Welcome to Floriography! The article series allows you to understand the intricate language of flowers, and how they’re used. For this section, the next flower to cover is a classic: tulips.

Aside from roses, tulips are the ultimate flowers used for a romantic gift. They’re such highly valued flowers that countries such as the Netherlands, Canada, and Turkey held entire festivals celebrating this valued flower. The Netherlands considers tulips to be so valuable that it created the world’s first financial speculative bubble, leading Dutch tulip prices to skyrocket in this accurately named “tulip mania”. I can tell you that there’s hardly anything that can be as visually stunning as an entire rainbow field of tulips growing out in the fields. 

Tulips are also known to be highly practical, as they were used in both the medicinal and culinary fields during World War II, with tulip petals being used to substitute onions and garlic for soups, as well as tulip extracts for pain medications. They’re also well known for helping spread biodiversity, as their bulbs can help aerate the soil and once they’re pollinated, can improve ecosystems.

The overall symbolism in tulips is love and affection, making them perfect gifts for Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, or just appreciation for springtime itself. Their colors vary too, as they can range from red meaning deep passionate love, yellow for sunshine and happiness, to even white for forgiveness and apology. Overall, tulips are wonderful flowers and are recommended as gifts due to their versatility and ease of growth, and such can be the perfect gift for someone you care deeply about.