BLog

Flowers have carried meaning for centuries — symbols of love, resilience, resistance, and joy. For LGBTQ+ communities, certain flowers have held special significance, representing quiet expressions of love, acts of defiance during times of discrimination, and celebrations of identity and pride.

At Sunnyside Gardens, we believe flowers carry beautiful symbolism and serve as growing reminders of the power of community and visibility. This Pride Month (and every month), we’re celebrating three flowers with deep roots in LGBTQ+ history and culture.

Whether you’re planting them in your garden, adding them to a container, or giving them as gifts, these blooms honor a legacy of love, courage, and liberation.

1. Lavender

• Symbolism: Pride, resilience, LGBTQ+ identity
• History: A symbol of the LGBTQ+ community since the early 20th century

Lavender has been associated with LGBTQ+ identity for over a century. In the early 1900s, lavender was used as a coded reference to queerness — a way of identifying members of the community without openly stating it. The term “lavender lad” or “lavender marriage” entered the cultural lexicon as subtle signals within the community.

During the 1950s, the “Lavender Scare” — a moral panic targeting LGBTQ+ individuals in government and public positions — used lavender as a derogatory label. Thousands of people lost their jobs simply for being suspected of being gay or lesbian.

But what began as discrimination was reclaimed as liberation. By the 1970s, lavender became a symbol of pride and resistance. The Lavender Menace, a group of radical lesbian feminists, famously disrupted the Second Congress to Unite Women in 1970 wearing “Lavender Menace” t-shirts, reclaiming the term and demanding visibility for lesbian voices in the feminist movement.

Today, lavender represents LGBTQ+ pride, resilience, and the refusal to be erased.

Growing Lavender

• Best for: Full sun (6+ hours), well-draining soil, dry areas
• Where to plant: Pollinator gardens, containers, herb gardens, cutting gardens for dried bouquets

2. Violets 

• Symbolism: Love between women, sapphic love, devotion
• History: A symbol of queer women’s love since ancient Greece

Violets have represented love between women for thousands of years. In ancient Greece, violets were associated with Sappho, the poet from the island of Lesbos whose lyric poetry celebrated love between women. Sappho famously wore violets in her hair and referenced them in her poetry, and violets became a symbol of sapphic love.

This symbolism carried forward through history. In the Victorian era, when open expressions of same-sex love were forbidden, violets became part of the “language of flowers” — a coded way to communicate feelings that couldn’t be spoken aloud. Giving violets to another woman was a quiet, intimate gesture of love and devotion.

In the 1920s, women in Paris would give each other violets as a subtle signal of romantic interest. Wearing a violet boutonniere or receiving a bouquet of violets was understood within the community as an expression of sapphic love.

Today, violets remain a cherished symbol of love between women and a nod to the rich history of queer women who loved quietly, courageously, and beautifully.

Growing Violets

• Best for: Shade to part shade (less than 3-6 hours), ground cover, damp areas, rich organic soil
• Where to plant: Woodland gardens, under trees, shade borders, naturalizing in lawns (if you don’t mind a little color in the grass)

3. Roses

• Symbolism: Love, beauty, diversity, trans and non-binary pride
• History: A symbol for gay men in 1960s Japan; increasingly recognized as a symbol of trans and non-binary pride today

Roses have long represented love and beauty across cultures, but they also hold specific significance within LGBTQ+ history and symbolism.

In 1960s Japan, the bara (rose) became a symbol for gay men, particularly within underground gay magazines and literature that used the term “bara” to describe gay male culture and identity. Roses represented masculine beauty and desire in a society where queerness was heavily stigmatized.

In recent years, roses in shades of pink, blue, and white have been embraced as symbols of trans and non-binary pride. The soft, layered petals of roses reflect the beauty, complexity, and diversity of trans and non-binary identities. White roses specifically have been used to honor trans lives lost to violence, while pink and blue roses celebrate trans joy and visibility.

Roses represent love in all its forms — romantic, platonic, self-love, and community love. Reminding us that beauty is diverse, that love is resilient, and that there is power in being seen.

Growing Roses

• Best for: Full sun (6+ hours), well-draining soil, areas with good air-circulation
• Where to plant: Garden beds, containers, pollinator gardens, cutting gardens for fresh bouquets

More Than Just Flowers

These flowers aren’t just beautiful — they’re symbols of love, resistance, and visibility. Flowers represent the courage of those who loved openly when it was dangerous, the resilience of those who reclaimed symbols of discrimination and turned them into symbols of pride, and the joy of communities that refused to be silenced.

When you plant these flowers in your garden, you’re growing reminders of the power of community, the beauty of diversity, and the enduring strength of love in all its forms.

Celebrate Pride Year-Round

Pride Month is a time to celebrate, honor, and uplift LGBTQ+ communities — but the work of visibility, acceptance, and love doesn’t end when June does. These flowers bloom beyond a single month, and so does the spirit of Pride. Let these flowers remind you, season after season, of the power of being seen, being loved, and being proud.

From the Sunnyside Gardens crew to you and yours: Happy Pride Month. We’re proud to celebrate the rainbow this month and all year long.