16 Flowers That Mean Romance and Love - Symbol Sage (2024)

Since ancient times, flowers have been used to convey messages without using words. In fact, there’s even an entire field of study devoted to learning the language of flowers, known as floriography. If you’re looking to express your love to a special someone, be it a close friend, family member, or significant other, there’s a flower that’ll convey your exact message.

Flowers are the perfect way to tell someone how you feel about them, be it romantic love, passion, adoration, or simply infatuation. With that said, here’s a look at some of the most popular flowers that speak volumes of your romance and love.

Red Rose

Symbolism: Love, romance, perfection

There’s a reason red roses are by far the most popular choice of a flower when it comes to indicating love, romance, and passion. It’s the most common choice for Valentine’s Day and the best way to say ‘I love you’ without saying a word. While red roses have always symbolized love and beauty, different shades of red roses can hold slightly different shades of meanings. Deep red roses signify stronger feelings of passion, bright red roses symbolize romance and love and burgundy roses represent a love that is still unrequited.

Tulip

Symbolism: Perfect love, undying love

Tulips come in every shade of the rainbow and are loved for their fragrance, burst of color, and simple beauty. Red tulips are connected to love and romance, signifying undying love, loyalty, and trust. Purple tulips are said to represent eternal love while pink tulips signify perfect love. If you want to get into the darker side of things, black tulips are said to represent sacrificial love. Tulips are also the perfect name for many romance-related puns like our tulips should kiss.

Peony

Symbolism: Romance, a happy marriage, good fortune

The peony has a recorded history that dates back thousands of years, making it one of the oldest flowers that have been cultivated and valued for its beauty. As such, it means different things depending on the context. However, some of the most common meanings associated with peonies across contexts are romance, a happy marriage, and fortune and prosperity. These meanings make the peony an excellent flower for weddings, and they are commonly incorporated into bridal bouquets and wedding décor.

Lilac

Symbolism: First love, beginning of love, memory, infatuation

Lilacs representinfatuation and first love indicating innocence and youthfulness. They’re ideal to give to a new love to celebrate the burgeoning relationship. They’re also perfect to remember a relationship and to ask the recipient ‘Do you still love me?’. Their distinct fragrance and color make lilacs stand out from other types of flowers.

Carnation

Symbolism: Love, adoration, fondness

Another popular flower especially for weddings, carnations have several meanings associated with love, depending on the color. Pink carnations represent love, fondness, and tenderness, while dark pink carnations represent the blooming relationship between a couple. Red carnations imply admiration and adoration, which is more subtle in meaning than dark red carnations which demonstrate strong and passionate feelings of love. White carnations, on the other hand, represent pure and true love.

Sunflowers

Symbolism: Devotion, loyalty, longevity

Sunflowers symbolize devotion and loyalty which comes from the flower’s loyalty and devotion to the sun. Regardless of the sun’s actions, the sunflower continues to show its look at it, admire it and follow its journey, making it the ultimate symbol of loyalty. The cheerful color of sunflowers also makes them a symbol of positivity and hope for the future, ideal to give to someone you plan on having a long relationship with.

Orchid

Symbolism: Love, beauty, luxury

Orchids are sophisticated and elegant-looking flowers, known for their stylish blooms. They symbolize love and pure affection. The flower is also believed to be an aphrodisiac with the ability to boost romance. It is also associated with fertility.

Primrose

Symbolism: Devotion, everlasting love

Although not a highly popular flower, primroses represent everlasting and undying love and are ideal if you want a more unique option. They signify young love and the inability to live without your beloved. So, giving a bouquet of primrose to your other half will indicate that you want to be with them forever and that life without them isn’t worth living.

Red Chrysanthemums

Symbolism: Happiness, loyalty, love at first sight

Because chrysanthemums come in a wide range of colors, each color has its own significance. Red chrysanthemums symbolize love at first sight and loyalty. These flowers are the perfect way to say “I’m in love!” or “I love you!”.

Forget-me-not

Symbolism: Memory, faithful love, fidelity, remembrance

The very name forget-me-not tells us what this flower is about. Symbolizing remembrance, faithful love, loyalty, and memory, forget-me-nots are the perfect flower to give your significant other at anniversaries, Valentine’s Day, and any other romantic celebration. Their blue color makes them distinct as they’re one of the few naturally blue flowers.

Yellow Acacia

Symbolism: Secret love, friendship

Yellow acacia flowers are an excellent choice to give to any person you truly care about, be it a friend, a family member, or your beloved. The flower represents positivity and warmth, with its cheerful yellow hues. However, the flower can also indicate secret feelings and is perfect to give to someone you secretly admire.

Gardenia

Symbolism: Joy, bliss, secret love, trust

Gardenias are a popular flower in bouquets and house décor, valued for their pure look and intoxicating scent. The flower is often associated with secret love. During Victorian times, when flowers were often used to convey messages in a subtle way, gardenias were a silent way to say I love you or You’re lovely. They’re also associated with joy and bliss, which makes them perfect celebration flowers, especially for weddings and engagements.

White Dittany

Symbolism: Love, passion, romance

White dittany is a stylish and elegant flower, symbolizing love and passion. The flower is also purported to be an aphrodisiac and can boost feelings of love and romance. Although not a well-known flower, white dittany makes for an ideal choice if you want something a little out of the ordinary.

Alstroemeria

Symbolism: Love, friendship, devotion

While alstroemeria comes in a range of colors and signifies several things, the most common meanings are connected to love, friendship and devotion. An interesting fact about these flowers is how their leaves grow – they emerge upside down but twist outwards from the stem as they grow. This is often taken to signify the twisting and winding paths that relationships often take.

Camellia

Symbolism: Love, affection, admiration, adoration

Camellias are a delicate flower that symbolizes adoration, love, passion, and desire. Red camellias signify strong passion and love while white camellias are more subtle in their meaning, signifying adoration and affection. However, pink camellias symbolize longing for someone.

Bird of Paradise Flower

Symbolism: Faithfulness, surprise of romance, joy, excitement

The bird of paradise is a unique, exotic flower that stands out with its stunning colors and shape. It’s the perfect gift when you want to make a statement, showing that you can be different and creative. In terms of symbolism, the bird of paradise flower signifies faithfulness and the surprise of romance.

Wrapping Up

There you have it – 16 of the most romantic flowers to give to your special someone on Valentine’s Day, anniversaries, special occasions, and any time you want to express your love!