcoming. "You bring joy to my life" and "let's be friends" are what can come across here. 

Pink is admiration, joy, and gratitude. It also connects to sweetness and innocence. Deep pink shows deep gratitude and appreciation. Elegance and grace are also conveyed with this color. One alone says "I like you". 

Courtesy of bhg.com.au

Orange conveys passion and energy. This is intense desire, fervor, and pride, as well as fascination. One single rose says "I'm proud of you". 

Lavender means enchantment or love at first sight. Darker colored lavender shows regal majesty and splendor. These can also express adoration and fascination. A single rose expresses "I am enchanted by you". 

Blues rose are not natural. They are dyed that way. Therefore, they are mysterious and unattainable. So, "I can't have you and can't stop thinking about you" is what this rose expresses, which is pretty much saying you are a forbidden fruit. Maybe don't give this one. One alone means "you seem like an unattainable dream". 

Green roses represent harmony, wealth and luxury, fertility, peace, and tranquility. They are off-white with shades of green. You give these as a "best wishes for a prosperous new life" occasion or a get well soon expression. 

Black roses are not natural. They are dyed that way or a deep, deep red that just looks black. It means the death of something. Don't send these to a significant other unless you want the relationship to die. Unless you are Abby from NCIS, you probably don't want these. 

One peach rose means "thank you" or expresses that you sympathize with someone. In my sources below you'll find the page I worked off of for the rose meanings, where you'll also find the rose types mean something, too. I'll put that here for you to explore on your own. Otherwise, this blog will never end. 

A Lily is just as complicated as the two other flowers before it. If you thought this blog subject wasn't complex you have just been proven wrong. The common meaning is purity and fertility. Again, colors matter. The flower itself connects to Zeus and Hera in mythology. 

According to bloom and wild, the story goes like this. 

"The story goes that Zeus wanted baby Hercules to drink Hera’s milk. But because Hercules was born of another woman, she disagreed. In a sneaky bid to get Hercules some milk, Zeus brought him to drink Hera’s milk while she was asleep. When she woke up and [realized], she pushed them away and the drops of milk that fell on the ground grew into lilies."

Egyptians believed this flower was sacred and the Romans filled their pillows with it. It is quite fascinating. 

Courtesy of Gardening Know How

The basic rundown below is what the colors represent. This one I can leave in a basic list for you. 

White - Purity, rebirth, often used in funerals and weddings

Pink - love, femininity, admiration

Red - love, passion

Orange - confidence, energy, positivity, warmth

Yellow - thankfulness, joy, friendship

This one isn't as complicated as the rose, obviously, but you do see the colors matter in all of these. 

Sunflowers remind me of one of my best friends, which is why I'm going to end with this one. Let's not make the blog a mile long. This one has a myth with it, too. Clytie and Apollo the sun god are the players involved in this myth. 

According to sunflowerjoy.com, this is the myth. 

"The Greek water nymph, Clytie, fell in love with the Sun God called Apollo. She often gazed up at him and hoped that he would offer a look or a glance in her direction. He never did look upon her because Apollo was in love with someone else and had no interest in looking down at Clytie. After a long time, Clytie realized that Apollo had no interest in her. It was a one sided and unrequited love that would never be reciprocated. Clytie became depressed at the thought that her love would never be returned. She refused to eat and drink and just stared forlornly at Apollo. In time, the other Greek Gods felt sorry for Clytie. Eventually they decided to change her into a beautiful flower, a sunflower, as this was kinder than leaving her as she was. Clytie the sunflower always looked towards Apollo, the Sun God. This was then how all sunflowers came to follow the path of the sun. The Greek origin story of the sunflower is rather sad. Clytie was a lovesick water nymph who pined for someone and yearned for a love that she could never have. However, her sadness was transformed into the beautiful yellow color flower that is still with us today."

So, that's the story according to mythology. Not bright and cheery, but seldom is mythology ever cheery. At any rate, the name of the flower means "flower of the sun". Shocker, right? 

Now we dig into what it represents. It follows the sun, thus it is considered loyal and devout. It symbolizes true faithful loyalty. It connects to Christianity and many other religions. It also represents longevity, optimism, happiness, good fortune, and good luck. Peace and hope also come with this flower since it can clean up radiation and toxic pollution, thus representing a nuclear-free world. This flower is pretty and absorbs toxicity. 

Sources:

Flower Meanings | Birth Flowers | The Language of Flowers | Floriography (buildingbeautifulsouls.com)

Orchid Flower Meaning - Flower Meaning

Rose Flower Meanings by their Color, Variety and Numbers (pickupflowers.com)

What is the meaning of the lily flower? | Bloom & Wild (bloomandwild.com)

What is the Meaning of a Sunflower: Symbolism, Spiritual and Myths (sunflowerjoy.com)