Expressing Yourself With Roses

If there are special messages you want to send to the women in your life on birthdays, anniversaries, Valentine's Day or just because, a gift of roses can do all the heavy lifting. Not only are roses prized for their delicate beauty, sensuous petal-feel, and seductive fragrance, but their colors symbolize the messages they convey.

Red roses are a universal symbol of deep romantic love and passion. If there is any question about your commitment to a woman, red roses are the magic wand that dispels any doubts about your feelings. Red roses are the perfect accompaniment to a proposal of marriage. But don't let that dissuade you from letting them simply express your love.

Pink roses carry a gentler notion of a more tender love. They speak of your happiness with the relationship and say 'Thanks for loving me.' They're graceful, sophisticated, and feminine.

Orange roses purr like a playful young tiger. They tell of desire, exuberance and excitement. They’re a fervent, high-energy way to say, 'Let's keep heading down this road and see where it takes us.'

White roses whisper of honor, innocence, and a quietly revered relationship. If red roses boldly proclaim the fire of passionate love, white roses murmur of a new, deeper intimacy and a simmering desire to be together forever.

The uncommon lavender rose expresses a sense of mystery and enchantment, a serendipitous 'love-at-first-sight' to your true princess.

Yellow roses are in the platonic zone. Their sunny brightness affirms a warm friendship based on mutual delight, comfort, and easy affection. Yellow roses are special for good friends, sisters, mothers and mothers-in-law (real or prospective). Yellow roses are a heartfelt hug, a firm kiss on the cheek.

The less-common peach rose is similar to yellow roses in its meaning, with an added layer, perhaps, of admiration and fondness.

So far, so good? Just a few more tips before you call the florist:

• Long-stemmed roses are the most meaningful, a symbol of perfection. They make an impressive bouquet and elegant presentation tucked into that unmistakable white box.
• A single rose in full bloom—of any color—is very special, the ultimate gift. It announces your utter devotion.
• Two entwined roses sensuously symbolize lovers pledging their long-term loyalty.
• A mix of red and white roses is special, indeed—it speaks of your unity, your emotional engagement with each other. And it is a strikingly beautiful combination.
• A dozen roses is the gold standard. Two dozen roses is, therefore, the extravagance, the gesture meant to impress.
• A half-dozen roses is a lovely gift that is appreciated as much as a dozen. It certainly does not suggest any less love. A woman who thinks so simply doesn't deserve them.
• Smaller sweetheart roses are appropriate for new loves and girlfriends whom you do not want to frighten off with the more possessive tone of long-stemmed roses.