Songs about flowers have been present in various genres of music for years. Whether the songs are about roses, lilacs, orchids, or any type, flowers can be used as metaphors, to evoke a memory, or to describe a situation. When thinking about flower songs, many come to mind from the rock 'n' roll world, including Poison's "Every Rose Has Its Thorn," Bon Jovi's "Bed Of Roses," the Rolling Stones' "Dead Flowers," the Grateful Dead's "It Must Have Been The Roses," and more.
Other flower songs from the past include The Foundations' "Build Me Up Buttercup," Seal's "Kiss From A Rose," Peter, Paul and Mary's "Where Have All The Flowers Gone," Neil Diamond and Barbra Streisand's "You Don't Bring Me Flowers," and Roxette's "Fading Like A Flower." Songs about flowers have also been present in recent mainstream music with The Lumineers' "Flowers In Your Hair," Ed Sheeran's "Supermarket Flowers," Radiohead's "Lotus Flower," Of Monsters And Men's "Wild Roses," and more.
Rock and mainstream music aren't the only genres that use visuals of flowers in their songs — country music has a history of this as well. While it would be hard to include every country song that mentions flowers in some way, here are 10 of the best songs about flowers in country music.
1. "Wildwood Flower," The Carter Family
One of the oldest flower songs in country music comes in the form of The Carter Family's "Wildwood Flower." This song was originally recorded by The Carter Family in 1928 and serves as an example of the group's unique guitar-playing style, the "Carter scratch," which was pioneered by Maybelle Carter. Maybelle Carter recorded a later version of the song for Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's 1972 album, Will The Circle Be UnBroken. The Carter Family matriarch also performed the song alongside her son-in-law Johnny Cash, and Carter's daughter, June Carter Cash, recorded the song for her 2003 album, Wildwood Flower.
2. "Rose Garden," Lynn Anderson
In 1970, Lynn Anderson released "Rose Garden" as a single, and it became an international hit. In the upbeat tune, Anderson uses a rose garden as a metaphor to describe a perfect life with no problems. Singing to a love interest, she says, "I beg your pardon, I never promised you a rose garden / Along with the sunshine, there's gotta be a little rain sometime." This chorus is meant to encourage her loved one to not get downtrodden when things aren't perfect in life. In 2005, the song was covered by Martina McBride, who changed the name to "(I Never Promised You A) Rose Garden."
3. "Dead Flowers," Miranda Lambert
While flowers are often seen as a happy thing and are often portrayed that way in songs, Miranda Lambert uses flowers to describe heartbreak in her 2009 song, "Dead Flowers." In this soaring tune, the singer/songwriter sings of flowers that were once given to her by a love interest, but are now wilted away. She uses this imagery to then describe the broken state of the relationship. "I feel like the flowers in this vase / He just brought 'em home one day, 'Ain't they beautiful?' he said / They've been here in the kitchen and the waters turnin' gray / They're sittin' in the vase but now they're dead, dead flowers," she sings in the first verse.
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4. "The Rose," Conway Twitty (Bette Midler)
In 1979, Bette Midler released a delicate love song called "The Rose" for her movie of the same name. In the song, Midler uses a rose, and other visuals, to describe love. Before she mentions the metaphor of a rose, she says love is like a river, a razor, and a hunger, and finally settles on a flower, which later turns into a rose. "I say love, it is a flower / And you, its only seed," she sings. Bette Midler's version of the song was an international hit, but it's the Conway Twitty version that lands on this list of country songs about flowers. Twitty released his version in 1982 and took the song to the top of the country charts.
5. "Wildflowers - Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris
In 1987, Dolly Parton teamed up with her friends Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris to release their collaboration album, Trio. That album included "Wildflowers," a sweet song written solely by Parton. Backed by autoharp, guitar and fiddle instrumentation, Parton uses wildflowers as a metaphor for her desire to move away from home and chase her dreams. "Wildflowers don't care where they grow," she sings.
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6. "Like Red On A Rose," Alan Jackson
Roses have long been seen as sign of romance, so it's no surprise that many love songs include visuals of the flowers. In July 2006, Jackson released a slow and steady love song, in which he uses red roses as a metaphor for his love. "That I love you like all little children love pennies / And I love you 'cause I know that I can't do anything wrong / You're where I belong / Like red on a rose," Jackson sings.
7. "Bring My Flowers Now," Tanya Tucker
Many songs about flowers are about love and relationships, but in her 2019 Grammy-winning song, "Bring My Flowers Now," Tanya Tucker uses flowers to make a statement about the temporary state of life. In the verses, she stresses that people should "Bring my flowers now, while I'm livin,'" as opposed to when she dies, as she won't need them then. The song, co-written by Brandi Carlile, preaches a message of living life to the fullest while you can and letting loved ones know how you feel about them.
8. "Like A Rose," Ashley Monroe
In her 2013 song, "Like A Rose," Ashley Monroe uses a rose to describe how she has risen through all the tribulations in her life. These hardships include her father dying, her mother drinking too much and her brother giving up on life, but through everything, she came out "like a rose." The song was the title track of her 2013 album, which also featured "You Got Me" and a duet with Blake Shelton called "You Ain't Dolly (And You Ain't Porter)".
9. "Flowers On The Wall," The Statler Brothers
The Statler Brothers released a "flower song" in 1965 that really isn't about flowers at all. In "Flowers On The Wall," the group sings from the perspective of a broken-hearted man who has resorted to reclusive ways. "Countin' flowers on the wall / That don't bother me at all / Playin' solitaire till dawn with a deck of fifty-one / Smokin' cigarettes and watchin' Captain Kangaroo / Now don't tell me I've nothin' to do," they sing. The song spent four weeks at No. 2 in 1966 and has been covered many times since.
10. "Magnolia," Brett Eldredge
Brett Eldredge used flowers, and specifically magnolias, to remember a summer love story in his tune "Magnolia" from his 2020 album, Sunday Drive. In this love story, the magnolias were the meeting place for one young couple — the boy, who was "the third string tight end
6'2" and shy," and the girl, who "was the banker's daughter." The tune is upbeat and nostalgic as Eldredge sings about meeting near the magnolias and taking a chance on love.
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