Floriography: A Comprehensive Beginner's Guide to Learn the Myths, Magic, and Meaning of Flowers

By Johnny Dixon

Gain a better understanding of floriography, and learn about the meaning, magic, and myths behind various types of flowers.

Have you ever wondered what floriography is?

Are you curious about the history of floriography?

Are you interested in learning about the flowers behind your birth month?

Do you want

• Language: English
• Publisher: Goodworks publishing
• Release date: Sep 30, 2023
• ISBN: 9781088092248

Book preview

Introduction

Receiving a gorgeous flower arrangement is always a wonderful experience, and so is preparing and sending it. However, only a few people think about the message they’re sending with their floral gift. Each flower type, color, and arrangement has a unique meaning - something people in the Victorian era were consummately aware of and used readily to convey thoughts and feelings. While it’s unclear where the language of flowers (known as Floriography) gets its origins, it has been used for thousands of years and has remained part of our culture even in these modern times. In this book, you’ll be able to explore the concept of Floriography and learn how it evolved through history, including the colorful tales surrounding certain flowers in different cultures. Some flowers have been gifted based on myths, while others were known as medicinal plants and were known to have a calming, soothing, or another positive effect on the recipient.

On special occasions, flowers can communicate far more sentiments and thoughts than any word could ever do. From saying you have the recipient in your thoughts in difficult times to conveying your gratitude for having someone in your life, there is so much you can express by gifting an appropriate flower arrangement. This comprehensive guide will teach you everything you need to know about the symbolism of flowers. After reading it, you’ll understand what each type, color, and arrangement conveys, allowing you to send more thoughtful gifts to your loved ones. You’ll also learn about birth flowers and their meanings, including what each flower symbolizes and how it’s linked to people born in the same month.

Once you understand the different meanings of flowers, you’ll be able to convey how you feel about the recipient by simply giving them a bouquet you’ve prepared with your own hands by keeping the recipient’s sentiments in mind. Your gifts will become more thoughtful. They will be received with gratitude and strengthen your relationship with the recipient. Or, if you’re preparing flower arrangements for a special event, understanding the meaning of flowers will give you the power to convey what the occasion stands for those celebrating it.

After expanding your knowledge about the different forms of floriography symbolism, you’ll be able to start crafting your own handmade bouquet. The relevant chapter lists all the tools and steps you need to prepare flower arrangements for any occasion. After this, it will only be the question of embracing your creativity, and you’ll soon be creating your own special bouquets. That said, to help you get started, this book also has a few chapters with tips on how to arrange blooms for bouquets representing sentiments such as love, luck, friendship, celebration, and gratitude. If you’re ready to embark on this rewarding journey, continue reading.

Chapter 1

What Is Floriography?

One looks at flowers and can’t help but be in awe of their beautiful colors and fragrance. Each type of flower has its own form, color, and function. They have evolved into beautiful plants that have captured people’s attention and imagination. Whether they are in a bouquet, vase, shop, painting, or a church’s walls, your eyes always land on them. Flowers have always been intriguing. Many cultures have been curious about them and what they represent for centuries. Religions, legends, and legacies all use flowers as symbols that carry different meanings. For instance, in Christianity, violets symbolize the Virgin Mary.

Flowers are the most popular gifts in the world. People use them for all kinds of occasions, from weddings to funerals and everything in between. They are perfect for every event and emotion. You apologize, show gratitude, wish someone luck, express love, and sympathy, and celebrate someone’s success with flowers. Flowers make everyone happy.

As the popularity of flowers grew, people’s interest in them grew as well. For this reason, they have assigned meanings to them. These meanings were often based on the appearance or the behavior of the flower. For instance, the mimosa flower is associated with chastity because its petals close at night.

Flowers have their own language, which is called Floriography. It gives us a great deal of knowledge about these beautiful plants. Each flower’s type and color holds meaning and symbolism, like love, jealousy, passion, and even death. Gardeners, brides, lovers, florists, artists, poets, and many others find the perfect expressions in flowers. Roses say, I love you, while lilies say, I am sorry for your loss. The magic and symbolism behind flowers can come through and express a variety of emotions. They can communicate everything you want to say without uttering one word.

Floriography is an art used to send a coded message that not everyone understands. Some messages can be positive, while others can be negative. When you learn about Floriography, you will be able to communicate with your loved ones using the language of flowers. Understanding Floriography allows you to express your feelings through a bouquet of flowers, making it a very thoughtful gift.

Learning the language of flowers is a hobby that has been popular for hundreds of years. This has prompted flower experts to create source material for the language. They have collected all types of flowers and provided dictionaries and guides that contain their meanings and the symbolism behind their colors and arrangements.

Just like any language, Floriography is a form of communication used to send a message to only someone who knows this language can understand it. It is a language of feelings and emotions, which, in most cases, is sweet and tender. Floriography is a non-verbal and unique language that can express how you feel when words fail you. Flowers bring warmth, joy, and comfort. Although they can express many emotions, Floriography has been considered a romantic language. Lovers prefer the language of flowers above all else to express their feelings and let someone know that they are the object of their desire.

The Deeper Meaning behind Flowers

Combining different flowers into a bouquet may result in an entirely different meaning than each separate flower. For instance, the flower bouquet held by Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales, on her wedding day to Prince William symbolized an everlasting marriage. However, each of the flowers has a different meaning. The bouquet consisted of all-white flowers like hyacinth, which symbolize loveliness, lily of the valley, which represents purity; and sweet William, which is a symbol of gallantry. Whoever prepared this bouquet clearly had a wide knowledge of Floriography.

Even the number of flowers you add to a bouquet can give them a whole new meaning. For instance, give them a bunch of daffodils if you want to wish someone good luck. However, giving someone one daffodil flower can be regarded as an insult since it brings bad luck. During the Victorian era, people sent each other concealed, disdained messages using different flowers. For instance, yellow lilies are associated with gratitude, while orange lilies represent hatred. Mixing the two together means that your gratitude isn’t sincere. The flowers’ arrangements and the way you present them can also impact the meaning behind the bouquet.

The flower’s scent can also carry a special message or express certain emotions. For instance, the scent of magnolia invokes feelings of confidence and calmness, and the scent of peony symbolizes femininity.

The Secrets behind a Bouquet of Roses

Most people know that a bouquet of roses symbolizes love and romance. Red or pink roses are usually the perfect Valentine’s Day gift. However, not many people know why they are associated with romance. This is due to the fact that Floriography isn’t as widespread as it used to be.

For thousands of years, ancient cultures from all over the world have treated roses as romantic flowers. The ancient Greeks were among the first people to use roses in this context. In Greek mythology, Cupid was stung by a bee, and he accidentally shot his arrows into a garden of roses. As a result, they all grew thrones. At that very moment, Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, walked into the garden and cut her foot on one of the flowers’ thrones. Her blood covered all the roses and turned them red. In another legend, when Aphrodite’s lover Adonis died, a red rose grew from his blood and her tears.

In Roman mythology, roses were also a symbol of love since they represent Venus, the goddess of love who they believed created this flower. The upper-class Romans also associated red roses with romance and beauty. In early Christianity, people believed that a rose was the virtue of the Virgin Mary, which makes it a symbol of love and passion to this day. Many other cultures around the world, like the Arabs and Chinese, also consider roses, especially red ones, to symbolize love. Roses have become a universal language of passion, love, and romance. You can give a rose to someone who doesn’t speak your language, and they will still know the message you are trying to convey.

In literature, William Shakespeare used roses in one of the most romantic stories of all time, Romeo and Juliet, to symbolize romantic beauty A rose by any other name. Roses were Shakespeare’s favorite flowers, as he once stated.

To this day, giving a rose to someone is considered a romantic and affectionate gesture and an expression of love.

The roses in a bouquet can have different meanings, depending on their number.

One rose: Love at first sight.

Two roses: You are deeply in love with someone.

Five roses: You care about someone.

Nine roses: Symbolize eternal love.

Fifteen roses: Used as an apology.

Twenty-four roses: Mean that this person is on your mind all day (24 hours).

Thirty roses: Signify faithfulness in a relationship.

A hundred roses: Represent devotion.

The Significance of Floriography in Societies

Now more than ever, we need Floriography. Human communication has changed in the last few decades, and people have been relying on electronics and text messages to express their feelings. Many