It is rare to find a person who doesn't enjoy flowers. For millennia, flowers have been admired as decorations, symbols of joy and celebration, and gifts to loved ones. Their colourful beauty and arresting fragrances have brightened homes, offices, churches and other public buildings for hundreds of years. People buy and give flowers to mark birth, marriage, success and death throughout the world. However, different cultures appreciate different types and colours of flowers at different times. Although a red rose is universally the symbol of love, white lilies are used at weddings in the West, but are presented at funerals in the East. Gladioli and peach blossom are traditional symbols of spring in China, but in the UK, daffodils and bluebells are more common. The lotus symbolizes divinity, or goodness, in the Hindu religion of India, whereas the red rose represents the blood of Christ in a Christian church. Despite these differences, flowers generally symbolize the circle of life in several cultures. From the tender stage of the flower in bud, through the strong and beautiful flower in full bloom, to the wilting and falling of petals, the stages of life are exhibited through the life cycle of a flower. This reminds us of both the vibrancy and fragility of life. Of course, flowers play a more important role than mere cultural symbols. Nature developed flowers in order to attract insects so that the life-creating pollen of the plant can be passed to another member of the species and create new life. Without flowers, not only would our lives be rather more dull and less fragrant, but perhaps our lives would not exist. We need plants to provide us with food and oxygen.