Flowers Archives | Beth Haley Design

Across the world and since ancient times, flowers have held special meaning. The ancient Greeks relied on flowers heavily in mythology as symbols in storytelling. In Victorian times, it was height of society to name your daughter after a flower to imbue purity, beauty, or grace. Modern society has taken the color of flowers, rather the type of flower, to represent different feelings: red means I love you, pink means I like you, yellow means let’s be friends. Yet, digging into the meaning of flowers, we’ve found the meaning of the flower varies greatly between colors and that a yellow iris represents passion but a yellow hyacinth represents jealousy.

In interior design, color is as integral as any element in the way it shapes the room atmosphere and creates a sense of space. While color theory in interior design is consistent between colors (yellow is yellow is yellow), there there is great variety in the way a pale sunlightended yellow and a bright lightning strike yellow feel. We often pick flowers for arrangements based on color and shape without regard to meaning. Uncovering the nuanced meaning of flowers adds another depth to design. A subtlety that might not be recognized by many but will be appreciated by some.

Let’s celebrate the start of spring with a peek at some of our favorite blossoms and their meaning.