January 29, 2026
The Secret Language of Flowers
In the Victorian Era, it was considered taboo to send a message to your sweetheart. Instead, it was popular to send certain flowers to convey your thoughts and feelings that couldn’t be spoken aloud. Red roses meant passionate love, basil meant hate, and yellow carnations signaled rejection to a suitor.
I feel like we have similar thoughts about flowers now–maybe less literal, but just as meaningful. Especially as Valentine’s Day approaches, when husbands everywhere will be gifting a dozen roses to give to their wives as a familiar and timeless show of love.
But are flowers really a symbol of love? I mean, they don’t last forever, so why do we give them at all?
The truth is that flowers have been given as gifts for thousands of years, going all the way back to the Greeks. They continue to be a universal gesture of conveying deep emotion, especially when we struggle to find the right words to tell someone I love you, I’m thinking of you, or I’m here during this time of loss.
Rutgers did a study in 2005 to see how flowers impact people’s health, and they found three positive emotional benefits of receiving flowers. According to the Society of American Florists:
Flowers have an immediate impact on happiness. All study participants expressed “true” or “excited” smiles upon receiving flowers, demonstrating extraordinary delight and gratitude. This reaction was universal, occurring in all age groups.
Flowers have a long-term positive effect on moods. Specifically, study participants reported feeling less depressed, anxious and agitated after receiving flowers, and demonstrated a higher sense of enjoyment and life satisfaction.
Flowers make intimate connections. The presence of flowers led to increased contact with family and friends. (https://safnow.org/aboutflowers/quick-links/health-benefits-research/emotional-impact-of-flowers-study/)
So while flowers might be temporary, gifting flowers is a beautiful expression of love because of how they make a person feel. Some of my favorite viral videos on social media are of individuals giving bouquets of flowers to strangers on the street. I always tear up seeing old ladies' expressions of surprise and joy when they are handed a rose! There’s never a bad reaction. Those feelings are real, powerful, and meaningful.
So tell me–is the study correct? How do you feel when you receive flowers? How do you feel when you give flowers? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Cheers!
Emily