In history, the Victorian Era classified the reign of Queen Victoria from 1837-1901. It was a tremendously exciting period when many artistic styles, literary schools, as well as, social, political and religious movements flourished. It was a time of prosperity, broad imperial expansion, and great political reform. Most notably, the Victorian age is the infamous time of body-breaking corsets, balloon sleeves, and skirt-poofing crinolines. Despite the tremendous nature of the Victorian Era, the one area that interests me most is floriography. Real word? Yes. Floriography is the language of flowers. In the Victorian Era, floriography was a means of communication in which flowers and floral arrangements were used to send coded messages. These mysterious messages allowed people the opportunity to express feelings that they were forbidden to or could not speak out loud. So, to answer the question in the title of this blog...Yes! Flowers do speak and boy--do they have a lot to say! The following just name a few words of "endearment":
Lavender - Devotion
Lily (white) - Virginity; purity; majesty; it's heavenly to be with you
Orange Blossom - Brings wisdom
Pansy - Thoughts; love
Tulip(variegated) - Beautiful eyes
Violet(white) - Let's take a chance on happiness
Basil - Best Wishes, Love
Chamomile - Patience ; attracts wealth
Hyacinth (yellow) - Jealousy
Ivy - Fidelity and friendship
As I sit on my couch and peer over my shoulder at the flowers on my kitchen table, I can't help but wonder--who would have sent me this bouquet in the Victorian Age? What would they have been trying to tell me? Hmmm...
One thing that really amazed me in this blog is the misleading title. I had ZERO idea that it would lead to the information provided and it was pretty awesome to be honest. I really thought it was very interesting that people would send messages through the type of flowers in the bunch. This blog will forever change the way I look at flowers so I thank you for that.
ReplyDeleteThis is very intresting!! There are so many things in the world that have hidden meanings and I find it very intresting to learn about them. Many things that exist in the world are very symbolic of something else, and overall ties everything together in the scheme of life. Things like someones astrological sign or spiritual rituals / beliefs have many alternate messages as well.
ReplyDeleteThat's really interesting information! I love flowers myself and can never get enough of them. Especially when they are bouquets as they show such expression and give so much more spirit to it. Flowers speak for themselves. It's all in their color and shape and form. =]
ReplyDeleteThe idea of floriography sounds pretty cool. From looking at the list on the link in the post it seems that floriography was a huge part of life during the Victorian age since so many flowers had their own unique meaning.I find it weird that even the word grass has a meaning to it, it seems that every kind of plant life might of had a meaning back then.
ReplyDeleteI love flowers! Especially when they first start blooming n the spring, it just fill the air with such warmth, and really brightens up my day. Flowers really create an element of happiness, and is also a great sign of warm weather! plus everyone loves to get flowers :)
ReplyDeleteWow! This is some cool stuff! I never would have known that flowers actually meant something to people in the past. I think its pretty awesome that they used to send forbidden messages to lovers by sending them flowers. I just always thought they served one purpose, cheering up and upset girlfriend/ mother. Now I know I can communicate with them.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Joe, the title definitely did not prepare me for all the information that was in this blog! I really do love flowers though, i'm sure almost everyone does. Flowers are always a ncie way to brighten someones day or just show someone your appreciation for them. Also, when flowers start to bloom at the first crack of warm weather it always puts me in sucha good mood becuase I know that spring and summer are right around the corner!
ReplyDeleteWow, I definitely learned something new from reading this blog entry! Its so interesting how even years ago though, flowers were still used as emotions when given to someone else. Its really cool to learn about how the different colors and flowers are interpreted. Of course though, don't assume everyone knows the meanings when they give them to you!(You definitely don't want to misunderstand the kind gesture of yellow flowers as someone saying they have jealousy!)
ReplyDeleteFlowers alway relax me. They make me so incredibly happy when I see flowers someone got me in a vase on the counter. I love thinking that someone thought of me and decided to get flowers, it is so sweet! They are all so pretty and elegant. I had heard people say that the color of each flower meant something but I always figured it was just a myth someone made up. I never thought people actually had a code for each color, that is really cool.
ReplyDeleteI found your blog entry sooo interesting and I totally agree! Flowers could change my mood and emotions instantly. Upon seeing a garden of flowers a smile is automatically brought to my face.It was really interesting to me that in the Victorian Era flowers were a use of communication, I knew different colored flowers had different symbols but never that! I found that to be extremely interesting that flowers had different impacts on people even dating that far back.
ReplyDeleteI would never have thought that flowers once had a set meaning behind them. I think its crazy that during the Victorian Era flowers were used as a form of communication. It sucks that somewhere during time periods flowers lost their distinct meaning. Using flowers now would be a more interesting way of communicating rather than texting or email.
ReplyDeleteTo tell the truth i never found anything aspiring about flowers. I never found them pretty, i never thought they smelt perfume, and i never understood much or cared much to learn about them. But i never knew flowers could have such a big impact in a Society, and even be used for secret messaging in the past. I also wouldn't have ever guessed that every flowers name had their own meanings.
ReplyDeleteTo realize now how intriguing flowers can be, and what they have done for us in our past, just makes me more curious about them. Maybe next time i notice a small patch of flowers i'l try smelling them, and see if they really can be as nice as people say.
Wow that is amazing. I always loved the way flowers looked. I always believed flowers meant love. I never knew that they could have a true meaning though. That is a wonderful thing and now the next time I notice a flower I will be thinking what does this flower truely mean and to who was it for.
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