As we enter into a season of weddings (and wedding anniversaries) both poetry and flowers come to mind. Here, a bouquet of bon mots from some of the most famous and enduring love poems of all time, all referencing flowers. From the classic rose to dancing daffodils and the shy daisy, flowers have inspired poets throughout the ages, leaving us a body of sonnets and poems to inspire all our summer celebrations. Whether it’s an inscription for a card, a speech, or simply a message to lift spirits among friends, we hope you enjoy these snippets of poetry that use flowers as a leitmotif.

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1. Robert Burns (Scottish, 1794) “A Red, Red Rose”

"O my Luve's like a red, red rose that’s newly sprung in June; Oh my Luve is like the melody / That’s sweetly played in tune."

230 years later, Burn’s ode the red rose as a symbol of true and passionate love endures. 

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2. William Wordsworth (British, 1804) “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud”

"I wandered lonely as a cloud/That floats on high o’er vales and hills / When all at once I saw a crowd / A host, of golden daffodils / Beside the lake / Beneath the trees / Fluttering and dancing in the breeze."

Wordsworth's ode to the daffodil is more than a pretty pastoral—it’s a meditation on nature’s quiet elation and the unexpected joy it can give us.  

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3. Emily Dickinson (American, ~1860) “With a Flower”

"I hide myself within my flower / That wearing on your breast / You, unsuspectingly, wear me too / And angels know the rest"

Famous for her garden and love of flowers, Dickinson explores themes of intimacy, vulnerability, and a secret love. Her love was never exposed as the poem was published posthumously in 1890.

4. Rabindranath Tagore (Indian, 1913) “Flower”

"Pluck this little flower and take it, delay not! / I fear lest it droop and drop into the dust."

A spiritual love poem where offering a flower becomes an act of total surrender. Tagore’s vision of love is fleeting, selfless, urgent, and fragrant with devotion.

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5. Emily Dickinson (American, 1860)  “The Daisy Follows Soft the Sun”

"The Daisy follows soft the Sun/ And when his golden walk is done/Sits shyly at his feet."

A subtle, sun-drenched metaphor for affection and constancy, this poem sees the daisy as a gentle lover faithfully tracking light.

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6. Thomas Moore (Irish, 1808) “The Last Rose of Summer”

"Tis the last rose of summer, / Left blooming alone/All her lovely companions have faded and gone."

Though wistful, the poem’s core is a celebration of beauty and enduring affection. The rose becomes a metaphor for longtime loyalty and love.

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7. John Keats (British, 1819) “Sonnet V. To a Friend Who Sent Me Some Roses”

"I saw the sweetest flower wild nature yields/A fresh-blown musk rose/ T’was the first that threw/Its sweets upon the summer: Graceful it grew."

Romantic poet Keats goes on to extol the rose’s natural beauty and enchanting scent on a ramble through the English countryside, symbolizing a beautiful young woman.

Each of these paeans to flowers reveals not only the poet’s aesthetic sensitivity, but also their preoccupation with the ephemeral, the sacred, and the wild beauty that flowers offer as metaphor and muse.