Floriography: Best Flowers for Birthdays, Gratitude & Sympathy

Floriography, also called the language of flowers, reached the peak of popularity during the Victorian period. During this age, people communicated their thoughts, emotions, and feelings in the form of florals. Each flower represented a secret symbol, transmitting a coded message from the sender to the intended recipient.

1. Peonies for Birthdays 

The peony is a symbol of prosperity, making it a beneficial choice for wishing someone a happy birthday. These flowers come in a variety of shades, from blush to bold, and each has its own individual meaning. For example, choose a pink peony to bring joy to someone on a day that is special to them.

For a more personalized touch, consider ordering extra flowers based on the recipient’s birth month for their birthday.

2. Hydrangeas to show gratitude

If you are looking for a way to show gratitude in the form of flowers, you can purchase hydrangeas. These florals come in a variety of colors, from a pure white shade to a deep purple color. All of these shades represent gratitude. This flower is appropriate for holidays such as Teacher’s Day, Nurses Day, and Employee Appreciation Day. These flowers send a message of gratitude to the recipients in return for an act of kindness or favor bestowed.

Begonias and camellias are two additional flowers that you can give, as they also represent gratitude.

3. Dahlias to Encourage

The flowers can mean ‘get well soon’, ‘good luck’, or even ‘you’ll get through this.’ You can send dahlias to show your support or thought. These flowers signify dignity, devotion, change, and inner strength. All these qualities are valuable.

You can express emotions of restoration, relaxation, strength, and comfort with extra flowers like echinacea, lavender, or chamomile. The flowers, goldenrod and coneflowers, are also representative of encouragement.

4. Forget-Me-Nots show sympathy

You can express condolences in a way that is meaningful with a bouquet of forget-me-nots. The term “forget-me-nots” signifies a symbol of remembrance and honoring a life that has departed. You can gift a bouquet at a memorial service or on the anniversary of a passing away to let the grieving know that you are sharing their grief.

Bonus flowers: You can purchase and gift a bouquet of poppies, which also symbolize remembrance, to the extent that a red poppy has become a symbol to memorialize veterans.

5. Daffodils symbolize new beginnings.

Daffodils bloom at the start of spring. Daffodils align with the concept of new beginnings. Celebrate events such as graduation, a bridal shower, a new job, a housewarming, or the birth of a baby, among others. Make sure to congratulate them on the start of their new chapter with a bouquet of dahlilies.

The gladiolus is an additional flower that you can gift to someone. This flower is also named after gladiators, and it symbolizes victory, strength, and integrity.

6. Roses for Holidays

Roses are representative of love of all types, which makes them a suitable choice for a celebration of any kind. Celebrate various holidays such as Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Christmas, and Thanksgiving. For extra significance, you can purchase flowers based on a specific meaning, such as orange for happiness, white for loyalty, and pink for appreciating someone, yellow for friendship, and red for the concept of romance. Roses are the best flowers for all year-round occasions.

Extra flowers that you can purchase to gift are plants called glories. This flower signifies affection. You could also pick a seasonal flower to pay homage to a specific holiday.

7. Sweet pea flowers for weddings.

In France, it’s custom to send sweet peas to a bride for her wedding day. This is because these particular flowers symbolize the best wishes for a happy and long marriage.

Once more, you can purchase peonies as additional flowers, symbolizing both post-wedding bliss and enduring love.