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Flowers are one of nature’s most magnificent gifts, so it’s no surprise there are so many flower quotes out there. A single bloom has the power to express love, bring joy, delight the senses, and elicit awestruck oohs and aahs from even the toughest of crowds. Therefore, comprising an infinite array of colours, shapes, sizes, textures, and so much more, flowers play a key role in all of the major events of our lives.
At the height of ‘tulip mania’ in 1630s Holland, a single bulb could sell for more than a house. But the value of flowers goes far beyond money. A 2005 Rutgers University study found that women who received flowers were still in a better mood three days later (read more in why flowers make you happy).
So it’s no wonder so much has been written about flowers. Here are our favourite flower quotes and captions, grouped by occasion, from poetry, prose and song.
Flower Quotes
Love and Romance Flower Quotes
“A single rose can be my garden… a single friend, my world.” ― Leo Buscaglia
“Love speaks in flowers. Truth requires thorns.” ― Leigh Bardugo
“Love is the flower you’ve got to let grow.” ― John Lennon
“A flower cannot blossom without sunshine, and man cannot live without love.” ― Max Müller
“True love is like little roses, sweet, fragrant in small doses.” — Ana Claudia Antunes
“If I had a single flower for every time I think about you, I could walk forever in my garden.” — Claudia Adrienne Grandi
“Love is like wildflowers; it’s often found in the most unlikely places.” — Unknown
“I equate peonies with love because they’re the first blooms of summer.” ― Isaac Mizrahi
“You can’t choose to adore the flower and ignore the thorns. Love means loving every part of them, especially the unlovable parts.” ― Sarvesh Jain
“I would far rather have two or three lilies of the valley gathered for me by a person I like, than the most expensive bouquet that can be bought.” — Elizabeth Gaskell
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Friendship Flower Quotes
“When two friends understand each other totally, the words are soft and strong like an orchid’s perfume.” ― Sara Jeannette Duncan
“In joy or sadness, flowers are our constant friends.” ― Okakura Kakuzo
“Gardens and flowers have a way of bringing people together, drawing them from their homes.” ― Clare Ansberry
“One sure way to lose another woman’s friendship is to try to improve her flower arrangements.” ― Marcelene Cox
“Give because you love to give – as the flower pours forth its perfume.” ― Charles Haddon Spurgeon
Birthdays Flower Quotes
“Every flower blooms in its own time.” ― Ken Petti
“Happiness is to hold flowers in both hands.” — Japanese Proverb
“Flowers leave some of their fragrance in the hand that bestows them.” — Chinese Proverb
“The flower that follows the sun does so even on cloudy days.” ― Archbishop Robert Leighton
“You’re only here for a short visit. Don’t hurry, don’t worry. And be sure to smell the flowers along the way.” ― Walter Hagen
“If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden.” — Frances Hodgson Burnett
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Sympathy and Remembrance Flower Quotes
“Even if the flower is no more, still, the fragrance can be.” ― Jaggi Vasudev
“In the garden of time grows the flower of consolation.” ― Russian proverb
“Flowers whisper ‘Beauty!’ to the world, even as they fade, wilt, fall.” — Dr. SunWolf
“May the petals teach me the art of letting go.” — Xan Oku
“Flowers seem intended for the solace of ordinary humanity.” ― John Ruskin
“For happiness one needs security, but joy can spring like a flower even from the cliffs of despair.” ― Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Happiness Flower Quotes
“The earth laughs in flowers.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Happiness radiates like the fragrance from a flower and draws all good things towards you.” ― Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
“Happiness held is the seed; Happiness shared is the flower.” ― John Harrigan
“A house with daffodils in it is a house lit up, whether or not the sun be shining outside.” ― A. A. Milne
“There are always flowers for those who want to see them.” ― Henri Matisse
“The orchid is Mother Nature’s masterpiece.” ― Robyn
“Where flowers bloom so does hope.” — Lady Bird Johnson
“Lilies bloom when we laugh together.” — Suyasha Subedi
“She had a beautiful laugh which was like rain water pouring over daffodils made from silver.” ― Richard Brautigan
“To be overcome by the fragrance of flowers is a delectable form of defeat.” — Beverly Nichols
“I must have flowers, always, and always.” ― Claude Monet
“A chrysanthemum by any other name would be easier to spell.” ― William J. Johnston
“The fragrance of the jasmine is like a dream.” ― Lailah Gifty Akita
“The fragrance of a Jasmine can stir up memories better than a thousand pictures.” ― Unknown
“A sunflower field is like a sky with a thousand suns.” ― Corina Abdulahm-Negura
“Never look directly at the sun, instead look at the sunflower.” ― Vera Nazarian
Growth and Life Flower Quotes
“If every tiny flower wanted to be a rose, spring would lose its loveliness.” ― Therese of Lisieux
“The flowers in your garden don’t smell as sweet as those in the wild, but they last much longer.” ― Chinese proverb
“Just living is not enough… one must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.” ― Hans Christian Andersen
“Flowers don’t worry about how they’re going to bloom.” ― Jim Carrey
“When a flower doesn’t bloom you fix the environment in which it grows, not the flower.” ― Alexander Den Heijer
“Like wildflowers; You must allow yourself to grow in all the places people thought you never would.” – E.V.
“Every flower must grow through dirt.” — Laurie Jean Sennott
“A flower does not use words to announce its arrival to the world; it just blooms.” — Matshona Dhliwayo
“A flower does not think of competing with the flower next to it. It just blooms.” — Zen Shin
“When admiring other people’s gardens, don’t forget to tend to your own flowers.” ― Sanober Khan
“She sprouted love like flowers, grew a garden in her mind, and even on the darkest days, from her smile the sun still shined.” ― Erin Hanson
“If you tend to a flower, it will bloom, no matter how many weeds surround it.” — Matshona Dhliwayo
“Open the bloom of your heart and become a gift of beauty to the world.” — Bryant McGill
“Be like a flower. Survive the rain but use it to grow.” — Unknown
“The flower which is single need not envy the thorns that are numerous.” ― Rabindranath Tagore
“Even the tiniest of flowers can have the toughest roots.” ― Shannon Mullen
“Wildflowers can’t be controlled, and neither can the girl with a soul boundless as the sky and a spirit as free and wild as the ocean.” — Melody Lee
“Roses do not bloom hurriedly; for beauty, like any masterpiece, takes time to blossom.” — Matshona Dhliwayo
“Minds are like flowers; they open only when the time is right.” — Stephen Richards
“One by one she slew her fears and then planted a flower garden over their graves.” ― John Mark Green
“ “Don’t wait for someone to bring you flowers. Plant your own garden and decorate your own soul.” — Luther Burbank
“Knowledge is a garden. If it isn’t cultivated, you can’t harvest it.” ― African Proverb
“Never be afraid to be a poppy in a field of daffodils.” ― Michaela DePrince
“Don’t let the tall weeds cast a shadow on the beautiful flowers in your garden.” — Steve Maraboli
“Politeness is the flower of humanity.” ― Joseph Joubert
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Flower Quotes from Famous Writers
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“A garden to walk in and immensity to dream in–what more could he ask? A few flowers at his feet and above him the stars.” ― Victor Hugo
“Then my heart with pleasure fills and dances with the daffodils.” – William Wordsworth
“A violet by a mossy stone half-hidden from the eye; Fair as a star, when only one Is shining in the sky.” ― William Wordsworth
“If the rose is a beautiful flower, it is also because it opens itself.” ― Charles De Leusse
“By plucking her petals, you do not gather the beauty of the flower.” ― Rabindranath Tagore
“Every flower is a soul blossoming in nature.” ― Gerard De Nerval
“The violet thinks, with her timid blue eye, to pass for a blossom enchantingly shy.” ― Frances S. Osgood
“The Amen of nature is always a flower.” ― Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
“What a lovely thing a rose is!” ― Arthur Conan Doyle
“Flowers preach to us if we will hear.” ― Christina Georgina Rossetti
“Flowers are the music of the ground. From earth’s lips spoken without sound.” — Edwin Curran
“I spent a lifetime in a garden one afternoon.” — Craig D. Lounsbrough
“Growing violets is rewarding, as they demand little and give so much in return.” ― Margaret Joan Roberts
“Pick a flower on Earth and you move the farthest star.” ― Paul A.M. Dirac
“Flowers are words that even babes may understand.” ― Arthur Cleveland Coxe
“That queen of secrecy, the violet.” — John Keats
“A lily or a rose never pretends, and its beauty is that it is what it is.” ― Jiddu Krishnamurti
“When you go to a garden, do you look at thorns or flowers? Spend more time with the roses and jasmine.” ― Rumi
“After women, flowers are the most divine creations.” ― Christian Dior
“Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it.” ― attributed to Mark Twain
Flower Captions for Instagram
When we buy or receive flowers, one of the first things we want to do is share them on Instagram. A great photo matters, and so does the perfect caption. Here are some ready to go.
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Short Flower Captions
Sunflower Sundays
Bloom with kindness
Always look for the flowers.
Bloom, even at sunset
Let your dreams blossom
Live life in full bloom.
Happiness blooms from within.
Always rooting for you.
Funny Flower Captions
Shine bright like a daisy
I daffodil love you
Good morning, my Dahlias
Let’s hibiscus it
Azalea, I dream of you
Fill me up, Buttercup
Puff the magic Snapdragon
Don’t be late, I Begonia
The truth Freesia
Peony but powerful
Let’s be orchid together
You made my daisy.
You’re simply Iris-istible
Put the petal to the metal
A peony for your thoughts?
Poppy love
Iris on a shooting star
Gardens of the Galaxy.
Garden and Spring Captions
Rain or shine, sunflowers reign
May you and your dreams blossom
Bloom where you’re planted
Spring has sprung
Bouquet and Gifting Captions
When in doubt, add flowers
Never fear, flowers are here
Stop and smell the roses
Just because
What to Write on a Flower Card
Sending flowers? Keep the card short and personal. Some ideas by occasion:
Love: “Every day with you is my favourite.”
Anniversary: “Here’s to us, and to many more years.”
Birthday: “Happy birthday, with love.”
Friendship: “Thanks for always being there.”
Thank you: “You made my day. Thank you.”
Get well: “Sending sunshine and a speedy recovery.”
Sympathy: “Thinking of you and holding you close.”
New baby: “Welcome to the world, little one.”
Congratulations: “You did it! So proud of you.”
Just because: “Thinking of you.”
For more ideas, see our Valentine’s Day messages and birthday wishes guides, and add a card or gift tag to your order.
Final Thoughts
The beauty of flowers boldly speaks for itself. In fact, just the rose alone has more than 30,000 varieties, each exquisite in its unique way. Furthermore, quotes from heartfelt prose and poetry composed to describe this indescribable beauty have the power to connect us all in our collective admiration of these wonders of nature.
Want to give flowers a little extra meaning? Learn the language of flowers in our floriography guide, or see the meanings behind every colour of rose. Then share the beauty with someone you love: we deliver fresh flowers across Australia, with same-day delivery when you order before the daily cut-off.