Why is that romance and flowers are linked? What is it about a bunch of sweet scented blooms that turns an ordinary visit to a restaurant into something a bit more special? It doesn't matter whether the flowers are in an expensively wrapped shop-bought bouquet, or were hastily cut from someone's garden, there's something about being given flowers by someone that makes you feel that you're wanted, appreciated, and yes, loved. Someone took the time to collect these for you, either themselves or at a store.



What's special about the flowers isn't so much that they look pretty, but rather that they validate you. Individual flowers are supposed to represent certain things such as red roses meaning "love" and so on, but collectively what they are saying is "I care about you enough to go and get these flowers for you." Being validated by someone is one of the most seductive things in the world and when it's by someone that you're already attracted to, then romance is the result.

It's a strange thing that in these days of equality women are not likely to turn up at their male date's home armed with flowers, or even a box of chocolates, but men on the other hand, are still inclined to collect their date and hand her flowers or even the chocolates before they leave on their date. This is probably because no-one has yet found a masculine equivalent, and few men are man enough to admit that they'd actually be flattered if a woman bought them flowers, for exactly the same reasons as the women, validation.

Going out on a date with someone can look as if you're just having a meal with a friend, and in fact, if you're really comfortable with the person that you're with, then it probably feels that way too. If they've arrived on the date armed with a bouquet of flowers or a corsage etc, that immediately puts the date onto a romantic footing. The entire atmosphere of the date changes, because you just don't bring flowers to your friend when you go out for a meal together.

If you're buddies with someone and that relationship starts to change, one of the biggest visual changes could be inclusion of flowers. You may have laughed at your friend in the past if they'd given you flowers, but now things are different. You may feel that even though you're officially dating, the relationship doesn't seem to have moved very far. The moment that they turn up with your door, bouquet of flowers in hand, you immediately feel the romantic gesture however, and the relationship is clearly on a different level.

Flowers are often given as a token of affection on Valentine's Day, but every true romantic knows that the way to a woman's heart is often through the thoughtful purchase of even the smallest, simplest bunch of flowers.