Floriography - The meaning of flowers

The secret language of flowers

I absolutely love the fact that flowers have their own language called floriography. Floriography has been around for many thousands of years, however, interest in it really peaked in the UK during the Victorian era. Victorians loved to send bouquets which had a coded meaning that they couldn’t express in conversation. Here are some of my favourite flowers meanings:

Dahlia

Dahlias symbolise dignity and elegance, they also represent staying graceful under pressure and drawing on inner strength to succeed. Perhaps my favourite for them is standing out from the crowd and following your own path. Brightly coloured and bold, I couldn’t think of a better meaning for these individual flowers!

Phlox

Phlox has a number of different meanings, but all are in some way related to romance - ‘love’, ‘proposal’,’sweet dreams’. My favourite meaning is ‘unity of souls’, what a perfect flower to feature in a summer wedding bouquet!

Rudbeckia

Rudbeckia are also known as ‘Black-eyed Susan’ due to their centres which become visible as the flowers come to the end of their lives and the petals wilt backwards from the centre. Amongst the symbols for this flower are motivation and impartiality as well as encouragement. It also symbolises justice with the black centre said to represent the darker side of our souls becoming visible when the light of justice is served.

Daucus Carota

Daucus Carota is also known as Queen Annes lace. Amongst its meanings are ‘do not refuse me’, whilst it is a pretty delicate plant it obviously knows what it wants! It can also symbolise a haven or sanctuary and sometimes symbolises fantasy. If it is planted by a woman who is true to herself then it is said that it will thrive!

Rose

Roses have many different meanings by type and colour! When given as a single bloom they mean ‘I love you’ or ‘I still love you’, perhaps an indication of why they are so popular around Valentines day. Red roses also symbolise love and desire. A yellow rose as pictured below means friendship, happiness and joy - how lovely!

I do hope you’ve enjoyed finding out the meanings behind this small selection of beautiful flowers. If you’ve got a wedding or event that needs flowers and you’d like to include some with special meaning, then I’d love to help. Please send me a message via my contact page and I’ll be happy to about how I can help.