The Meanings of A Single Rose

"In our life there is a single color, as on an artist's palette, which provides the meaning of life and art. It is the color of love."--Marc Chagall

The rose is the most popular flower of all. No other plant has had such a rich and romantic heritage as the rose, and no other flower has been interpreted in nearly as many ways as the rose. The most common emotion associated with the rose is affection and love. Even the single rose has various layers of meaning.

Although roses are sometimes presented in dozens, a single rose is the same effective in expressing deep feelings.

A single red rose promises life long devotion and love. The red rose speaks of a love that is unchanging and does not wither away. "I will always love you and all my affections are concentrated in you alone", the single red rose says.

A single white rose is interpreted to mean both purity as well as peace. White being the color of innocence and impeccability, the white rosebud seeks to convey innocent girlhood.

A single yellow rose expresses happiness and love. Sending a single yellow rose to your half means that you are happy with your love and relationship. But be careful because single white roses have two meanings! They can also express jealousy, so sending someone one can mean that you are jealous. The best thing to do is to attach a note to the rose, explaining exactly what you mean.

A single peach rose is used to send a message of friendship to a best friend or even to a lover.

A single purple rose expresses beauty. So if you want to tell someone he/she is beautiful send him/her a single purple rose.

A single pink rose is an elegant way of thanking someone because this is what pink roses transmit: gratitude.

A single black rose says 'it is over'. This is a way of ending a relationship - sending a single black rose together with a note.

A single rosebud speaks of innocent love. The unopened bud signifies great promises in the future, while stressing the essential purity of the present.

A single rose in any color is also symbolic of gratitude and simplicity. In full bloom a single rose speaks of an abiding love, or "I love you still". Unchanging and unalloyed, love continues to grow and become strong. A dark red rose means "unconscious beauty".

When the message you want to send is simple, use a single rose. Be it love, innocence, purity or gratitude, single roses have come to mean a lot in themselves. Though each single rose will carry an intonation of its color in it's meaning, a single rose seeks to concentrate all emotions on a single object, and tries to express a single affection in greater depth.

To find out meanings of different rose numbers, please go to The Meanings of the Numbers of Roses for more information.

To find out meanings of different rose colors, please go to The Meanings of Rose Colors for more information.