The Language of Flowers
We all know that red roses denote passion and white ones symbolize purity, but did you know that during the Victorian era there was an entire language of flowers? It was a time when people could not or would not express their feelings verbally, and so flowers became a substitute form of communication.
It is believed that lists identifying the meaning of flowers were first published in Turkey. From there the lists traveled to France, and eventually to England and the United States. The language of flowers, or “florigraphy” reached its peak in the 19th Century and many flower dictionaries could easily be found in print at this time.
Which could create a bit of a problem. After all, there are only a few flowers which have retained the same meaning for hundreds of years. For example, a red rose has always stood for love while a narcissus has long been the symbol of egotism. But for most flowers in Victorian times the meaning could vary, depending on which flower dictionary you happened to be using. It’s easy to imagine the complications that might arise if two lovers who were deciphering the meaning of a fresh bouquet happened to be using different flower dictionaries!
And there were often other problems when one tried to speak in the secret language of flowers. There is a story of a French woman who sent flowers to her lover to express her deep feelings. Unknown to her, however, her husband understood the meaning of her floral message and attempted to drown his dallying wife in the Seine. Fortunately her lover came to her rescue and couple ran away together and lived happily ever after.
Today it may be difficult to find a flower dictionary, but the meanings of hundreds of flowers are readily available on the Internet. A daffodil still sends the message, “you are the only one,” while a gardenia is telling that special someone that she “is lovely.” Sometimes the message for a specific flower can vary simply with the color. A purple hyacinth says, “I am truly sorry,” but a pink one denotes playfulness.
So just because we happen to live over a century after the close of the Victorian era doesn’t mean that we can’t still send coded messages to loved ones through the secret language of flowers. It remains a beautiful and romantic way to express your feelings. Just make sure that both of you and your beloved are obtaining the flower meanings from the same website!
