Mother’s Day Flowers and Their Meanings

It is traditional to honour your mother with gifts and a card on Mother’s Day, to express your thanks and your love. Flowers are amongst the most popular gifts, as are chocolates and other confectionery. It is also commonly believed that Mothering Sunday is the most popular day for eating out at a restaurant.

Flowers and Their Meanings

It is widely accepted that the assigning of meanings to flowers started in the 17th Century in Turkey when lovers began to convey messages by the flowers they sent to each other.

The popularity of this use of a “flower language” grew rapidly in Victorian England, where many reference books of flowers and their meanings were published. People were able to express their feelings with flowers, which, due to the nature of society in those days, they found difficult to say in words.

This flower language has developed to the point where most flowers have been assigned a meaning, and most emotions and feelings have been assigned a flower. For example, roses are widely recognised as the flower that is most commonly used to express love. For this reason, roses are the most common flowers sent on Valentine’s Day.

The Flower Society documents a full list of flower meanings.

Colors of Flowers

For may species of flower, separate meanings, or subtle variations in meaning, have also been attached to the colors of flowers. For example, red roses signify passionate love, which is why the roses sent on Valentine’s Day are usually red.

Mother’s Day Flowers

The flowers that are most commonly sent on Mother’s Day are carnations, roses, lilies, and tulips, as well as mixed bouquets. The tradition of sending flowers that are in bloom at the time has been somewhat superseded by our ability to transport fresh flowers quickly around the world.

The Meaning of Carnations

FTD, The Flower Experts state the pink carnations signify gratitude and love, and that red carnations signify admiration. Sadly, white carnations are given or worn to remember a mother who is no longer with us.

The Meaning of Roses

Roses in general send a message of love, but different colors have different additional meanings. For example, yellow roses indicate devotion, dark pink roses indicate gratitude, and white roses indicate virtue, purity, and reverence.

The Meaning of Lilies

Many mothers adore receiving one of the many varietes of lilies. White lilies stand for purity and majesty, and Calla lilies stand for beauty. Mothers who are interested in Chinese Astrology often like the Day lily, which is a Chinese symbol for motherhood.

The Meaning of Tulips

Tulips also send a message of love, and they make a superb colorful gift for any mom. Pink tulips show you care and red tulips show your true love. Yellow tulips signify cheerful thoughts, a message that matches their appearance.