The Secret Language of Flowers

The early Victorians were not renowned for public displays of love and affection and would go to great lengths to woo a lover without letting the world know their secret.  So alongside secret assignations and letters despatched by personal courier, Victorian men and women would express their emotions by sending flowers with specific meanings.

Since ancient times, every different species of flower has conveyed a message all of its own.  The jonquil flower, for example, is a request for love to be reciprocated, and the jasmine speaks of elegance and grace.  Candytuft indicates indifference, and rather than propose marriage in person the Victorian male might send his lover a multi-colored pink and white rose.  

Although flowers had been used in coded messages for many thousands of years, it wasn’t until the latter part of Queen Victoria’s reign that flowers came to be used for most types of communication, not just messages of love, and a whole new secret language was created and called “Floriography” - the language of flowers.  Floriography wasn’t just the language of common folk and even Queen Victoria herself is known to have used flowers to pass messages to loved ones.

The first book about the language of flowers, written by Madame Charlotte de la Tour in 1819, was called “Le Language Des Fleur” - the language of flowers.

Madame De La Tour’s book was followed by numerous publications attempting to explain the language of flowers and telling how:

*  Bittersweet means truth.

*  A red chrysanthemum is an expression of true love.

*  A white chrysanthemum speaks of honesty and truth.

*  Marigold is a sign of contentment.

*  The narcissi implies self-love and vanity.

*  Nasturtium is an indication of patriotism.

However, it isn’t just individual species of flower that communicate unspoken messages.  The number and color of blooms can also have their own special meanings.  Nine hundred and ninety-nine roses represents eternal love, for example, and a white violet symbolises modesty and candour.

Floriography has never truly gone out of fashion, especially in the Middle East and some parts of Asia where flowers are still used to pass secret messages to loved ones.  In the United States and Great Britain, several businesses have grown around the concept of using flowers to deliver secret messages, and offering a massive range of greetings cards and floral gifts conveying many different messages of friendship of love.

So next time someone sends you flowers, instead of admiring the fragrance and looking for a vase, try working out any hidden message the gift might convey.