Crafts, Hobbies & Home
Crafts & Hobbies
![Karen Azoulay - [object Object] author](https://res.cloudinary.com/readsomnia/image/upload/authors/a_B0BNT8CN62.jpg)
Flowers and Their Meanings: The Secret Language and History of Over 600 Blooms (A Flower Dictionary)
Uncover the secret meanings behind your bouquets and floral arrangements with this stunningly illustrated exploration of the Victorian language of flowers, including the multicultural history, rituals, and mythology behind over 600 flowers, herbs, and trees.
In the Victorian language of flowers, hundreds of blooms were ascribed specific meanings based on folklore, science, and ancient history. Page through this botanical encyclopedia to learn each flower's Victorian meaning (ranunculus, for example, boldly states, "I am dazzled by your charms," while marigold represents despair), common names, and cultural history. There is also an index of the flowers grouped by theme, should you want to challenge your local florist to create a coded message for a loved one.
The study of floriography can be used by readers to decode hidden messages in beloved novels like The Age of Innocence or speculate as to why two canary-yellow roses-which signify jealousy and infidelity-were featured in Diana Spencer's wedding bouquet. You might share some honeysuckle (meaning "bonds of love") with a friend or partner as a gesture of commitment. Or perhaps you'll choose a celebratory bouquet of angelica ("inspiration") and purple columbine ("resolved to win") for a friend who has triumphed over something difficult.
Karen Azoulay pairs nineteenth century botanical drawings with electric photography, creating a one-of-a-kind flower dictionary with a contemporary, artful feel. With a foreword by Kate Bolick and a helpful sentiment-based index, Flowers and Their Meanings is both a beautiful volume and a practical guide to incorporating the language of flowers into your own life.
In the Victorian language of flowers, hundreds of blooms were ascribed specific meanings based on folklore, science, and ancient history. Page through this botanical encyclopedia to learn each flower's Victorian meaning (ranunculus, for example, boldly states, "I am dazzled by your charms," while marigold represents despair), common names, and cultural history. There is also an index of the flowers grouped by theme, should you want to challenge your local florist to create a coded message for a loved one.
The study of floriography can be used by readers to decode hidden messages in beloved novels like The Age of Innocence or speculate as to why two canary-yellow roses-which signify jealousy and infidelity-were featured in Diana Spencer's wedding bouquet. You might share some honeysuckle (meaning "bonds of love") with a friend or partner as a gesture of commitment. Or perhaps you'll choose a celebratory bouquet of angelica ("inspiration") and purple columbine ("resolved to win") for a friend who has triumphed over something difficult.
Karen Azoulay pairs nineteenth century botanical drawings with electric photography, creating a one-of-a-kind flower dictionary with a contemporary, artful feel. With a foreword by Kate Bolick and a helpful sentiment-based index, Flowers and Their Meanings is both a beautiful volume and a practical guide to incorporating the language of flowers into your own life.
Short Excerpt Teaser
Introduction
It was a crown of orange blossoms that haloed twenty-year-old Queen Victoria on her wedding day. She loved all things floral and was very aware of the hidden meanings they projected. Fluent in the language of flowers, she knew the pale citrus blooms signified chastity, marriage, and-due to the tree's generous trait to bear fruit and flowers simultaneously-fertility. Early in their marriage, Prince Albert's grandmother gifted the young queen some myrtle, a bloom emblematic of love. Victoria had a cutting of the flower planted, and a sprig of myrtle originating from that bush has been included in every British royal wedding bouquet ever since.
One hundred forty-one years later, when twenty-year-old Diana Spencer walked down the aisle to marry Prince Charles, she held a cascading forty-two-inch-long bouquet. Following tradition, it included some of Victoria's "love myrtle." The showy floral burst featured many other botanicals, each known for a different sentiment, including ivy ("marriage"), gardenias ("transport of joy"), lily of the valley ("return of happiness"), and veronica ("fidelity"). Awkwardly tucked in behind all these white flowers, barely visible, were two canary-yellow roses. This variety of Rosa floribunda happened to be named after Lord Mountbatten, Prince Charles's deceased mentor and honorary grandfather. Presumably they were placed in his memory, but yellow roses are also known to signify jealousy and infidelity. Is it going too far to suspect the aggrieved Diana was expressing a complaint she could not yet dare speak aloud? This elaborate form of covert communication-broadcasting and interpreting emotions embedded in floral arrangements-is the art of floriography.
This wildly popular method of cryptologic communication captured the imaginations of many young women during the Victorian era. In the language of flowers, as it was commonly known, each botanical species was assigned a specific emotional sentiment, varying in tone from sweet (ivy geranium gallantly requested, "Your hand for the next dance?") to melodramatic (Viburnum declared, "I die if neglected") to downright combative (a dried white rose indicated "death preferable to loss of innocence"). A thoughtfully curated bouquet delivered a layered poetic memo for the recipient to decipher with the help of an exhaustive dictionary. Hundreds of books documenting the language of flowers were published during the nineteenth century.
Once you start looking, you will find that countless secret floral messages have been left for you to discover. In J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, the first time Professor Snape speaks to Harry, he asks, "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" Asphodel is a type of lily, meaning "my regrets will follow you to the grave," and wormwood represents "absence" and "bitter sorrow," translating to "I bitterly regret Lily's death."
Think of the coded language of emoji. Like a poetic bouquet, a chain of emojis can send a sincere message without uttering a word. It can be hard to express love, lust, and earnest declarations of praise or apology, but a combo of gimmicky symbols feels less vulnerable. As with floriography, this texting language was stylistically pioneered by young femmes. Since ancient times, urban youth-young women in particular-have used innovative terms that push language forward. In every generation, cries of illiteracy and vapidity belittle femme youth. In time, however, their colloquial transgressions are recognized.
Who has the need to communicate and verbally explore more than young women? I can recall talking on the phone for hours with my teenage best friend, Pam. We would meet each other at school first thing in the morning with long handwritten letters to exchange. Tightly folded into discrete shapes, these pages were filled with doodles, dreams, and quizzes about our crushes (written in secret code, of course).
Like pastel floral prints and other stereotypically feminine interests, certain language is often viewed to lack substance. Contrary to popular belief, the 1980s Valley girl like is not a speech filler; linguists have determined its value as a modal marker, a technique of reinforcement, and for paraphrasing. The teenage vanguard who championed an overuse of like are now middle aged and its use is still going strong. Like was not a fleeting, immature fad.
When it co...
It was a crown of orange blossoms that haloed twenty-year-old Queen Victoria on her wedding day. She loved all things floral and was very aware of the hidden meanings they projected. Fluent in the language of flowers, she knew the pale citrus blooms signified chastity, marriage, and-due to the tree's generous trait to bear fruit and flowers simultaneously-fertility. Early in their marriage, Prince Albert's grandmother gifted the young queen some myrtle, a bloom emblematic of love. Victoria had a cutting of the flower planted, and a sprig of myrtle originating from that bush has been included in every British royal wedding bouquet ever since.
One hundred forty-one years later, when twenty-year-old Diana Spencer walked down the aisle to marry Prince Charles, she held a cascading forty-two-inch-long bouquet. Following tradition, it included some of Victoria's "love myrtle." The showy floral burst featured many other botanicals, each known for a different sentiment, including ivy ("marriage"), gardenias ("transport of joy"), lily of the valley ("return of happiness"), and veronica ("fidelity"). Awkwardly tucked in behind all these white flowers, barely visible, were two canary-yellow roses. This variety of Rosa floribunda happened to be named after Lord Mountbatten, Prince Charles's deceased mentor and honorary grandfather. Presumably they were placed in his memory, but yellow roses are also known to signify jealousy and infidelity. Is it going too far to suspect the aggrieved Diana was expressing a complaint she could not yet dare speak aloud? This elaborate form of covert communication-broadcasting and interpreting emotions embedded in floral arrangements-is the art of floriography.
This wildly popular method of cryptologic communication captured the imaginations of many young women during the Victorian era. In the language of flowers, as it was commonly known, each botanical species was assigned a specific emotional sentiment, varying in tone from sweet (ivy geranium gallantly requested, "Your hand for the next dance?") to melodramatic (Viburnum declared, "I die if neglected") to downright combative (a dried white rose indicated "death preferable to loss of innocence"). A thoughtfully curated bouquet delivered a layered poetic memo for the recipient to decipher with the help of an exhaustive dictionary. Hundreds of books documenting the language of flowers were published during the nineteenth century.
Once you start looking, you will find that countless secret floral messages have been left for you to discover. In J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, the first time Professor Snape speaks to Harry, he asks, "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" Asphodel is a type of lily, meaning "my regrets will follow you to the grave," and wormwood represents "absence" and "bitter sorrow," translating to "I bitterly regret Lily's death."
Think of the coded language of emoji. Like a poetic bouquet, a chain of emojis can send a sincere message without uttering a word. It can be hard to express love, lust, and earnest declarations of praise or apology, but a combo of gimmicky symbols feels less vulnerable. As with floriography, this texting language was stylistically pioneered by young femmes. Since ancient times, urban youth-young women in particular-have used innovative terms that push language forward. In every generation, cries of illiteracy and vapidity belittle femme youth. In time, however, their colloquial transgressions are recognized.
Who has the need to communicate and verbally explore more than young women? I can recall talking on the phone for hours with my teenage best friend, Pam. We would meet each other at school first thing in the morning with long handwritten letters to exchange. Tightly folded into discrete shapes, these pages were filled with doodles, dreams, and quizzes about our crushes (written in secret code, of course).
Like pastel floral prints and other stereotypically feminine interests, certain language is often viewed to lack substance. Contrary to popular belief, the 1980s Valley girl like is not a speech filler; linguists have determined its value as a modal marker, a technique of reinforcement, and for paraphrasing. The teenage vanguard who championed an overuse of like are now middle aged and its use is still going strong. Like was not a fleeting, immature fad.
When it co...
