There is a great way to express your feelings without the need for words. A single bloom, or a huge bouquet of flowers given to the person you love, can really speak volumes. And the great thing is that flowers can symbolize far more than just love. Sympathy, apology, support, remembrance, thanks and more can all be conveyed using the language of flowers.
Humans have been using the language of flowers (floriography) for centuries. Flowers have been used in legends and stories by the Ancient Romans, Greeks, Chinese and Egyptians. In the Middle Ages we can see the first instances of flowers being given as gifts. French and English people visiting Turkey, in the middle of the 1700s, first discovered a complete language of flowers. Victorians used flowers to express emotions they weren’t comfortable conveying with words. So as you can see, flowers have been part of our culture for many years.
When you’re celebrating a golden wedding anniversary flowers can be used to express your feelings of devotion, friendship, tenderness, passion and warmth. What ever feelings you wish to convey to your beloved, or a special couple of friends, flowers can be used to great effect.
Traditionally, giving flowers has been a bit of a one way street, but modern men are now beginning to appreciate this kind of anniversary present for him.
Why not give a rose to celebrate a golden wedding anniversary?
There is only one downside that we can think of when it comes to giving golden wedding anniversary flowers, and that’s the fact that their beauty very quickly fades. Which means your message will be forgotten in a couple of weeks. One alternative we’ve discovered is the gift of a natural rose bloom that’s been dipped in a precious metal. For a golden wedding gift this metal can of course be gold. Giving someone a rose bloom dipped in gold means the gifts meaning will last for a lifetime and far beyond. Orchids can also be dipped in a precious metal to preserve their beauty for a lifetime, making it an equally memorable gift. Whether you choose an orchid or a rose, golden wedding couples will surely be delighted with the quality of the gift.
If you decide you’d prefer to give the anniversary couple a living plant there are a few things you should bear in mind when making your purchase.
Tips on choosing golden wedding anniversary flowers
There are lots of reasons why choosing flowers for your golden wedding anniversary gift is a good step to take.
- There are a number of plants and flowers with names that can be linked to such as special occasion. You might even find one that bears the same name as the couple in question or your partner.
- You can pick a flower that blooms every year at the same time, preferably on the wedding anniversary date.
- Many people have a prefered plant, flower, scent or colour, so you can easily pick their favourite one.
When buying living plants or flowers you should bear the following in mind:
- Is their garden big enough to accommodate a plant that will need an increasing amount of space? If they haven’t got a garden can it be grown in a container on the patio or indoors?
- Is the soil in the recipients garden the right kind for optimum growth? Most plants will thrive if their growing conditions are perfect. Rhododendrons and camellias for example, much prefer an acidic soil. If the soil isn’t perfect there is always the option of growing in a container.
- If the anniversary couple only have a small backyard then a house plant might be a better choice.
- Picking the most perfect flowers or plants for the recipients isn’t always easy, and if you can’t decide then your best option is to give them a gift voucher to spend in their local garden centre.
A golden wedding anniversary rose and other traditional plants and flowers
A 50th wedding anniversary, also known as the golden one, is a meaningful place to find yourself in a relationship, particularly where marriage is concerned. You’ve stayed together through thick and thin, times of abundance as well as times of scarcity, and your love has stayed strong, committed and beautiful. It’s doesn’t really matter what kind of flowers or plants you give as a gift, but for a golden wedding anniversary there are a couple that have become synonymous with such an occasion.
Yellow roses
Yellow roses aren’t traditionally associated with a golden anniversary, but have become very popular in recent years. A golden wedding anniversary rose bush that produces glorious yellow blooms would be a great anniversary gift. There are also plenty of varieties aptly named for such an occasion. For example:
- Golden celebration
- Wedding Day
- Golden Wedding
- Congratulations
- Warm Wishes
There is however, a traditional flower theme for a 50th wedding anniversary.
Violets
It’s not well known that this is the traditional flower for a golden wedding anniversary, which maybe why yellow roses have kind of taken over. Why violets? It’s been said that when Josephine married Napoleon she wore a string of violets, and every year after that he marked their anniversary with an arrangement of this particular flower. Violets symbolize virtue, modesty and faithfulness. Making them very appropriate for celebrating such a long lasting relationship.
Other plants
While violets and yellow roses have become very popular don’t feel you have to follow such a trend. There are plenty of other suitable golden wedding anniversary plants you can give to the couple. Far better than giving a bouquet, which has a tendency to fade after a couple of weeks, a living plant will last for a number of years. For example:
- Lemon tree
- Sunshine Japanese maple
- Golden King holly tree
- Rhododendron Golden Wedding
- Clematis Happy Anniversary
- Leycesteria Golden Lanterns
- Primula Gold Lace
Whether you choose a golden wedding anniversary rose bush, or some other kind of plant or flower, the anniversary couple are sure to be pleased with a gift that has been chosen with love and good intentions.