Did you know that in Victorian England it was popular to use flowers as a means of communication? Because of the strict rules for what was considered appropriate in the tight laced society of that era, speaking freely of ones emotions and desires was frowned upon. However, resourceful individuals came up with a romantic (and in my opinion brilliant) means by which to convey flirtations, admiration and love. By assigning a variety of flower with a certain meaning, one could subtly send a message to the object of their affection that was both thoughtful and discreet. This system of communication was known as Floriography, and often bouquets filled with meaning were exchanged between individuals. Several different Floral dictionaries were published during this time, so that a recipient could quite literally look up or decode what the sender was trying to communicate,

Floriography was quite extensive and inclusive of many meanings. There are hundreds of varieties of flowers sometimes with multiple meanings for the same one, or with different meanings for different colors. Not all flowers meant something sweet and positive. Negative emotions and ill will could also be conveyed in a bouquet. For example, a rhoddendron blossom would have symbolized "danger or beware".

Here's just a small sampling of some of flowers/meaning I find most intriguing:

Hyacinth, Purple- I'm sorry, Please forgive me

There are lost of awesome floral dictionaries and websites through which to learn the language of flowers. Think of a secret message you'd like to send someone special, then stop into our Boston shoppe to create it! We always have a bounty of fresh cut flowers for sale by the stem.

-Serena Fae