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A picture may paint a thousand words, but in the world of romance a carefully chosen bouquet of flowers is the most eloquent statement of love.

It's thought that the floral language of love was first used in the harems of the Middle East where secrecy between lovers was paramount and flowers abundant. Flowers had individual meanings and could be used safely as romantic messengers. Even before this, however, folklore ensured that all over the world flowers had a mythic significance. The lotus flower, for example, has symbolized female fertility for more than 5,000 years.

It was during Queen Victoria's reign that the language of flowers, florigraphy', reached its height. Many floral dictionaries were published that assigned individual meanings to different blooms; it wasn't only the flower that was significant the way in which a posy was tied and presented also had a hidden meaning. An upside-down bouquet, for example, was a sure sign of rejection.

In Greek mythology, the rose was created by the goddess of love, Aphrodite, when her tears mixed with the blood of her lover Adonis. The Romans, too, adopted the rose as a symbol of love, with Cupid apparently offering a rose to the god of silence to keep Venus's romantic liaisons secret.

If you're sent roses, it's important to be aware that the color of the blooms in the bouquet is as significant as the choice of flower. Red roses are universally recognized as the floral messenger of love, but pink roses reveal less commitment and may signify that your admirer is not quite ready to declare their love. The arrival of yellow roses shouldn't raise any romantic hopes, as in modern times they have come to mean the affection of friendship rather than the passion of romantic love.

The combination of flowers you choose for your bouquet, whether it is to be sent to someone or taken down the aisle with you, can be a powerful way to give voice to your feelings.

Just as a bud has the potential to become an extravagant bloom, so courtship often blossoms into love and with such a comprehensive dictionary of meanings, a bunch of flowers can say so much to another. White flowers, for example, speak of innocence, and lilacs declare the first feelings of love in a relationship. If you know that your love can never be returned, however, the only flowers to send are yellow tulips, the messengers of unrequited love.

No bouquet is chosen more carefully than the bridal bouquet and even today, when flowers are chosen to make a statement of style,

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