With Valentine’s Day around the corner, my mind immediately goes to the classic movie scenes where the big romantic gesture is a bright bouquet of flowers.

When I first found out that different types of flowers and their colors have particular meanings, I was so excited. I thought you could send secret messages under the guise of a romantic gesture– it seemed like the perfect way for spies to communicate!

I later found out that it was a little more complicated than a flower corresponding to a single word or idea, but the idea of communicating through flowers still seems like a fun idea. Here are the meanings of some of the most common flowers found in bouquets this time of year:

Red Rose

This classic romantic flower is used to express many strong emotions, particularly love, desire, and respect. Twelve roses together are often used to say, “I love you.”

Iris

Irises are frequently used to represent royalty, wisdom, and hope. The most commonly seen color is purple, but these flowers come in various other colors like blue, yellow, pink, white, and many more.

Lily

White lilies are associated with purity and virtue, and the other varieties can mean thing like devotion, humility, and innocence. Lilies are also often used in funerals to symbolize the soul of the dead reaching renewed innocence, but maybe don’t think about that on Valentine’s Day?

Sunflower

Like their namesake, the sun, these flowers are seen to represent happiness. These flowers have also been used to show admiration, longevity, and loyalty.

Tulip

Tulips usually hold the meaning of true and perfect love, especially when the flowers are red. Yellow tulips imply cheerfulness, and variegated tulips represent beautiful eyes.

Daisy

Simple and pretty, these classics express purity and innocence, and are sometimes used as a symbol of new beginnings.

Gardenias

Often used at weddings, Gardenias represent love, refinement, and purity.

Lavender

Lavender has the symbolic meanings of grace, elegance, and refinement.

Hydrangeas

The meaning of this flower differs from place to place and person to person, which could make them a bit of a risky choice – or leave you free to define them for yourself. Some of the most frequent interpretations are gratitude and, less helpfully, vanity – but the flowers can convey any truly sincere sentiment.

As fun as it can be to think about the meanings of flowers, make sure you don’t take it too seriously and start over-analyzing things!

Sometimes you just like flowers because they’re pretty and smell good, and the meanings people have given them shouldn’t impact that.

Also, feel free to buy yourself flowers this Valentine’s Day. Just because they are a traditional gift doesn’t mean that you can’t get some for yourself just to enjoy the way they look or smell.

Happy Valentine’s Day!