This Valentine’s Day, we are celebrating love across the world with roses at the heart – which, unsurprisingly, is where they’ve always been.
Looking back over history, people turned to the act of giving flowers during the Victorian Age. At this time, it was the choice of colour that conveyed the meaning and message – as to request a ‘date’ was unheard of! But it was St. Valentine, the luster of love, who ignited the annual celebration. He famously signed off a letter to his forbidden lover ‘from your Valentine’.
Typically, a pure red rose is said to represent romance, but this Valentine’s Day we wanted to defy these social norms and celebrate our peach-petalled Juliet (Ausjameson) rose. She follows in the footsteps of her eponymous namesake and defies all conventions with her apricot aesthetic. Nonetheless, the electric intensity embedded within these warm, gentle tones speak the language of love in appearance alone.
What's in a name?
The symbolism of the rose has only grown with the decades. We have seen it used within iconic pieces of architecture, literature and religious references and by the Shakespearean period, it had become a poetic standard for inclusion. In fact, one of William Shakespeare’s most famous lines contains reference to a rose and is coincidentally spoken by his romantic heroine, Juliet:
What's in a name? A rose by any other word would smell as sweet.
Throughout history, the rose has always been a gentle reminder of romance, appreciation and of true love. The natural partnership of ‘love’ and the ‘rose’ continues to be intertwined in today’s psyche; with the rose still reigning as the most powerful symbol of adoration.
Happy Valentine’s Day from us all at David Austin Wedding & Event Roses. May it be filled with lots of love, friendship and of course… roses x
