Here we are at St. Valentine’s Day already. I am unsure where the month of January went and we are already half-way through February. As I was pondering Valentine’s Day, I got to thinking of the traditional gift for that day being red roses which led me to further think about the language of flowers.
Since the days of the Bible -which mentions the Rose of Sharon and the lilies of the valley -people all over the world have been using flowers to convey their feelings. The fashion became more popular in the mid-1800’s when Queen Victoria would send very specific flowers for very specific reasons, good or bad. Even earlier, Shakespeare used flower imagery a lot in his plays. In his famous play Hamlet, Shakespeare has Ophelia mentioning and explaining the symbolic meaning of several flowers including columbine, violets and daisies. In that play, her parting line is “pray you, love, remember/There’s pansies – that’s for thoughts.” Then we picture poor Ophelia, drowning in a pool of water surrounded by flowers floating above her as we see in the famous 1852 painting by John Everett Millais.
There is even a term for the language of flowers: Floriography. It flourished in England under Victoria and moved to be popular in the United States in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s.
While deep red roses mean intense and romantic love, pink roses can indicate a lesser love. White roses symbolize virtue and chastity. There is a meaning for almost every color rose you can imagine. Beside white, red and pink, a coral rose means desire and a lavender rose means enchantment. Not to mention an orange rose means fascination and yellow means friendship. A pale pink rose means grace and joy while a dark pink means thankfulness.
But roses are not the only flower used to express love. Forget-me-nots sent from a lover mean “true love.” Lilacs mean “my love is just beginning to blossom,” and yellow tulips are said to mean “my love for you is a hopeless love.” Orchids, too, mean love and beauty.
But woe to the receiver of basil or geranium which mean hatred and “I shall not see you,” respectively, according to a small book published in 1972 called the “Secrets of Flowers; The Messages and Meaning of Every Flower” as revealed by A.S. Kull. While most of the descriptions in this book are positive, some are rather upsetting. Sunflowers, for example – and one of my favorite flowers – is thought to mean false appearance; henbane means imperfection, and snapdragons mean deception. Dahlias – another favorite – mean treachery and instability, and asters mean an afterthought. Petunias are to reflect anger, and animosity is apparent if you receive St. John’s wort. So, I hope not to get any of those flowers in a bouquet!
We can imagine from the Greek mythology that a Narcissus flower means egotism, self-love or vanity. That one just stands to reason considering Narcissus was the one who fell in love with himself from looking at his reflection in the water. Strangely enough, a daffodil – the close relative of the narcissus – means “high regard” which is just about the opposite of self-love. Of course, daffodils are also thought of as the first harbingers of spring.
There are many more flowers that are encouraging. Let’s hope we get magnolias which mean beauty. Or jasmine which means grace, or gentians which mean loveliness. Chrysanthemums are symbolic for cheerfulness in adversity and heliotrope and honeysuckle reflect devotion. Cactus symbolize bravery and endurance. Moss symbolizes maternal love and charity.
Of course, over the years there have been many dictionaries listing the meanings of flowers. Not all of them reflect the same meanings but they seem to stay in the same range of emotions, whatever they may be. Daisies – for example – can mean gentleness, innocence, purity or “I share your sentiments.” All are pretty close in feeling, making the daisy one happy little flower. Going back to the sunflower, though, I found one instance of it meaning adoration and loyalty. Much better than “false appearances.”
There was even more tradition to the giving of flowers and they could be used to answer a question. If presented in the right hand, the answer would be “yes.” But a bouquet of flowers given by the left hand meant “no.” Fortunately for left-handed people and their loved ones, these subtle gestures are no longer in fashion.
Also fortunately for all of us, most florists are well-versed in the art of Floriography and can advise which flowers will best convey the desired meaning. Of course, to throw a monkey wrench into all of this, don’t forget to consider the favorite flowers of the recipient which can totally contradict every other bit of Floriography that is written. If someone loves sunflowers – as I and so many others do – don’t give it a second thought… buy her/him sunflowers and have a wonderful Valentine’s Day!
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