Do you know the dilemma when you should choose the right flower, but all of them seem nice and you are stuck in a hallway of colors? If you get to know flower symbolism, it will be much easier for you to pick a flower that will send the message you had in your mind initially. Whether you want to express your deepest emotions, get connected with someone on another level, show off your support, respect, or any other type of emotion, you can do this by giving flowers. As ancient cultures also used flowers to do so, why wouldn’t you? Keep that sweet sense of mystery and secrecy, as not everybody has to know what are you up to.
The first reason why flowers gained so much influence was the fact they were simply adorable and ancient people couldn’t stay immune to their appearance.
However, as the time passed by, people have different attributes to different flowers. For example, some of them seemed so fragile and gentle, but they still carried strong emotions and endured tough conditions and climates.
Flower symbolism today is as important as in the ancient times, even more. You can see flower emblems all around – on clothes, badges, various organization symbols, national marks, etc. There are almost no cities that don’t have a flower that represents their culture, climate, area, or something much meaningful than it seems at first glance.
Today we will talk about the beautiful Gardenia flower that is one of the most beautiful flowers of all times. Gardenia flowers also have a strong symbolic meaning and it shows off natural beauty and its perfection.
What Is The Meaning of the Gardenia Flower?
Flowers hide their meanings, but we still can figure out what each flower represents thanks to the ancient writings, legends, and myths that exist about them. If some flower had a negative meaning, people avoided it as they didn’t want to send negative messages to other people.
Flower meaning makes respected cultural heritage and that is the reason why we strongly believe in stories and meanings of flowers our ancestors told us.
The main meanings of the Gardenia flower are:
• Clarity,
• Trust,
• Dreams,
• Renewal,
• Hope,
• Beauty.
Gardenia flower means trust and you can give this flower to anyone close to you whom with you have a strong and unbreakable connection. Trust is one of the hardest things to achieve when being friends with someone, as it takes time. The very fact that you gained trust in someone means you both invested your time and emotions into building such connection you have.
You can give the Gardenia flower to your partner also, as we all know how important trust is when building a relationship that leads to marriage.
If you don’t trust your partner or vice versa, then you two would probably be on the rocky road until you both settle things.
However, if you two do have trust in each other and respect each other, then it means you two are made for each other. Give the Gardenia flower to your partner to show them your bond is strong and that nothing can change the way you feel about that person.
Another meaning of the Gardenia flower is clarity. Sometimes we don’t have to speak things out loud, but a person close to us will understand how we feel. Still, if you would want to make everything open and clear, give the Gardenia flower to a person you want to express your emotions and thoughts. Giving the white Gardenia flower is the best way to set everything clear with another person.
Gardenia flower also symbolizes dreaming and dreams. Its symbolic is strong either way, but if you dream of the Gardenia flower, then there is a strong message for you coming from the dream, so you should try to interpret it in whole.
This gorgeous flower is also a symbol of new things, opportunities, and renewals in your life. If you know someone who has plans on making a giant step in their lives and starts off something completely new, give that person the Gardenia flower. Gardenia flower might symbolize renewals in romantic ways also, especially if you would want to get to the next stage in your relationships, or if you eventually want to settle the old things down and bring in some positive change in your relationship.
It is believed that the Gardenia flower means leaving all negative things in the past. It is very important not to lose hope and believe that each new day is a blessing. Gardenia flower reminds us to never look back but to always look in the future as the better days are coming. Past is there to teach us lessons so we don’t repeat the same mistakes in the future and make better choices, but the past should never lay stress on us.
There is no way you can ignore the beauty of the Gardenia flower. This flower definitely comes in the most perfect forms, shapes, and colors. Many prominent artists appreciate the beauty of the Gardenia flower as it leaves you under a strong impression and captivates your attention for a while. If you want to express your admiration for someone’s beauty, give that person the enchanting Gardenia flower.
The Etymological Meaning of the Gardenia Flower
Gardenia flower is named after Alexander Garden. This man was a physician, correspondent to John Ellis, botanists, and zoologists. He was of Scottish origin but lived in Carolina (United States) in 18 century.
However, even though the flower got its name after Alexander Garden, it was Carolus Linnaeus who classified the genus of the Gardenia flower. There is no bombastic legend or a myth behind the Gardenia flower’s name, but it doesn’t change a thing when we talk about its rich symbolical value and meaning.
The Symbolism of the Gardenia Flower
We can’t decide what is more beautiful about the Gardenia flower – its large petals, color, or a fragrance. Flowers of this beautiful plant are one of the most common decorations for weddings, wedding bouquets, accessories in young, silky hair, and sometimes even ornament bridal gowns.
The first Gardenia flower grew more than three centuries ago. This flower’s natural habitat are Japan, Taiwan, and China. Gardenia flower was used to make a yellow dye for food and fabric coloring in China, while the Gardenia flower’s fruits were believed to cure anxiety, depression, and infection according to Chinese medicine.
The genus of the Gardenia flower comes from the Rubiaceae family of plants, which includes more than 60 species growing in Asia and Africa. One of the most popular species from Japan in China, Gardenia jasminoides came to Europe in 1754, but it is possible to grow it in the gardens only. The Europeans found varieties of Gardenia Plate and low Radicans truly interesting.
Gardenia flower is an evergreen plant and grows in shrubs from 1 to 15 m of height. Its leaves are dark green, scarlet, and glossy, up to 10 cm in length, and have skinned texture. White Gardenia flowers are white, scented, and wax and bloom from May to September. Even though some of them will wither in time, this won’t affect Gardenia flowers beauty. The scent of the Gardenia flower is a bit dull and might remind you of the smell of the Jasmine flower. You can find single Gardenia flowers or hybrid species that come with double flowers and have a couple of layers of petals, looking very rich. Flowers of Gardenia carry strong and deep emotional meaning and are associated with joy, beauty, sophistication, purity, and secret love.
Gardenia flower is a traditional plant for special occasions in France, while the British used to believe this flower brought good luck and good chances to nay man. What is more, the Gardenia flower is proclaimed to be a national flower of Pakistan. Billy Holiday, a popular jazz singer, picked the Gardenia flower to be her trademark and wore this flower in her hair while performing. Gardenia was the favorite flower of Sigmund Freud. It is used for flower arrangements and decorations, but the Gardenia flower is widely used in the production of perfumes too.
Gardenia Flower – Color and Meaning
Color can emphasize and merge symbolic of a certain flower a lot, but sometimes the color might turn out to symbolize something completely different than it looks like at the first glance. Some flowers come in a wide spectrum of colors, while the Gardenia flower comes in only one – white.
However, don’t let this single color trick you to think its symbolical value is less important.
We already told you about the rich meaning and symbolism of the Gardenia flower in the previous paragraphs. As the Gardenia flower comes in white color only, that means it is a complete carrier of clarity, sincerity, purity, and innocence. White is the color of religious ceremonies and weddings. Gardenia flower is a delicate flower and its color and symbolism go perfectly with each other, emphasizing the true meaning and importance of this flower.
Botanical Characteristics of the Gardenia Flower
Gardenia flower is generally not difficult to grow, especially Grimian Gardenia and Gardenia jasminoides.
However, blossoming of this gorgeous flower does require a lot of attention and care. Gardenia flower grows up to 450 mm in height if you grow it as a greenhouse or a garden plant. Provide it with fair humidity and give it enough light, but never expose your Gardenia flowers to direct sunlight.
When growing the Gardenia flower indoors, make sure to provide 16 to 24 ° C temperature, as this is an optimal temperature for these flowers during the whole year. The first buds of the Gardenia flower will develop in the late spring and summer. Eventual sudden changes in temperature will trigger a shock and probably withering of the plant.
Water your Gardenia flowers through all year, especially in the summer, but make sure to water it with the room temperature water. You can also sprinkle the plants from time to time but stay away from flowers and buds, as this will probably damage their color.
Acidic fertilizer is required going from March to September if you are growing your Gardenia flowers in pots. Still, the Gardenia flower doesn’t like acidic and tap water. In case roots of your Gardenia flowers appear on the surface, you should transfer the plant to a soil made of leaf and moss. Forest soil and clay soil are great for growing the Gardenia flowers. You might be surprised by the fact you will stimulate the growth of your Gardenia flowers by trimming it.
It is a bit hard to grow the Gardenia flower in your home, as you need optimal temperature (which is not that difficult to achieve), but you also need high humidity for the plant to flourish – which makes the catch. Once your Gardenia flowers start flourishing, add liquid nutrition to it every 14 days. If you want to shape the plant well, remove muddled branches in March and trim the buds.
The eventual problem that might occur during the Gardenia flower growth is that the buds might drop before the flower opens. The main reason for this is low humidity in the air so make sure to put the pots with plants on wet limestone. Next issue is appearing of woolen clumps on the leaves of your Gardenia flower. You can easily solve this by spraying the leaves with insecticide or by wiping the leaves with methyl alcohol.
Another problem that might happen with the leaves is yellowing. Sometimes the leaves might go yellow even undersides of the flower. The cure for this is to ensure air humidity and to spray the plant with Acaridae and insecticide again.
Gardenia Flower – Fun Facts
If you don’t water your hands a bit before touching the Gardenia flower, it might damage the petals. What is more, the flowers might turn to a brown color in case you touch them.
Gardenia flower doesn’t last long as a cut flower in a vase.
Some species of the Gardenia flower might come in pale yellow color.
Conclusion
The main lesson the Gardenia flower is teaching us is to always be on the side of love, honesty, and innocence.
Be kind to people you love and try not to ever disappoint or hurt them. Respond with the same love and same respect they are giving to you.
Gardenia flower is indeed gentle, beautiful, and elegant flower, which makes it an appropriate gift for any occasion.
