The Ultimate Guide To Flowers For Every Occasion

Flowers are the perfect gift, for when someone is not well, needs cheering up, has a new job, has got engaged or married, or it’s their birthday. They can come from your Mum or from an admirer, or you can buy them for yourself to brighten up your home. However, some flowers do have meanings and buying a traditional funeral flower for someone’s birthday could look bad if they know what the meanings are. A lot of people don’t know the meanings of flowers but if you want to get it right and want to know what they mean, then check out this list.

Birthdays

Starting with birthdays as these are probably the most common celebration that you have to buy for, did you know that there are different flowers for different months? If you have a friend’s birthday in January then the flower is Carnations, in February it’s Violets, in March is Daffodils, in April its Daisies, in May its Lillies, in June its Roses, in July it’s Larkspur, August is Gladiolus, September is Aster, October is Marigolds, November is Chrysanthemums and December is Poinsettia.

Friendship

Yellow flowers symbolise friendship, optimism and joy but just avoid yellow carnations as these represent rejection or disappointment.

Dating

If you want to take some flowers for a date, it’s a beautiful gesture and while red or pink roses represent love and passion that could be a little overwhelming when you are just dating someone so orchids, tulips or dandelions will be the best bet.

Anniversaries

While there are things that symbolise the years you have been married such as for the first year its paper, for the fortieth it’s rubies and silver for the twenty-fifth there are also flowers to represent the years you are celebrating too. For five years it’s Daisies, for ten is daffodils, for 15 it’s Roses, for 20 its Asters and for 30 it’s lilies. For an anniversary though, red or pink roses can never fail.

Funerals

Funeral flowers are a different gift or gesture really as you don’t turn up with them but usually, buy them and send them to the funeral home or take them to the grave. Chrysanthemums, Lillies and Roses are the most common types of flowers, but in this case, the colours mean a lot too. Blue, white and green are the colours of peace, humility and calming and are often comforting to people during a sad time. Orange and Red represent energy and passion and are used for celebrating a life rather than mourning the deceased.

Illness

When someone is sick, and you want to send them some flowers, they are great to cheer them up, but they have some other benefits too depending on which you get. Phalaenopsis orchids, for example, can reduce stress and improve air quality and humidity in a room as well as brightening up a dreary hospital room. Bright houseplants can cheer someone up and also the colour green symbolises health and wellbeing. Try not to get flowers which are highly fragrant, instead go for Irises, Tulips and Gladioli.

Mothers’ Day

You can’t really go wrong with flowers on Mothers Day and getting your Mum her favourite flowers or favourite colour if you don’t know about the flowers will likely always be a great gift and keep you in the good books. If you are stuck though for what to get, Pink Carnations represent gratitude and love, red carnations signify admiration and Gerbera Daisies represent cheerfulness.

Saying Thank You

Just like Mothers’ Day, if you want to say thank you to someone with flowers then go for their favourites, something they like or something that reflects their personality. However, if you don’t know what that would be, then a safe bet would be Carnations, Lillies or Roses.

Weddings

There is no right or wrong when it comes to your own wedding, it is your choice and whatever you like in whatever colour is right for you. You’ll want a bouquet for the bride, a smaller version of that for the bridesmaids and then a boutonniere for the groom and the groomsmen.

Whatever you get, flowers are a beautiful gift, and they are always a great thing to receive. You can’t really go wrong, and you can always ask the florist for recommendations or have a look online at readymade bouquets to see which flowers are in season and which look the best for the reason and the person you’re buying for.