Just as its name indicates, the morning glory wakes each morning and opens its blossom to greet the world. As the day reaches its end and the sun sets, the flower slowly curls up and takes its rest – only for new blooms to open the next day.
But it turns out these gorgeous sun-seeking flowers are not only beautiful, but they’re also laden with meaning too!
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Why is it called Morning Glory?
The morning glory flower can have many meanings, but the most common include love, life, and death, or even love in vain.
Its ability to rise each morning and sleep each evening resembles human life.
It may seem like a depressing thought; the morning glory blooms each morning only to die each evening. But it’s about a lot more than that. The flower is resilient, able to grow in challenging situations and thrive each year. While they do indeed “die”, they rise again each morning – like clockwork – to signify not only death but the beauty of life.
What Does A Morning Glory Symbolize?
Morning glory is beautiful, but blooms and dies within the same day. When they bloom in the morning, they take in the sun’s energy and the healing powers that come with it. The spiritual meaning of this flower relates to longing, affection, and love, but in more of a spiritual way than an emotional one.
The short lifespan of the flower also relates to the fleeting nature of love as well as the way that love and affection can be renewed with each new day.
When giving someone a morning glory flower, it implies that you care about them and share an everlasting love despite life’s challenges.
Meaning Behind Morning Glory Colours
White morning glory
The colour white is symbolic of purity, spirituality, and innocence.
Pink morning glory
This variant of the flower is symbolic of love, romance, gentleness, thoughtfulness, and gratitude.
Blue morning glory
The blue morning glory symbolises deep emotions, infinitive love, trust, respect, and honesty.
Purple morning glory
This purple flower symbolises beauty, nobility, and royalty.
Red morning glory
The red morning glory is symbolic of passion and a strong heart.
History & Cultural Significance Of Morning Glory
Just as the flowers have so many meanings, the use of morning glory flowers in history is just as interesting. Each era and nationality have their own beliefs and we’ll take a look at each one.
The Victorian Era
During this time, the flowers represented love and death. Morning glory vines have been pictured growing on headstones, a symbol of mourning, short life and in some cases, even resurrection. In terms of the Victorian flower language, the flower symbolises love in vain.
The Aztecs
The juice of morning glories was often used to create a substance similar to rubber. The seeds were also mixed with insects and tobacco and rubbed all over their bodies before a sacrifice. This mixture was said to assist the victim in finding the afterlife and being reborn.
Rural England
Deep in the rural countryside, the flower was referred to as Life of Man, as it is symbolic of man’s life.
China
This star-shaped flower is symbolic of the day when Chien Niu and Chih Neu, two Chinese lovers, are allowed to meet once a year. The story tells the tale of a boy and a girl who fall in love, neglect their duties and are punished by God. As a result, they can only see each other on one day annually.
The Chinese also used this flower as a powerful laxative, although consuming high dosages resulted in hallucinations.
Christian Beliefs
Morning glory resembles the short time we spend on earth. Each flower resembles our time alive and that it’s all destined to come to an end. The sunlight represents our time alive, while the night-time is symbolic of death.
When Should You Give Someone A Morning Glory Flower?
The morning glory can be symbolic of strength, giving a person the power to realise their hopes and dreams. These flowers are resilient, and they pass this power on to their recipient.
It’s believed that the ability to grow through adversity resonates through the flower. This makes the perfect gift for someone who is taking on a major milestone in their life and is in need of encouragement and support.
Aster and morning glory are the official birth flowers of September. Along with tulips, they are also the flower symbolising the 11th wedding anniversary. With such a powerful meaning behind them, and with each colour holding its own significance, morning glory can help you to share a wonderful message of love and life.
Lily’s love for flowers and plants was nurtured in her grandmother’s vibrant garden. Over the years, this affection blossomed into a full-fledged passion for horticulture.
With formal training in botany and countless hours in her own backyard oasis, Lily has cultivated a deep understanding of plant care and garden design.