The "Language of Flowers" is a concept from the Victorian period, when societal rules were strict and people developed a code for communicating through flowers. A Victorian family might have a reference book, like the one pictured, where you could "decode" the bouquet you were just delivered.
Not all these messages were positive, and they could be extremely specific! For instance, handing someone a sprig of tansy means "I declare against you."
Some of these symbols they collected originated thousands of years ago, and I've made a project of exploring the fascinating history of botanical symbols while I render them in silver. If you want to explore alongside me, follow me at @affinityfloralarts on Instagram and Tiktok!
This book pictured above is an antique "Language of Flowers" reference, once owned by a real Victorian family. It's one of my main sources for this project, and it's in the public domain so you can view an online scanned version at the link below.
Happy reading!
The Language of Flowers: an Alphabet of Floral Emblemshttps://publicdomainreview.org/collection/the-language-of-flowers-an-alphabet-of-floral-emblems-1857
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