Victorian Flower Dictionary; What does your favorite flower represent?
During CoVid times, I know it’s not easy planning to travel with friends for a fun Read Watch Go adventure in either San Francisco or Seattle. Soooo - if you can’t do that right now, here’s a “Go” experience you can enjoy locally wherever you are!
Vanessa Diffenbaugh, author of ‘The Language of Flowers’, generously included an 8 page Dictionary of Victoria’s Flowers at the end of the novel. There you will find about 250 flowers listed with the meaning of the flower next to each one. Cool, right?! Below, I made a shorter list of some of the flowers mentioned throughout the book that had a particularly special meaning to Victoria in certain situations. You can click here for a searchable flower meaning database!.
Floriography is the technical term for the 'language of flowers'. Dating back to the Victorian times floriography was used as a means of coded communication through various flowers and floral arrangements, allowing people to express feelings which otherwise could not be spoken.
Choose a favorite flower market in your community, see what’s in season, and go shopping with friends (and masks!) to make your own personal bouquets of flowers you are drawn to immediately. Choose flowers because of what they represent, or choose flowers because you just like how they look!
And don’t get discouraged if a flower you love has a meaning attached to it you don’t particularly like. The author notes there are multiple meanings for some flowers to be found elsewhere. But no matter what meaning, color, smell, or look a flower has, put a bunch together that speaks to you, and they will all come together in one big beautiful bouquet!
Flowers & their meanings…
Marigold - Grief
Thistle - Misanthropy
Basil - Hate
Purple Dahlia - Dignity
Lavender - Mistrust
Starwort- Welcome
Daisy - Innocence
Red Rose - Love
Rosemary - Remembrance
Columbine- Desertion
Holly - Foresight
Verbena - Prayers
Goldenrod - Truth
Orange Tiger Lily - Queen
Periwinkle - Tender Recollections
Rhododendron - Beware
Mistletoe - I surmount all Obstacles
Peppermint blossoms - Warmth of Feeling
Snapdragons - Presumption
White Poplar - Time
Cactus - Ardent Love
Jonquil - Desire
Ranunculus - You are radiant
Aster - Patience
Daffodil - New Beginnings
Honeysuckle - Devotion
Hyacinth -Please Forgive Me
Moss - Maternal Love
Chamomile - Energy in Adversity
White Rose - Heart Unacquainted with Love
Iris - Message
Hazel - Reconciliation
BUNDLES WITH:
READ: ‘The Language of Flowers’
