As spring approaches us, many different flowers are now in bloom (and the start of allergy season). Whether you’re planning on gifting these flowers or seeing them bloom for their beauty, here is a list of some popular and unpopular flowers you should keep in mind this spring!

Cherry Blossoms

Cherry blossoms are native to eastern Asia, but now it’s a flower more common to the states as well. In cities like New York and Washington DC, many Americans spend time planning to see these beautiful flowers in bloom. These flowers have a double meaning. It symbolizes life and death, beauty, and violence. The short period of time to see cherry blossoms bloom reminds those about how life is fleeting.

Peonies 

Peonies are native to Asia, Europe, and western North America. Usually, peonies are a popular scent for perfumes but the flower itself is also beautiful. The symbolic meaning of these flowers are usually love, honor, happiness, wealth, romance, and beauty. 

Lilacs

Lilacs are native to southeast Europe to eastern Asia. Lilacs come in multiple different colors. Typically they’re purple or lilac, or they also come in magenta, pink, or white. Depending on the color of the lilacs, the meaning differs. White lilacs usually symbolize purity and innocence, while magenta lilacs symbolize love and passion. 

Marigold

Marigolds are native subtropical America but have been cultivated in Mexico for over two thousand years. Common colors of marigolds are orange, yellow, red, gold, copper, brass, white, or any combination of these colors. Marigolds represent energy, good luck, warmth, creativity, prosperity, and passion. At the same time, they also have a negative meaning attached to them. They can symbolize grief, despair, jealousy, and have ties to death.

Hydrangea

Hydrangeas are a common flower within Asian countries. In Japan, they signify heartfelt emotion and apology, but in European countries, they signify arrogance and vanity. They commonly come in blue, white, purple and pink. These flowers are beautiful but they are hard to care for. To keep these flowers alive, it’s required to change the water everyday and the stems should be snipped. These flowers should be kept out of direct sunlight.