In the Victorian era, people communicated their feelings through the subtle art of floriography, sending coded messages with flowers. This practice allowed individuals to express sentiments they couldn’t vocalize openly. For instance, gifting a full blooming rose signified an open confession of passionate love. However, rosebuds carried different meanings. A white rosebud symbolized “a heart ignorant of love” and represented girlhood, while a red rosebud conveyed the message of “pure and lovely.”———— Beyond Western traditions, roses hold significant cultural importance in the East as well. One particularly poignant piece of folklore tells of the nightingale’s love for the rose. According to this legend, the rose queen was originally snowy white, encircled by protective thorns. An amorous nightingale, enchanted by her beauty, pressed his heart against the thorns in a fit of passion. His blood trickled into the rose’s bosom, dyeing it crimson. So does it embody the essence of loving through thick and thin, embracing even the thorns of the beloved? :)