A bouquet of flowers from the neighborhood grocery, and from our garden, to mark our 12th wedding anniversary...wasn't really thinking of their meanings when I picked these, but was surprised to discover the same.
The Victorians ascribed meanings to flowers, and would present bouquets, with only the name of the sender or a quote/poem written in an elegant hand on thick cards tucked into creamy monogrammed envelopes. Do you remember the scene in 'The Age of Innocence' where Newland Archer sends Countess Olenska a bouquet of twelve long-stemmed yellow roses? He begins to write his name on the card and then changes his mind. It seems yellow roses respresent joy and friendship such as the one Archer feels for his soulmate...and she has no trouble guessing who the sender might be...
Apparently, the language of flowers goes back further to the Moors whose harems spent time divining the message of flowers gifted to one another. Hmm. Too much time on one's hands I think...or perhaps too many in a harem.
In one way, an idle mind could be a devil's workshop...or...it could spur creativity and imagination within a group that had little else to amuse itself with - remember, no TV/ radio/ internet in those days... Well, it looks like they did a great job at ascribing meanings to flowers - their work has lived on as a knowledge bank that a billion dollar flower industry dips into even today to tap into its customers' emotions. Hot button right there!
Red Carnations - Love, pride, admiration, and charity
Blue Alstroemeria - Friendship and devotion, wealth, prosperity, fortune
Yellow Lilies - "I'm walking on air", falsity, gaiety
White Hydrangeas - Vanity, "Thank you for understanding", frigidity (Hmm?!?)
White daisies - Shared feelings of affection, loyal love, purity
Red Roses - Sincere love, respect, courage, passion
Don't know what those tiny blue drum bouquet flowers are...they have yellow centers, btw...
Apparently, the language of flowers goes back further to the Moors whose harems spent time divining the message of flowers gifted to one another. Hmm. Too much time on one's hands I think...or perhaps too many in a harem.
In one way, an idle mind could be a devil's workshop...or...it could spur creativity and imagination within a group that had little else to amuse itself with - remember, no TV/ radio/ internet in those days... Well, it looks like they did a great job at ascribing meanings to flowers - their work has lived on as a knowledge bank that a billion dollar flower industry dips into even today to tap into its customers' emotions. Hot button right there!
Blue Alstroemeria - Friendship and devotion, wealth, prosperity, fortune
Red Roses - Sincere love, respect, courage, passion
Don't know what those tiny blue drum bouquet flowers are...they have yellow centers, btw...
No comments:
Post a Comment