The language of plants isn’t just one of beauty. Historically, herbs, flowers, trees and plants have been entwined with symbolism and meaning beyond just their physical properties. Spruce up your gift-giving this year by adding these plants to your wrapping endeavours or as an addition to houseplants.
Lovely Lavender
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Lavender has been a gift of offering, devotion and love for thousands of years. Consider essential oils, scented bath salts, dried lavender bags for cupboards, or lavenders to add to the garden.
Remembrance with Rosemary
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Rosemary is delicious and good for you but represents friendship, loyalty, and remembrance. For the loved ones you can always lean on and those whose paths might soon diverge from yours, rosemary is perfect for slipping beneath a ribbon or pin to a gift or even giving as a new herb to be planted.
Lucky Bamboo
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Bamboo is known for its strength, flexibility and growth. It’s a symbol of luck and good fortune and makes a unique and wonderful addition to indoor decor, like this lucky bamboo in a vase.
Snake Plants for Health
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Snake plants themselves are very resilient. They’re known for being hardy and healthy even in difficult times. Some people believe snake plants guard against bad luck and help with dust in the air.
Express Sympathy with Lillies
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Lilies have a long history of being associated with the soul and its movement to a state of peace or tranquillity. While lilies are commonly used to express sympathy, such as the passing of a loved one, they also represent peace and purity.
Wealth and fortune with Chinese Money Plants
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Not only is it in the name, but the leaves, too – this plant is named the Money Plant because its leaves look like coins. This plant is native to South China and is sometimes known as a ‘pass-along-plant’ that is regifted often. Steeped in its stigma for bringing fortune and money, it’s a welcome symbol in any home.
Fern of Happiness
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The symbolic connection between ferns and happiness comes from Slavic folklore. The story goes that they bloom only on the shortest night in a year; seeing one represents happiness and fortune forever should you spot one. That’s a welcome gift for any season, especially December.
Written by Stephanie Cookson
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