The Language of Flowers

One of my favorite books is Kate Greenaway's, "Language of Flowers." My copy is a 1978 reprint of her book originally published in 1884.

The book has two parts. First,the book lists flowers alphabetically from A to Z with the Victorian interpretation of their meaning. For example, the foxglove means insincerity while the honeysuckle means generous and devoted. The second part of the book lists the attributes in alphbetical order. For example is you want to express disdain, the yellow carnation would be the appropriate flower.

During the Victorian times, flower arrangements would be sent, often from men to women comprised of various flowers. The flowers where then interpreted using the language of flowers to decipher the hidden message. If the arrangement was a small nosegay, they would be called a "Tussie Mussie."