Say it with a flower
BY TRESA ERICKSON

You're getting married in a few months and the time has come for you decide on your bouquet. Maybe you want to carry a fresh hand-tied bouquet of wild flowers or perhaps you want something more traditional, like an allwhite gardenia bouquet. Whatever you choose, whether it be a single lily or a cascading bouquet of roses and lilies, you can make it meaningful.

Certain meanings have been attached to flowers since ancient times. Many Romans and Greeks chose specific flowers to celebrate special occasions. Centuries later, the Victorians took the concept a step further, using flowers to express intense emotions, like love. Flower dictionaries became quite common during the Victorian period.

Today the tradition of using flowers to express emotions has become popular once again. Many brides now pick flowers for their bouquets that express the way they feel about the groom and marriage in general. Some of these include:

Ambrosia- returned love

Bachelor's button- devotion, hope and love

Carnation- fidelity and love

Chrysanthemum- love and truth

Daisy- innocence Dittany of Crete- passion Fern- sincerity Forget-me-not- true love

Hawthorn- hope

Heliotrope- devotion and eagerness

Holly- domestic happiness Honeysuckle- bonds of love

Hyacinth- constancy

Ivy- fidelity, friendship and marriage

Orange blossom- chastity, eternal love and marriage

Plum blossom- ardent love

Rose- love

Stephanotis- happiness in marriage

Tulip- perfect love

Blue violet- faithfulness, love and loyalty

This is just a short list of the meanings of some flowers. For a more extensive list, conduct a search on the Web or contact your local florist.

Cultures throughout the world use flowers to communicate ideas and emotions that are sometimes difficult to express in words. With a bit of research and foresight, you can choose the right flowers for your bouquet and show everyone how you really feel.