8 Flowers That Symbolize Life

Flowers have such a long history. Not only are they beautiful, but also full of meaning, and each flowering plant is different. Interestingly, a flower can each have two meanings depending on the culture, color, size, or circumstance. Although there are likely hundreds of flowers that can symbolize life, here we have eight! Follow along to discover 8 flowers that symbolize life and some fun facts about each!

1. Peony

The first flower on our list is the peony. Peonies are stunning flowers native to Asia, Europe, and Western North America. There are at least 20 species, and a lot more cultivars and hybrids. Peonies are grown in many gardens for their showy, sweet-smelling flowers. They produce pink, purple, red, white, or yellow flowers with a short blooming season, sometimes running for less than a week.

So, what do peonies represent? Peonies symbolize many things including life, love, happiness, goodwill, and wealth. Interestingly, they are also linked to bashfulness. Although peonies themselves don’t represent life as a whole, the flowers are given to someone as a sign of hope. These gorgeous and fluffy flowers are perfect to gift someone that is starting a new chapter in their life. You can give these flowers to someone who is grieving, moving to a new place, or made a career decision.

2. Camellia

Camellia flowers are just as vibrant and showy as peonies. They are a genus of flowering plants within the family Theaceae. These large flowers are hard to miss. There are hundreds of varieties and cultivars in the world. Although camellia flowers are popular in floral shops in the United States, they are native to tropical and subtropical areas in eastern and southern Asia. Camellia flowers aren’t just grown for their showy behavior, but also as a tea plant, specifically the species Camellia sinensis.

If someone’s gifted you a camellia flower or plant, you likely want to understand the meaning. Camellia flowers have multiple meanings. They can represent love and affection, although this is usually only associated with deep red camellias. On the contrary, white camellias represent innocence and purity, which may explain why they are so popular at weddings. This flower also symbolizes life and its successes, tragedies, and connections.

3. Sunflower

Sunflowers hold a lot of meanings, and it’s easy to understand why. These dazzling flowers vary in size and appearance but are typically known for their large yellow flower heads that point to the sun. Sunflowers are native to North, Central, and South America. They are vibrant, tall, and not always yellow. These tall annual or perennial plants may reach as high as 10 feet or more.

Sunflowers represent many things, including life. They are long-lasting and tall plants. A popular meaning behind sunflowers is long life and lasting happiness. They are given to friends, family members, and loved ones for success. Sunflowers are commonly given at graduations, birthdays, and going away parties. Not only do sunflowers represent life, but also positivity, warmth, peace, and good fortune. These flowers can represent facing adversity and standing tall against fear. 

4. Chrysanthemum

Next on our list of flowers that symbolize life is the Chrysanthemum, which is a genus of flowering plants. These showy flowers are native to East Asia and northeastern Europe, although most species are found in China. Chrysanthemums, also sometimes called mums, were first cultivated as far back as the 15th century BC. By the 1600s, there were over 500 recorded Chrysanthemum cultivars. As you can tell, they’ve been popular for many years!

Chrysanthemums symbolize different things depending on the culture. For example, in China, these flowers represent good fortune, happiness, and vitality. They are planted throughout the Lunar New Year celebrations. In Japan, Chrysanthemums are found throughout old artifacts, art, and writing. Chrysanthemums have appeared on kimonos for centuries. These popular fall-bloom flowers also represent life and longevity, like sunflowers, for their later blooming time. Interestingly though, some people believe that Chrysanthemums can bring bad luck if you place them on grave sites.

5. Rose

The fifth flower on our list is the rose. Who says roses only need to represent love and passion? Roses are gorgeous flowering plants known for their intense, sweet-smelling, and showy flowers. Although most people think of red roses, these lovely flowers come in many different colors and shapes. There are easily tens of thousands of cultivars. Some are even designed for indoor small spaces. Roses have a very wide range, although most species are native to Asia. Their beauty though isn’t what sets them apart from other flowers, it’s the multitude of meanings behind the simple plant.

Roses can signify dozens of things, including life. A popular meaning, other than love, is resurrection and birth. The flowers can be used as a symbol of overcoming difficulty, like the thorns on the stem of the flower. The color of the rose may change the meaning too. For example, orange roses represent energy and desire, while yellow flowers are more for friendship and joy. Roses can also represent grief and heartache. Dark crimson red roses are sometimes displayed at funeral services. Black roses may also represent grief and loss.

6. Lavender

The next flower on our list is lavender. This lovely herb isn’t just beautiful, but also sweet smelling and used in teas and other foods. Lavender plants are technically a genus of flowering plants within the family Lamiaceae. This stunning flower is very common and easy to grow. Lavender plants need plenty of sunlight and well-draining soil to thrive. It grows as both an annual and a perennial.

Lavender plants symbolize healing, purity, resistance, confidence, royalty, health, peace, and elegance. Since purple is the color of royalty, this plant is often used as a decoration to elevate a space and make it more elegant and graceful. Lavender flowers have a lot of healing properties and have been used for centuries as medicine. While lavender doesn’t represent life alone, it symbolizes healing and health, which can elongate life.

7. Iris

When making a list of flowers that symbolize life, there is no way to leave out irises. These fragrant flowers are very unique. They differ in size, shape, and color. Some flowers are solid-colored, while others have distinct markings. Irises are very showy flowers. They are members of the family Iridaceae. The flowers are almost fan-like and are red, pink, yellow, white, black, and purple. Some are even orange and brown.

The meaning behind an iris depends on the culture. However, irises typically represent strength and hope. Sometimes, this strength and hope is against a life-changing event. The flowers can also represent wisdom and tranquility. You can give these flowers to someone you want to send a message to. Yellow irises are great to gift friends and let them know that you want them in your life. Yellow also represents joy and excitement.

8. Lily

Lilies are also flowers that symbolize life. They are vibrant and sweet-smelling herbaceous flowering plants that are very common in spring gardens. They grow from bulbs and represent a long list of things. Lilies are tall plants, that can reach anywhere from 2 to 6 feet tall. The flowers bloom in spring and early summer. They are typically white, pink, or yellow, but some cultivars are orange, red, or purple.

Lilies, like other plants on this list, have many meanings that change depending on the color and species. For example, white lilies represent life, purity, innocence, and peace, while pink lilies represent positivity, energy, and youth. Interestingly though, lilies in general represent life and rebirth because of the fresh scent of the flower.

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