I have finished pruning my roses which is always a good feeling. I happen to be one of those gardeners who cut their roses way back. Many seasoned gardeners blanch at the sight of my poor pruned roses, but year after year the few remaining branches throw out a profusion of new growth and vivid blooms. Of course, my rose bushes aren’t in bloom for Valentine’s Day. In fact, some years they aren’t even in bloom in time for Easter.
This article is not, however, about the pros and cons of rose pruning technique or even about the specific time of bloom, but rather about what it means when we gift roses to family and friends on Valentine’s Day, or on any special occasion, or perhaps just because.
Over the years we humans have endowed each differently colored rose with a special meaning. We have even designated meanings to various kinds of posies but that is for another time. Here are some of the more common rose colors and what they signify.
If you receive red roses for a special occasion, that would indicate romantic love, as well as respect and passion, while white roses, which are often used at weddings, denote purity, spirituality, new starts and happy love. Pink roses are a symbol of gratitude, appreciation, admiration, and perfect peace, and yellow roses are an expression of friendship, joy, delight, gladness, good health and (oops) jealousy (Hmm).
Of course, there are many color combinations, such as a white rose with a red tip, but to include all of those would require at least two pages of the newspaper, so, we’ll just stick to the basics.
There are even meanings in the number of roses you receive. For example a single rose of any color means simplicity, gratitude and devotion while two roses entwined say, “Marry me”. A bouquet of six roses indicates that the sender needs to be cherished and loved. If you are gifted with 11 roses, the message is that you are truly and deeply loved whereas 13 roses indicate you have a secret admirer.
There is certainly the possibility that whoever sends you roses has no idea what the color means and simply chooses one he/she likes. It is also possible that your significant other is a last minute gift-giver and that what you receive is all the florist had left. So don’t get too caught up in the meaning of the color of the roses you are presented. Be joyful (yellow roses), and happily (white rose) accept the gift of these beautiful flowers, even if you have to find them in your own rose garden.
The next Red Bluff Garden Club Meeting will be Feb. 28t, at 1 p.m. at the Red Bluff Methodist Church at 525 David Ave., Red Bluff. Visitors are always welcome.
The Red Bluff Garden Club Inc. is a member of Cascade District, California Garden Clubs, Inc. and Pacific Region, National Garden Clubs, Inc.
