In the Victorian Language of flowers black roses signify death, hatred, or farewell

In the 19th century a single black rose might be sent by a close friend and or loved one leaving for a war or on a journey from which he did not expect to return

The black rose is ubiquitous in the Goth subculture where it may symbolize tragic romance, or merely be a fitting addition to the decorum of those with a darker æsthetic

Black Roses (roses of black color) do not exist in nature but nevertheless they are often featured in fiction with many different meanings

In the 2006 movie, Kamen Rider Kabuto: God Speed Love, Issei Kurosaki (Kamen Rider Caucasus) carries a blue rose

Possibly the most famous reference to “blue roses” in literature is in the seventh scene of The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, in which Jim realizes Laura is the same girl he had called “Blue Roses” in high school, since she had been out with pleurosis

Blue Rose is also a fantasy role-playing game published in 2004 by Green Ronin Publishing, emulating the “romantic fantasy” fiction sub-genre

The Blue Rose, due to its mysterious nature, acts as a clue in David Lynch’s Twin Peaks, Fire Walk With Me

The Blue Rose was also a symbolist, impressionist influenced art movement in Tsarist Russia in the early 20th Century

In Slavic mythology one may be granted wishes by bringing a blue rose to Baba Yaga

Rose culture came into its own in Europe in the 1800’s with the introduction of perpetual blooming roses from China

Early Christians identified the five petals of the rose with the five wounds of Christ

In Rome a wild rose would be placed on the door of a room where confidential matters were discussed. The phrase sub rosa, or “under the rose”, means to keep a secret – derived from this ancient Roman practice

The ancient Greeks and Romans identified the rose with their goddesses of love (Aphrodite and Venus)

Portland, Oregon counts “City of Roses” among its nicknames, and holds an annual Rose Festival

The rose is the provincial flower of Yorkshire and Lancashire in England (the white rose and red rose respectively) and of Alberta (the wild rose), and the state flower of four US states: Iowa and North Dakota (R. arkansana), Georgia (R. laevigata), and New York (Rosa generally)

The rose is the national flower of England and the United States, as well as being the symbol of England Rugby, and of the Rugby Football Union

Roses are so important that the word means pink or red in a variety of languages (such as Romance languages, Greek, and Polish)

The rose was sacred to a number of goddesses (including Isis and Aphrodite), and is often used as a symbol of the Virgin Mary

Roses are ancient symbols of love and beauty

Blue roses traditionally signify mystery or attaining the impossible. They are believed to be able to grant the owner youth or grant wishes

Since roses lack a gene to produce delphinidin, the primary plant pigment that produces true blue flowers, blue roses were traditionally created by dyeing white roses

The rose came to symbolize the Republic of Georgia’s non-violent bid for freedom during its Rose Revolution

The symbol of a rose can also refer to the red rose of Lancaster, and the white rose of York, from the Wars of the Roses period

In some pagan mythologies, no undead or ghostly creatures (particularly vampires) may cross the path of a wild rose. It was thought that to place a wild rose on a coffin of a recently deceased person would prevent them from rising again

Since the earliest times, the rose has been an emblem of silence

Roses were used in very early times as a very potent ingredient in love philters

In Rome it was often customary to bless roses on “Rose Sunday”

In Scotland, if a white rose bloomed in autumn it was a token of an early marriage

The red rose, it is believed by many religions, cannot grow over a grave

Rose leaves thrown into a burning flame are said to give good luck

If a maiden had more than one lover, it is believed in one mythology, she should take rose leaves and write the names of her lovers upon them before casting them into the wind. The last leaf to reach the ground would bear the name of the lover whom she should marry

It is believed that if a rose bush were pruned on St. John’s Eve, it would be guaranteed to bloom in the autumn

Roses are often portrayed by artists. The French artist Pierre-Joseph Redouté produced some of the most detailed paintings of roses

Arise, arise, arouse, a rose!- Eh, a rosy nose? – Jeremy Hilary Boob, Ph.D. (more commonly referred to as the ‘Nowhere Man’), Yellow Submarine (film)

Rose is a rose is a rose is a rose – Gertrude Stein, Sacred Emily (1913), a poem included in Geography and Plays

Hearts starve as well as bodies; give us bread, but give us roses – James Oppenheim, “Bread and Roses”

O, my love’s like a red, red rose – Robert Burns, A Red, Red Rose

What’s in a name? That which we call a rose/By any other name would smell as sweet – William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet act II, sc. ii

In the driest whitest stretch of pain’s infinite desert, I lost my sanity and found this rose – Rumi

A quarter of annual holiday flower purchases are for Mother’s Day.

Approximately one third of US adults will buy flowers on Mother’s Day.

More men (34%) than women (28%) buy flowers on Mother’s Day.

Easter and Passover flower purchases make up about 13% of annual holiday floral sales.