People are always asking me about the symbolism of rose colors. I got thinking about it, and if you wanted to, you could plan monochromatic gardens just by the meanings of those colors.

Did you know that red and white roses given together signify unity? Or a single rose of any color depicts utmost devotion? Or that two roses entwined together signify a marriage proposal? Red and yellow roses given together mean joviality and happy feelings.

You can choose a meaning behind the colors of the roses to plan gardens that can have more spiritual significance.

Red Rose Meanings

Take red, for example. Until I began growing roses, I never realized that there are more shades of red than Crayola can pack in the crayon box! And now, different shades of red can have different meanings.

A single red rose means ‘I love you.’ Your garden variety red can mean love, beauty, courage, and respect. Also, job well done, sincere love, respect, and passion. A dark red rose or a burgundy rose means unconscious beauty (does that mean knocked-out beautiful?). You could plant a garden with all kinds of red roses in it and it just might be an amazing display!

‘Veteran’s Honor,’ ‘Mister Lincoln,’ ‘Liebeszauber,’ ‘Firefighter,’ ‘Legends’, and ‘American Spirit’ are really pretty red hybrid teas. My favorite deep burgundy rose has to be ‘Black Magic.’ ‘Black Cherry’ is a beautiful red floribunda with gorgeous, shiny green foliage. ‘Shenandoah’ is a fabulous red exhibition-type miniflora that just sparkles in the garden. ‘My Hero’ and ‘Super Hero’ are fantabulous easy-care shrubs.

Rose Gardens: White Rose Meanings

Next, there are the white roses and here is what they symbolize: purity, innocence, silence (?), secrecy, reverence, humility, youthfulness, ‘I am worthy of you,’ and heavenly. Boy, that certainly runs the gamut!

‘Crystalline,’ ‘Sugar Moon,’ ‘Pope John Paul 2,’ ‘John F. Kennedy,’and ‘Home and Family’ are all lovely hybrid tea roses. ‘Moondance’ is a perfect floribunda, and ‘Gourmet Popcorn’ is like a mini rose on steroids. Classified as a shrublet, it is an explosion of white all summer. ‘Constellation’ is a sparkling mini rose with diamonds in the petals for the front of the border. I might call a white garden the ‘Moonbeam Garden.’

Pink Rose Meanings

Moving along to pink roses makes me very happy because I just love pink roses! Here are the hidden meanings of pink roses: appreciation, thank you, grace, admiration, gentleness, gladness, and sweetness. Yup!! That’s just how I feel about them! There are a gazillion pink roses, and I’ve never seen one I haven’t liked!

Here are a few of my favorites for you:

‘Falling in Love,’ ‘Bride’s Dream,’ ‘Memorial Day,’ ‘Bewitched,’ ‘Electron,’ ‘Elle,’ and ‘New Zealand’ are awesome hybrid teas. ‘Sexy Rexy’ and ‘Belinda’s Dream’ are very pretty floribundas. ‘Flawless’ is a sweet miniflora with perfect form, and so is ‘Amy Grant.’ ‘Cecile Brunner’ is an old climber that will swallow any structure you tie her to, and ‘Pearly Gates’ is gorgeous on an arbor. Do you think these would make a lovely ‘Garden of Grace?’

Rose Gardens: Yellow Rose Meanings

Yellow roses are bright beacons in the garden. The symbolism behind the color yellow is as follows: joy, gladness, friendship, delight, promise of a new beginning, welcome back, remember me, and I care. Yellow can also mean jealousy, but I can’t imagine a jealous person sending roses, can you?

Some awesome yellow hybrid teas to plant in the garden are ‘Gold Medal’ (a large, perfect bloom with a light fragrance), ‘Summer Love’ (big, golden, and ruffly), ‘Elina’ (moonbeam yellow, huge exhibition blooms), ‘Sunny Delight’ (beautifully shaped sunshiny-yellow blooms), and ‘Sunshine Daydream’ (a gorgeous, very disease-resistant grandiflora).

A few of my favorite yellow floribundas are: ‘Lime Sublime’ (greenish-tinged at first, fading to soft yellow), ‘Shockwave’ (golden and very profuse), ‘Sunsprite’ (with a sweet fragrance), ‘Walking on Sunshine’ (with contrasting dark stamens in the open blooms), and ‘Sparkle and Shine’ (produces very beautiful sprays)

We can’t forget ‘Julia Child’ which the gourmande chose herself!! It has a beautiful fragrance and great disease resistance. My favorite yellow climber/shrub is ‘Flutterbye.’ The single blooms present in large clusters, beginning as yellow and then changing to peach, pink, and finally to ivory. Other nice yellow climbers are ‘Lemon Meringue,’ ‘Sky’s the Limit,’ and ‘Golden Showers.’ Some lovely mini roses to balance out the border are ‘Sweet Amy’, ‘Pacific Serenade’ and ‘Baby Love.’ I might call a yellow garden the Garden of Hope.

Rose Gardens: Orange Rose Meanings

Orange roses really make the garden pop! Their brilliance is hot and gives real sizzle to the garden. Orange roses signify desire, enthusiasm, and fascination.

By the way, I just love orange roses in rose gardens!! Some really great hybrid teas are ‘Tropicana’ (the first orange rose, with coral-y undertones), ‘Cary Grant’ (so bright, he calls me from across the yard!), ‘About Face’ (with a bronzy reverse on the petals), ‘Fragrant Cloud’ (huge blooms with an amazing fragrance), and ‘Octoberfest’ (with amazing, award-winning long-stemmed sprays).

Favorite floribundas include, ‘Pumpkin Patch’ (brilliant sprays), ‘Marmalade Skies’ (glowing, light orange), ‘Hot Cocoa’ (deep and dark orange with super-shiny, dark green foliage), ‘Cinco de Mayo’ (a bouquet on every stem, full of ruffly blooms), and ‘Livin’ Easy’ (compact bushes with brilliant blooms).

My favorite orange floribunda is ‘Tuscan Sun.’ It grows tall and is almost completely covered with perfect clusters of bloom all summer. ‘Westerland’ is a fabulous climbing orange shrub with a great repeat all summer long. ‘All a-Twitter’ is a brilliant orange mini, but give it plenty of room as it grows as tall as a hybrid tea! My favorite orange miniflora is ‘Powerhouse.’ Its color is so amazing that it compels you to come closer. I might call an orange bed the Salsa Garden.

Peach Rose Meanings

Peach roses signify appreciation, closing the deal, let’s get together, sincerity, gratitude, and modesty. I love the peachy blooms; they bring a soft glow to the garden.

Some of my favorite peachy hybrid teas are: ‘Sunset Celebration’ (lovely form), ‘Marilyn Monroe’ (looks like porcelain), ‘Tahitian Sunset’ (rich and glowing, great form), and ‘Over the Moon’ (a rich, warm apricot). ‘Pretty Lady’ is a vigorous floribunda, and ‘Grand Prize,’ another floribunda, starts out peachy and fades to ivory.

‘Sally Holmes’ is a climber/shrub that starts with peachy buds that open to a single bloom, but there are so many blossoms that each stem makes a bouquet the size of a soccer ball! My favorite climber is a Romantica rose: ‘Colette.’ She blooms by the thousands and sends her sweet fragrance all through the house. I might call a peach rose bed the Friendship Garden.

Lavender Rose Meanings

Lastly, we introduce the lavender roses, always the most fragrant blooms in the garden. Lavender roses signify love at first sight, enchantment, or the unattainable.

Lavender, or mauve, roses are just beautiful. Here are some favorite hybrid teas: ‘Barbra Streisand’ (bicolor purple, deeper color in cool weather), ‘Heirloom’ (an older grandiflora with old-fashioned form), ‘Fragrant Plum’ (really fragrant!), ‘Neptune’ (HUGE, 6″ blossoms), and ‘Blue Girl'( nice clusters). I always keep a ‘Sterling Silver’ in a huge container and winter it over in the garage, because it was my dad’s favorite rose! I know, when it’s blooming, he’s smiling on me from heaven.

There is a new floribunda on the market called ‘Love Song’ and I am totally captivated by it! An old favorite is ‘Blueberry Hill.’ ‘Ebb Tide’ is a deep, dark, rich PURPLE!! So is the great, new grandiflora called ‘Twilight Zone.’ ‘Night Owl,’ ‘Purple Splash,’ and ‘Stormy Weather’ are awesome climbers that smell like roses and cloves.

And who can forget ‘Veilchenblau,’ an old garden rose, and once-blooming climber that drips with big purple clusters of blooms in June, almost like bunches of grapes! I might call a lavender/mauve rosebed the Blue Lantern Garden.

So there is some food for thought! Myself, I love to mix and match… for example, I think deep purple roses make a huge statement next to brilliant orange and yellow roses, but the great thing about gardens is that you can be as wild or as conservative as you like. After all, all God’s colors go together, don’t they? And, now we know what all those colors signify.