9 popular flowers and the symbolic meanings behind them

Each flower you gift in a beautiful bouquet or plant outside your home has meaning.

Knowing the meaning behind flowers can help you decide which you’d like to gift for an occasion like a birthday, holiday, anniversary or just because. 

You can also use flower meanings to guide your own garden. 

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Flowers can not only help send a certain message to another, but can serve as a reminder of a meaningful message when planted outside in your own garden. 

Today, another instance in which flower meanings often come into play is during wedding planning. Couples can choose flowers for their day based on their meanings. For example, baby’s breath is a very popular wedding flower — which symbolizes “everlasting love.” 

Take a look at popular flowers and their meanings to keep in mind next time you are planting in your own garden or putting together a bouquet for another. (Camerique/Getty Images, Gokhan Balci/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

In the Victorian-era, flowers were used to deliver unspoken messages, according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac. They were also used to express certain feelings, based on the meanings behind them. For example, flowers could convey the word “yes” if they were handed from one to another with the right hand, according to the source, while “no” was represented through using the left hand. 

Even the way flowers were presented could convey a certain message, such as them being delivered upside down, delivering a message opposite of the flower’s traditional meaning, according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac. 

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Flowers can also be categorized by color. For example, a red rose is often thought to symbolize love, making it a favorable flower to gift your special someone on Valentine’s Day or an anniversary.

Below is a handful of popular flowers with their meanings.

1. Aster
2. Baby’s breath
3. Lily
4. Carnation
5. Daisy
6. Gladiolus
7. Rose
8. Sunflower
9. Tulip

1. Aster

Asters are fairly easy to grow, making them a popular choice for beginner gardeners to take on. 

They come in a variety of bright colors, making them a great choice for a vibrant bouquet. You can find the flowers in colors including white, blue and pink. 

Aster is a flower associated with love, according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, whose symbol guide mainly reflects Victorian flower language. The flower’s name comes from the Greek word meaning “star,” as its shape resembles one.

Aster is also one of the birth flowers for September. 

2. Baby’s breath

Baby’s breath is a petite yet beautiful flower that makes a great addition to any garden.

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Although the flower is full of its own beauty, it usually has more of a background role in bouquets, with bigger flowers taking the spotlight. 

Baby’s breath is a very popular flower to see at weddings. (DeAgostini/Getty Images)

The flower comes in mostly white, but there are other colors, like pink, that you could find it in. 

Baby’s breath symbolizes “everlasting love,” according to the Old Farmers Almanac. 

3. Lily

Unlike a delicate baby’s breath, a lily is a very large, prominent flower. They are the star of the show in the bouquets and gardens they are found in. 

Lilies are perennial flowers, meaning they will grow back each spring from their bulbs rather than needing to be planted year after year. 

Lilies can have tons of different meanings, depending on the type. For example, a white lily represents “virginity,” “purity” and “heavenly,” according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, whereas an orange lily symbolizes “hatred.” 

A tiger lily, which is a bold orange flower, is representative of wealth and pride, according to the source. 

4. Carnation

Carnations are a very popular flower to gift on Mother’s Day, as they symbolize “fascination,” “female love” and Mother’s love,” according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac. 

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These inexpensive, colorful flowers are ones often found in wedding arrangements. 

Carnations come in a variety of colors, like pink, yellow, white and purple, making them a very versatile floral. 

5. Daisy

Daisies come in lots of different colors, such as white, yellow and pink. 

Daisies have often been associated with innocence and love. In the Victorian-era, they were also associated with being able to keep a secret, according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac. 

A daisy can be found in lots of different colors, although the white version of the plant tends to be the most traditional. (Silas Stein/picture alliance via Getty Images)

These flowers are very adaptable to their climate, according to Better Homes & Garden, making them an ideal flower to grow in different regions. 

6.  Gladiolus

Gladiolus are a very tall flower, often reaching several feet high. These larger plants can add dimension and color to your flower garden. 

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They are often referred to as “sword lilies” because of the shape of their leaves. 

Gladiolus is a perennial plant in certain areas that will return annually during the summer.

The plant is the “flower of the Gladiators,” according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, symbolizing “strength,” “victory” and “integrity.”

7. Rose

Roses are often considered the most popular flower to gift, and it’s no wonder. Roses bring elegance to any occasion and send messages of love and affection when they are given from one to another. 

Roses most popularly come in a red color, which represents love. The other colors of roses all come with different meanings. 

Roses bring elegance to any occasion and send messages of love and affection when they are given from one person to another.  (LILLIAN SUWANRUMPHA/AFP via Getty Images)

For example, a pink rose often symbolizes “happiness,” according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, while a white rose holds the meaning of “innocence.”

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Yellow and dark crimson roses have more negative meanings behind them, according to the source, with yellow symbolizing “jealousy,” “decrease of love” and “infidelity” and dark crimson meaning “mourning.”  

8. Sunflower

A sunflower is a gorgeous plant that you’ll enjoy seeing grow tall outside your window each year. 

Sunflowers, as the name implies, grow best in a location where they will receive plenty of direct sunlight. 

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According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, what message sunflowers hold depends on their size. Dwarf sunflowers hold the meaning of “adoration,” and tall sunflowers hold the meaning of “haughtiness.” 

9. Tulip

Tulips are a flower often enjoyed in gardens. For those who don’t have the means or the desire to plant their own, tulips have become a flower at many “pick your own” farms around the country. 

At these farms, visitors have the opportunity to pick their own colorful tulips right from the soil to take home. 

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Tulips are a spring flower that will usually bloom beginning in March through April. 

Like the rose, tulips, red tulips in particular, are representative of deep love for another.