Floriography: the language of flowers

Can you feel the love floating through the air this time of year?  It is wonderful to see how the fertility festivals of yesteryear have turned into a celebratory day filled with flowers and romance.  My friends, fly away with me to a time before text messages and dating apps.  You see prior to sending messages over electronics messages were communicated through flowers.

The language of flowers, floriography, has been used across many cultures from ancient Egypt, the Renaissance, the middle Ages and the Victorian Era. Floriograpghy bloomed during the Victorian Era.  Queen Victoria brought in a period honoring proper etiquette which led to social conservatism.  Etiquette dictated what conversations were appropriate therefore floriography allowed secret messages to be sent to one another. Entire conversations, positive or otherwise, could be had using flowers.  A flower could have multiple meanings and the way the bouquet was arranged held just as much significance.  Lovers would send rose bouquets to the one that held their heart to ensure their feelings were known. There are so many ways to express your feelings with flowers that a floral language dictionary was created!  

Roses became cemented as the flower symbolizing love; however there are many types of love and the various colors represent that.  Red roses symbolize passion and romance, while pink roses represent appreciation and grace.  Yellow roses signify friendship and happiness and white roses stand for innocence.  Jasmine can also denote love.  They represent love and sensuality, but they can also represent elegance, nobility, and grace. Forget-Me-Nots are another flower that symbolizes love.  Forget-Me-Nots embody true love or a love brimming with memories one would not forget.

Now if you are thinking that you would like to convey a message to an important person in your life, I implore you to look no further.  The language of flowers has stood the test of time. Sending flowers is an expression of your emotions, a way to show what you cannot verbalize.  Valentine’s Day is a wonderful time to return to beauty of this natural world and celebrate your love and your friendships with flowers.  It is a time to take a moment and a pause, a time to celebrate those you love more deliberately than a quick text or hurried kiss.  Take this day to celebrate how extraordinary your friendships, your family, your loves truly are.

Sending love to you and yours,

The Owl