Of all nature ’s splendor — from its fascinating brute and birdie to its breathless sundown vistas and colorful life on the sea flooring — few elements are as immediate , personal , and approachable as flowers . From sight and smell to texture and , in some cases , even taste , flowers give birth an all - natural sensory experience like nothing else . And with more than 400,000 screw species of flower plants , it ’s no surprise humans have been gathering , study , and gift flower to one another for century .
The practice session of giving flowers as a gift is a way of life " for us to talk when there are no language to get an emotion , " says Jackie Lacey , a floral interior designer and conductor of education at the Floriology Institute in Jacksonville , Florida . The precise substance suggest by specific floral gifts can disagree widely from one refinement to the next . However , so to enhance your next heyday - devote experience — and to avoid any miscommunication — 1800 flowersasked Lacey to help excuse the history of the unsounded power of gifting bloom .
GreeceMan ’s fascination with peak can be traced back to the unearthly custom of the ancient Greeks , who Lacey says " used prime as props for storytelling … [in a ] mythology which is full of references to sure flowers being representative of sure graven image and goddesses . " Despite this awe for flowers as sign of the highest of deities , the greatest philosophers of the era also spoke of the blooming and wilting mental process of every flower as a direct and ever - present monitor from the gods about the brevity of all human biography .
EgyptAncient Egyptians also turn over flower holy , placing them in the tomb of the pharaohs as gifts intend to guard off evil feel and using them in festivals like the prolonged 11 - daylight " Beautiful Festival of Opet , " which honored the Nile River ’s might of fertility . This jubilation saw intricate floral jewelry crafted for the ruling form and towering flower arrangements featuring the nation ’s value blue lotus carried on ceremonial communion table along a processional way that have give ear rose , poppy , and lily garlands .
JapanFurther east , the tradition of constructing floral shrines was raise in Japan during the Asuka period , an geological era of great aesthetic , political , and societal change . Here , however , it took the shape of an anytime , any - class interior artistry cognise as kado , or " way of life of the heyday . "
" As far back as the seventh century , when floral altars were created , the art of kado has been a means of life-time , " Lacey explain . " This was more of a manful subject area historically , but all can commit it in today ’s lodge . "
In modern - day Japan , kado part are particularly popular housewarming gifts , as well as a commonly used substance of kindle the purport of the sick ( though never given potted , lest the recipient role ’s illness take mystifying root ) . Even the bare of events , such as coming home from holiday , are kado - suitable : The Nipponese custom of gifting souvenirs to ally and fellowship , know as " omiyage , " often involves regional flower in kado placement .
FranceOne of the earliest practices of assigning specific meanings to certain flowers initiate when French royal forces traveled through Turkey in the mid-1500s . Upon returning home from his trek , a luxuriously - ranking knight named Louis Girard present a individual lily of the vale to King Charles IX , who described the flower as a Turkish proficient - chance token and sign of spring ’s retort . King Charles took such a liking to the flower that he gifted a full bouquet to every peeress in the royal royal court , launching a vacation that finally became known as La Fête du Muguet ( " celebration of lily of the valley " ) .
Over the following hundred , the tradition spread from the monarchy down to the peasantry , and to this mean solar day , every May 1 in France sees flower vendor traversing the street selling lilies of the valley to passersby of all category — at tax - destitute Price , as commanded by the government ! Legend has it that any who purchase or receive a lily with 13 blossoms on this day are in for some serious successfulness during the coming time of year .
EnglandIn Victorian - era England ( 1837 - 1901 ) , a society that demanded its citizens maintain line of invariant composure and calm , flower endue evolve into a substance of expressing especially strong emotion that could be considered uncomfortable or a breach of etiquette , to be spoken loudly . To further this function , its citizenry developed floriography , an art of communicating with flowers , including detailed dictionaries explain specific signification behind the coinage , colouration , arrangements , and numbers of bloom cave in to a recipient role .
Floriography became an especially utile means of communicating between those of dissimilar societal classes and personal identities . " Many flowers took on special substance and channel ' unvoiced ' messages during the time of Oscar Wilde , in 1890s London , [ let in ] the earliest symbols of the LGBT community , " Lacey aver . " One of the early is the green Dianthus caryophyllus , worn on the lapel by a human beings to signify to others they were ' open to same - sex involvement . ' "
A group of Russian schoolchildren carry blossom for Teachers ' Day .
RussiaThe language of floriography also be in Russia , as adopted from western European nations . One unambiguously Russian custom sees flowers of brilliant hue as instance of a tone ’s intensity ; for example , in romantic circumstances , lily-white rosiness would be given as a first - engagement gift , pink roses as appropriate for early - relationship stages , and cryptical ruby-red blush wine earmark for promontory - over - heels love . One exception is flowers of any yellow hue , as these have come to represent lies , sadness , and a touch that a geological fault - up is approach ( as explained in the famous Russian pop song " Yellow Tulips " ) .
Beyond all the classic reasons and occasions for gifting ( to mourners , the tired of , as signal of romance , for birthdays and academic accomplishments ) , efflorescence indue in Russia absolutely must occur on specific national holidays , such as Teachers ' Day , Knowledge Day , and Women ’s Day ( red carnations , symbolical of official internal holidays , are always to be reserved for days like these ) . disregardless of the social function , works steady down in pots , rather than cut prime , are considered the right gift for elderly women as signs of extended lifespan .
ChinaNearly all the Taiwanese culture ’s early poems , adage , and artworks utilize flowers known as " The Four Gentleman " — orchid , plum blossom , bamboo , and chrysanthemum — to constitute the characteristic of uprightness , purity , humility , and perseverance . Though chrysanthemum are still extremely venerate and have come to be honorable animation , Mandarin tradition dictate that gifting chrysanthemum to a tutor is an unfitting and even designedly affront act . In such a place , substituting " sunflowers and carnations , which can show love and respect to a teacher " is the way to go , Lacey recommends .
Chinese tradition also considers flower invest as a mean to grow actual - life results . The culture believe , agree to Lacey , that " peonies or Dahlia pinnata for elder can nurture good luck , and bamboo can send a admirer financial winner . " Tangible medical reasons for gifting exist as well : flower like the Nipponese coast banksia and pagoda flower are historically gifted by do it single as herbal remedies for the flu and circulatory system complaint .
A scene from the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show . ( pic by Chris Phutully , licensed by CC BY - ND 2.0 )
SpainGifting flowers in Spain is seen as a serious move , and , accord to Lacey , submit with petal " should be sent specifically , and for special occasions only . " In addition to marriage , funeral , and major holidays , flower can be sent as an appreciation of hospitality , he observe , adding , " potted plants are often sent after dinner party parties but never chrysanthemums , red roses , dahlias , and white lilies , as these flowers propose expiry . " The secure stakes let in lilies and Spanish bluebells — both considered loose of great emotional import — but commend to count your stems : Spanish custom has it that prime should be give only in rummy numbers ( except for the unlucky 13 ) , as even - number bouquets are to be relieve as funeral gift .
AustraliaWhile Father ’s Day in the U.S. typically get word more tools invest than blooms , Australian dads have been receive peak on their extra Clarence Day since the continent ’s former primaeval earned run average , when a father ’s base responsibility was teaching survival skill to his child . In the wild Outback , this could become a fierce task , so , in credit of their fearlessness , bloom were learn as a gentle giving of gratitude from children whose purity a beginner sought to protect .
Australia ’s hold of flowers has continued to blossom throughout its colonial era and is displayed in full during the annual Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show — the large such fete in all the Southern Hemisphere — which last twelvemonth string more than 100,000 visitors .
GermanyAs in Spain , the phone number of flowers gift to a German is just as important as the flowers ' crust , and for the same reasons . ( Beyond superstition , flowered custom in some central European areas , including Germany , take a firm stand that curious numbers of heyday are easier to arrange . This claim is base on the fact that many democratic rosiness grow only an odd numeral of petals . )
Unlike Spaniards , however , Germans insist on a greater level of generosity : Simply being invited to a home virtue both a bottle of wine for the host and flowers for his or her partner . In such a setting , tea leaf roses and yellowish roses are favorites ( hold get to the reds — they ’re suggestive of deep romance , as in America ) , which , like all flowered gifts in Germany , should be unwrapped from any posy housing before being hand to a receiver .
For more information:1 - 800 - FLOWERS.COMwww.1800flowers.com
