Making Amends: Your Guide to Apology Flowers
Have you hurt your partner’s feelings, or perhaps lied to your best friend? Everyone's capable of making mistakes, and apology flowers can be the bridge to help mend any relationship.
Flowers are mostly gifted during happy occasions, but they're also there for us during many of life's most difficult situations. They're a great way to convey genuine remorse and to show sincerity when you need to say you're sorry.
The question is, what flowers should you send? As we know, different flowers symbolise different things. So what are the flowers that mean "I'm sorry"? Keep reading to find out.
What are Apology Flowers and Why Send Them?
The tradition of giving flowers dates all the way back to the Ancient Roman Empire, to Ancient Greece and Ancient China. These societies all used flowers as a way to convey feelings and messages, including to say sorry.
Jumping ahead to the Victorian Age, when floriography was at its peak, we again find people using flowers as a means to speak words and feelings they cannot voice aloud. Fast forward again to the modern age, and we are still using flowers in the same way.
Just as there are flowers to convey love and joy and sympathy, there are flowers that can help us convey our apologies.
Apology flowers are blooms that help us show feelings of regret, strength, and understanding. Giving these flowers also helps us show courage and respect, and prevents grudges from forming. They are the ultimate way to show that you’re taking responsibility for your actions, and want to make amends with the person you have wronged.
When Should You Send Apology Flowers?
There are an infinite number of reasons you might need to apologise to someone. As such, there are also an infinite number of reasons to send apology flowers.
As florists, we see flowers being sent for a variety of different reasons. When it comes to those who send apology flowers, here are some of the reasons we see most often:
- Apologising to a girlfriend, boyfriend or spouse — After a heated argument, a bouquet of beautiful blooms can be the perfect way to apologise and show you aren't willing to let any bad feelings grow between you. Unfortunately, cheating is another common reason we see apology flowers being sent to a partner. While flowers can help apologise, they may not be enough to fix everything
- Apologising to a close friend after making a mistake — Perhaps you didn’t attend their birthday celebration even though there were promises made, or you said something you didn’t mean to say in the heat of the moment, or you were caught out in a lie. Gifting your bestie flowers tells alongside your apology tells them that you still value them, that you treasure their presence in your life, and appreciate the friendship
- Apologising to family members — You might have been extra snappy at your parents one morning and felt horrible about it. You might have missed a grandparents special event. You may have disappointed your mother in some way. These are all reasons to gift apology flowers, and can help remind family how deep your bonds go, regardless of what's happened.
What Colour Flowers Are Best for an Apology?
The meaning of flowers changes depending on their colour. There's no single colour that specifically represents an apology, so which colour flowers you send will depend on other factors, such as your relationship to the person you're apologising to and the specific situation.
- Red flowers, in particular red roses, are associated with love and passion. For this reason, red flowers are among the most popular blooms to send when apologising to a romantic partner
- White blooms are most commonly sent as sympathy flowers, and are perfect for showing how sorry you are about a situation. White blooms also symbolise rebirth, and can show that you’re hoping to start fresh with a clean slate and don’t intend on making the same mistakes
- Blue flowers show hope and truth, and are great for reminding a friend or partner that you told them the truth. It proves honesty and willingness to have mature discussions
- Pink shades signify that you’re thankful, devoted and appreciate someone. If you’ve had a series of arguments with a partner, these blooms are a pretty reminder that you still love them despite the difficult times. Pink blooms also signify non-romantic love and friendship, so are the perfect colour to send to your bestie or to your mother
- Yellow blooms are most suited to close friends, and mirrors the importance of your friendship together. They’re a lovely reminder of your commitment to the friendship. Yellow flowers tend to symbolise happiness as well, so are perfect for reminding someone of happier times and for simply brightening their day.
What Flowers Symbolise Apology?
While there is no single flower that symbolises apology specifically, there are several flowers with meanings associated with saying sorry, such as sincerity, honesty, rebirth and forgiveness.
Tulips
Tulips are timelessly elegant flowers with a variety of meanings, including rebirth, charity and love. The flower's meaning also changes depending on colour.
White tulips, in particular, symbolise forgiveness, honour, consideration and respect, making them the perfect apology flower. Red tulips symbolise passionate love, so may be given in apology to a romantic partner. Pink tulips symbolise care and affection, so gifting these to a friend or family member may be appropriate. Yellow tulips symbolise hope and happiness, symbolising your hope for forgiveness and the promise of happier days ahead.
Roses
Ever a classic, roses are the world's most popular cut flower. Red roses are timeless pillars of affection, and when given in apology may help show your romantic partner that you love them and don’t intend on repeating past mistakes. Red roses remind them that you’re passionate about them and that your feelings still burn brightly.
Roses come in many other colours, including pink, white, orange and yellow. As with tulips, the meanings change depending on their colours. Pink roses are associated with friendship and non-romantic love, orange and yellow are associated with happiness and excitement, and white roses symbolise purity and innocence. All may be appropriate apology flowers.
Daffodils
Daffodils are among the first flowers to bloom at the tail end of winter, and for this reason they're said to symbolise rebirth and new beginnings. They also symbolise truth, honesty and forgiveness, making them a perfect apology flower.
Daffodils are best for showing your deepest regrets to your partner or close friend. Bright and beautiful, the daffodil is also a symbol of joy and happiness, and a bunch of these sunny blooms will surely make anyone smile after any kind of disagreement.
Snapdragons
Known for their beautiful range of colours, snapdragons have bold double-meanings of gracefulness and deception, but they’re often used to show that you’re speaking your truth. Snapdragons can also work well as an apology flower when added to a bouquet of other blooms.
Hyacinths
Purple or blue hyacinths signify constancy, regret and sincerity. This makes them great apology flowers for letting that special someone know that you are truly sorry and that you're still hoping to be a constant in their life. Steer clear of yellow hyacinths though, which represent jealousy.
Carnations
Long-lasting carnations symbolise that you’ll never forget someone, and this can be incredibly powerful when using them as a means to apologise.
Yellow carnations represent rejection and disappointment, which can help show you're disappointed in yourself or the entire situation. Red carnations symbolise love and are a great option to send in place of red roses when you need to apologise to girlfriend, boyfriend or partner.
Statice
Also known as sea lavender, statice flowers represent remembrance and memory in the language of flowers. Gifting someone a bunch of statice said "I miss you" and that you were thinking of them. This makes statice a wonderful apology flower choice, particularly after a long time has passed and you want to reconnect with the recipient.
Lily of the Valley
Lily of the Valley flowers symbolise humility and sweetness. These beautiful, bell-shaped, pure white blooms also represent rebirth and new beginnings, so your recipient will truly understand that you intend on rebuilding the relationship and repairing any damage done.
Sunflowers
Sunflowers are cheery and delightful, but can also be given to offer a more playful apology. Gift sunflowers to someone after lighter disagreements, not necessary the bigger, more drawn-out or serious arguments. Sunflowers are also the perfect bloom to send if you want to put a smile on someone's face and help them forget that they're angry with you.
Send the Best Apology Flowers with Floraly
At Floraly, we have many breath-taking bouquets and posies to help you make amends. Shop our curated range of apology flowers today, and together let's make it up to that important person in your life.