Flowers have been used to express emotions and send meaningful messages for centuries. From roses that symbolize love to sunflowers associated with happiness and optimism, every bloom has a story to tell.
Explore the meanings and symbolism behind some of our favorite flowers and discover which blooms can help express love, friendship, gratitude, remembrance, encouragement, celebration and more.
Flower meanings can vary by culture, tradition, flower color and source. The meanings below represent commonly recognized historical and contemporary associations.
The Meaning Behind Popular Flowers
Amaryllis
Strength • Pride • Achievement
With its bold blooms and dramatic appearance, the amaryllis is often associated with strength, determination and well-earned success. It can be a wonderful flower for celebrating an accomplishment, encouraging creativity or recognizing someone who has overcome a challenge.
Aster
Love • Wisdom • Faith
Named from the Greek word for “star,” asters are known for their cheerful, star-shaped blooms. Traditionally associated with love, wisdom and faith, asters are also recognized as a September birth flower and add beautiful texture and color to autumn arrangements.
Bells of Ireland
Good Luck • Prosperity • Celebration
Despite their name, Bells of Ireland are native to the eastern Mediterranean region. Their distinctive green, bell-shaped calyxes have long been associated with good fortune, making them a fun and meaningful addition to celebratory bouquets and garden-inspired designs.
Carnation
Love • Admiration • Affection
Carnations are treasured for their beauty, fragrance and exceptional vase life. Their symbolism often depends on color: red carnations express love and admiration, pink conveys affection and gratitude, and white is associated with purity and remembrance.
Chrysanthemum
Friendship • Loyalty • Happiness
Commonly known as mums, chrysanthemums are available in an extraordinary range of colors and forms. They are often associated with friendship, loyalty and happiness and are traditionally recognized as one of November's birth flowers.
Daffodil
New Beginnings • Hope • Renewal
Among the first flowers to appear in spring, daffodils naturally symbolize renewal, hope and fresh beginnings. They are especially meaningful for celebrating a new chapter, offering encouragement or simply bringing the optimism of spring indoors.
Dahlia
Strength • Creativity • Elegance
Dahlias are admired for their remarkable variety of shapes, sizes and colors. Today they are commonly associated with inner strength, creativity, elegance and lasting commitment, making them especially popular for weddings, celebrations and distinctive seasonal arrangements.
Daisy
Innocence • Cheerfulness • New Beginnings
Bright, uncomplicated and cheerful, daisies are traditionally associated with innocence, purity and loyal affection. Their fresh, informal appearance makes them perfect for happy occasions and arrangements meant simply to brighten someone's day.
Delphinium
Open Heart • Positivity • Strong Bonds
Tall stems covered with graceful blossoms give delphinium an elegant garden feel. Traditionally, these flowers symbolize an open heart, positive energy and strong emotional bonds. Their beautiful blues, purples, whites and pinks add height and movement to floral designs.
Gardenia
Beauty • Purity • Love
Known for their creamy white petals and unforgettable fragrance, gardenias have long been associated with beauty, purity and romantic affection. Their elegant appearance makes them especially meaningful for weddings and other intimate celebrations.
Gladiolus
Strength • Integrity • Remembrance
The tall, upright stems of gladiolus have made them symbols of strength and character. They are also associated with sincerity, remembrance and integrity, making them equally appropriate for celebrations, encouragement and meaningful sympathy tributes.
Hyacinth
Sincerity • Constancy • Renewal
Hyacinths are beloved for their intensely fragrant clusters of spring flowers. Their meanings vary by color, with purple hyacinths traditionally associated with sorrow, forgiveness or a sincere apology, while the flower more broadly represents constancy and heartfelt emotion.
Hydrangea
Gratitude • Understanding • Heartfelt Emotion
Hydrangeas produce generous clusters of delicate blossoms that create a lush, romantic appearance. They are commonly associated with gratitude, understanding and sincere emotion, making them a beautiful way to say thank you or express feelings from the heart.
Iris
Faith • Hope • Wisdom
The elegant iris has long been associated with faith, hope and wisdom. Meanings can also vary with color: blue and purple irises often convey faith and admiration, while white iris blossoms are associated with purity and grace.
Lily
Purity • Devotion • Refined Beauty
Lilies are among the most elegant and expressive flowers used in floral design. They are traditionally associated with purity, devotion and refined beauty. Their meaning can vary by variety and color, making lilies appropriate for everything from celebrations to sympathy arrangements.
Calla Lily
Beauty • Purity • Renewal
With their graceful, sculptural form, calla lilies are associated with magnificent beauty, purity and renewal. Their sophisticated appearance has made them enduring favorites for weddings, formal events and elegant sympathy designs.
Lily of the Valley
Return of Happiness • Sweetness • Purity
Small, fragrant bell-shaped blossoms give Lily of the Valley its delicate charm. Traditionally, it represents the return of happiness, sweetness and purity. Because the plant is toxic if ingested, it should be admired rather than consumed.
Marigold
Warmth • Creativity • Remembrance
With their rich gold, yellow and orange tones, marigolds naturally evoke warmth and energy. Their symbolism varies widely among cultures and traditions, but they are commonly associated with creativity, passion, remembrance and the enduring warmth of the sun.
Orchid
Love • Beauty • Refinement
Orchids have an unmistakably sophisticated appearance and have long symbolized beauty, refinement, admiration and love. Their exotic shapes and remarkable variety make them a distinctive choice when you want a floral gift to feel especially elegant.
Peony
Romance • Prosperity • Happy Marriage
Few flowers have the lush, romantic character of a peony. Peonies are associated with romance, prosperity, good fortune and a happy marriage, which helps explain why they remain one of the most requested flowers for weddings and anniversary celebrations.
Rose
Love • Beauty • Affection
Few flowers communicate emotion as clearly as the rose. Roses are broadly associated with love and affection, but their message changes considerably with color—from romantic red and graceful pink to cheerful yellow, elegant white and enchanting lavender.
Snapdragon
Grace • Strength • Fascination
Snapdragons bring height, texture and playful personality to an arrangement. Historically their meanings have ranged from graciousness and fascination to strength and protection, making them an interesting flower with centuries of symbolism.
Stock
Lasting Beauty • Affection • Happiness
Known for its beautiful fragrance and soft clusters of flowers, stock symbolizes lasting beauty, affection and a happy life. Its wonderful scent and romantic garden appearance make it a favorite accent in many traditional and contemporary arrangements.
Sunflower
Happiness • Loyalty • Optimism
Sunflowers seem to bring sunshine with them wherever they go. Their warm golden petals are commonly associated with happiness, optimism, loyalty and admiration, making them perfect for congratulations, encouragement, friendship or simply brightening someone's day.
Sweet Pea
Pleasure • Gratitude • Farewell
Sweet peas are prized for their delicate petals and wonderful fragrance. Traditionally they symbolize blissful pleasure and gratitude while also carrying an association with a fond farewell—making them a charming and sentimental garden flower.
Tulip
Perfect Love • Affection • Renewal
Tulips are among the most recognizable signs of spring and are traditionally associated with perfect love and affection. Their clean lines and brilliant colors make them equally appropriate for romance, friendship, congratulations and cheerful seasonal gifts.
Violet
Faithfulness • Modesty • Devotion
Small but memorable, violets have traditionally symbolized faithfulness, modesty and devotion. Their delicate appearance makes them a fitting representation of quiet affection and enduring bonds.
Zinnia
Friendship • Remembrance • Lasting Affection
Colorful and cheerful, zinnias traditionally symbolize lasting affection and thoughts of absent friends. Their joyful colors and garden-grown character make them a wonderful flower for friendship, remembrance and celebrating happy memories.
Say It With Flowers
Sometimes flowers express what words cannot. Whether you want to send love, friendship, gratitude, encouragement, congratulations, sympathy or simply brighten someone's day, the right flowers can help convey your message beautifully.
At Nancy's Floral, our designers can help you select flowers and colors that reflect both the occasion and the feeling you want your gift to express.