More Than Just Roses: Flowers We Can Give on Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day is the day when we go flower or bouquet shopping. But why stop at just roses? Here are some flowers that are just as pretty!

When buying flowers for our partners on Valentine’s Day, it’s always a grand scramble for roses—especially, the big, fluffy Ecuadorian roses. Usually, red, then white, and finally, the pink ones run out, leaving people with the yellow ones (probably because in the language of flowers, yellow roses mean “friendship”).

Flowers have a language of their own—especially when combined—to form an eye-catching bouquet. So for those who ran out of roses or want to switch things up, here are other flowers that we can give our partners on Valentine’s Day other than roses.

1. Orchids

By gifting our partner an orchid, we are telling them that they are thoughtful, graceful, and refined. In some cultures, gifting ladies orchids means they are the epitome of love, charm, elegance, and fertility. In fact, the Philippines celebrates the orchids’ beauty with their very own orchid shows which the Philippine Orchid Society hosts usually at the Quezon City Circle!

But the best part of gifting our partners an orchid on Valentine’s Day is that the two kinds—the cymbidium and the dendrobium—thrive easily. As aerial plants, they draw their nutrients from the air and only need a spritz or two of water a day to make sure they don’t dry up. Many of them are also native to Philippine soil and climate, which makes them the perfect living room or kitchen flower.

2. Stargazers

Who doesn’t like receiving big, blooming flowers on Valentine’s Day? Stargazers can grow as big as our toddlers’ faces but still look charming with their bright and dark pink combination. Oftentimes, stargazer lilies are used in wedding centerpieces because of their size. They also come in different colors, like white and yellow with pink being the most common variant in the Philippines.

When gifting someone Stargazer flowers on Valentine’s Day, it means that we value their innocence and their purity of heart. But be careful—because those flowers are technically from the same family as lilies, they are especially toxic to cats.

3. Hydrangeas (Milflores)

In the Philippines, we know them as milflores. When clustered together and in a pot, they’re an adorable sight to decorate night tables or coffee tables. These flowers also come in different colors, with blue being one of the most common. A floral fun fact: did you know that Hydrangeas or the Milflores originally came from the Spanish?

Despite their dainty appearance, the milflores express a soulful and deep appreciation for the person we’re gifting them to. These flowers symbolize unity and togetherness which is worth celebrating—especially after long years of marriage or being serious about one another. The best part is that most flower shops here in the Philippines carry the flowers and sell them in pots so they last longer.

4. Baby’s Breath (Million Stars or Gypsophilia)

Usually just a filler for bouquets, Gypsophilia gained popularity especially during the pandemic because of what it symbolized: innocence and eternal love. When roses became especially hard to come by, event stylists discovered that the Gypsophilia, despite originally being fillers, offered a subdued twinkle. Even celebrities who tied the knot during the pandemic used these petite flowers.

Million Stars is the international English name for Gypsophilia, but they are usually known as Baby’s Breath in the Philippines.

5. Rose Cabbage Succulent

If flowers aren’t our partner’s thing, a succulent may do the trick! Although an unconventional choice for Valentine’s Day, succulents are just as special. Why? It means celebrating a “timeless love.” The fun part about succulents is that they’re also slightly easier to manage over flowers because they don’t need much water and have thorns to deter pests. Just be careful about leaving them around your kids or pets!

In Chinese or Japanese culture, gifting succulents like the Rose Cabbage also means wishing the receiver wealth and fortune. Succulents also thrive best in partial sun, making them the perfect indoor or condo plant.

6. Sunflower

Every graduation, the length of the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman’s entrance is lined with bright yellow sunflowers because of their big welcoming petals and faces. Sunflowers are also not a typical flower for this occasion, but gifting them to our partners on Valentine’s Day means wishing them happiness for the rest of their days.

Besides, sunflowers are often tall which makes them excellent centerpieces for dining tables or the buffet cabinets in the foyer. And when we come home from a long hard day, sunflowers are bright enough to put a smile on our faces.

7. Tulips

Because tulips are not native to the Philippines and don’t thrive well in hot weather, they need quite an investment. However, the message they send to our partners on Valentine’s Day makes it worth it: perfect love. Unlike fluffier flowers like Ecuadorian roses or chrysanthemums, tulips are sleek-looking and fit well in an interior that’s mostly geometric or relies on pops of color.

Tulips often come in different colors like red, pink, and even yellow.

People often use flowers to express their love when they don’t say it.

Sometimes, it’s difficult to verbalize our emotions so the flowers do it for us. By giving flowers on Valentine’s Day, we also speak another love language: gift-giving. We often pair this with our partner’s favorite chocolates or take them to a restaurant they’ve been wanting to go to for some time.

And although roses are still pretty, gifting other flowers for Valentine’s Day can help rekindle things. Some flower shops like Beyond Flowers, Blooms by Agi, and Pretty Withered may already have some preset bouquets we can give out.

More about Valentine’s Day?

Sarah Genove-Yu: The Joys of Dried Flowers and Motherhood
These Florists Do Dried Flower Bouquets for Valentine’s
Filipino Love Traditions to Spice Up Our Valentine’s Day