Do you have Spring Fever? I sure do! It's still freezing here and more snow is expected Sunday night. Ugh. The good news is that tomorrow is March 1st! There is light at the end of this cold and icy tunnel.
Spring is on it's way! ♥
I've been doing a lot of day dreaming about my garden. What it will look like and smell like this year. And how nice it will be to have fresh flowers on the kitchen counter every morning. I love flowers in the house. They make ordinary days feel like special days.
There is a language, little known,
Lovers claim it as their own.
Its symbols smile upon the land,
Wrought by nature's wondrous hand;
And in their silent beauty speak,
of life and joy, to those who seek.
For love divine and sunny hours
In the language of the flowers.
-The Language of Flowers, London, 1875
Have you ever wondered what your favorite flowers symbolizes? We all know that a Rose means love, but what about all the others All flowers have meanings. In fact, they have their own language.
The language of flowers goes all the way to back to Biblical Times and the Middle Ages. Herbs were believed to have magical powers and given a place of honor in royal gardens. In England during the reign of Queen Victoria (from 1837-1909) known as the Victorian Era, the language of flowers was as important to people as being "proper" and "well dressed". Flowers adorned everything from hair, clothing, jewelry, home décor, china, and stationary. Flowers had religious and symbolic meanings and still do today. Flowers would convey messages of love or dislike, depending on whom you gave them to.
Tussie-mussies were also introduced in the Victorian era, which are small bouquets of flowers, wrapped in a lace doily and tied with a satin ribbon. Each had it's own meaning and a single central flower. The tradition quickly spread with the publication of flower dictionaries explaining the meaning of plants, flowers, and herbs. It soon became popular to send flowers to convey secretive messages. In Victorian times it may not have been proper etiquette to express ones feelings. In this case a suitor may send a lady a red rose to symbolize his undying love. In return she could send him a white violet which meant "let's take a chance on happiness". If she disliked him she could send him a broken straw which meant "broken agreement" or a yellow carnation which was a clear sign of rejection.
The Victorians certainly had a romantic way of communicating ♥
After all these years, the language of flowers still speaks to us. Here is a list of a few of my favorite flowers and their meanings ~
The Crocus symbolizes cheerfulness and gladness. This is always the first flower I see blooming in my garden, so the meaning seems appropriate. Especially after this winter ♥
The Daisy symbolizes purity, innocence, loyal love, beauty, patience, and simplicity. And according to Meg Ryan in You've Got Mail, they are also the happiest flower. I agree. It's like they are smiling at you.
The Daffodil symbolizes unrequited love, chivalry, regard, sunshine, and respect.
The Geranium symbolizes a true friendship, folly, and meeting.
Gladiolas symbolize strength, splendid beauty, and love at first sight.
The Gardenia symbolizes secret love, purity, and refinement.
Impatiens symbolize motherly love. (We plant these in our flower boxes every year.)
The Iris symbolizes faith, wisdom, cherished friendship, hope, valor, my compliments, promise in love, and wisdom.
Hyacinths symbolize games, sport, rashness, and playful joy. I adore the scent of these! ♥
Holly symbolizes defense, domestic happiness, and forecast. I think it's ironic that Holly is associated with defense. Have you ever tried to cut a Holly branch? The leaves are so sharp!
The Lilac symbolizes beauty, pride, and youthful innocence.
The Peony symbolizes a happy marriage, compassion, and bashfulness.
The Petunia symbolizes "your presences soothes me". ♥
The Poppy symbolizes beauty, magic, consolation, fertility, and eternal life. And no matter how hard I try I can't get The Wizard of Oz out of my mind.
The Rhododendron symbolizes beware and caution. Interesting.
Tulips symbolize fame and perfect love. Red tulips mean "believe me" and are a declaration of love. Yellow tulips mean "there's sunshine in your smile". And cream tulips mean "I will love you forever". Variegated tulips mean "you have beautiful eyes".
Sweat Peas symbolize bliss, delicate pleasure, goodbye, departure, and thank you for a lovely time.
Carnations symbolize fascination, impulsiveness, joy, devoted love, and admiration. Although yellow carnations symbolize "you have disappointed me", and rejection. Ouch.
Hydrangeas symbolize "Thank you for understanding".
If you want to see what your favorite flower symbolizes I found a couple of websites that are very informative. I gathered most of the information for this post from both of these websites. In my search for flowers, I also accidentally learned some interesting Victorian Era etiquette facts that I will hopefully share in another post : )
www.victorianbazaar.com
www.proflowers.com
Flowers decorate our lives. They make us feels good just by looking at them, let alone by smelling them. Flowers are also memories. My mom puts lilies of the valley on her bedside table as soon as they bloom in the Spring. Whenever I see lilies of the valley I think of her. I will get myself a pink tulip from the market for Easter and think of my Nana and blue hydrangeas always remind me of my sister because they were her favorite. Flowers touch us all in special ways. During the doldrums of winter (like, NOW) I dream of seeing these lovely blooms outside my window. Their sweet scent filling the air, conveying messages straight to my heart.
I love flowers. I think you do too ♥
xoxo
This is wonderful!
ReplyDeleteI so enjoyed reading through and learning many things I did not know. : )
Yes...I am awaiting spring and green and flowers and grass and blue skies...
And my favorites from your list are daffidols...my mother's kitchen was decorated with them when I was young...and white roses. They were my favorite from my father's funeral. (It still seems strange to write that...)
Anyway, thanks for the beautiful post, my friend.
I will dream of flowers with you this weekend, as we watch the white snow fall. : )
Interesting post! My favorite flowers are tulips, so I loved seeing them symbolize perfect love. I have a gigantic (and I mean huge) rhododendron by my back door, so beware & caution in that respect kind of makes me giggle.
ReplyDeleteI am so ready for Spring & seeing pretty flowers again!
How lovely your post is today... my garden is filled with violets...so sweet and romantic.
ReplyDeleteSmiles, Dottie
I am so glad that March is finally here! What a lovely post, Danielle! I can't wait to see the first crocuses blooming after this long, cold and snowy winter. Happy March! Spring will be here before we know it! xoxo
ReplyDeleteSpring can't come soon enough for me!
ReplyDeleteOh, how fun to learn what they all mean! I always knew flowers had a 'language,' but I've only ever known one or two flowers. I adore irises and think their meaning is very fitting. Thanks for sharing and I hope your neck of the woods warms up soon!
ReplyDeletehttp://howtomakehome.blogspot.com