The giving of flowers as gifts to celebrate birthdays is believed to have started during the Roman Empire. These gifts were not just for family and friends, but also a way of honouring Roman Gods.
During the Victorian era, a language of flowers was developed. Specific flowers eventually had a meaning attached to them to allow the passage of a secret, personal, romantic message between two lovers.
This Eurasian plant has a spice scent.
The carnation, also called the Clove Pink or Gillyflower, can be found in numerous colours ranging from pink to purple-red and are said to symbolise love, fascination and distinction.
Carnation gets its name from the word ‘coronation’ or the Greek word for ‘flower garlands’ which is ‘corone.’
Some of the specific messages attach to Carnations include “My Heart Aches For you” (red), “I’ll Never Forget You” (pink), “You Have Disappointed me” (yellow) and “I Wish I Could Be With You” (striped).
This is a low, herbaceous plant that comes in various shades of blue, mauve, yellow and cream as well as several species identified as pansies and symbolize faithfulness, humility and chastity.
The word ‘violet’ is believed to originate from the word ‘vias’ which translates to mean ‘wayside.’
Hidden messages of the Violet included “I’ll Always Be True” (violet) and “Let’s Take A Chance” (White/Cream).
The daffodil, also known as Jonquil or Narcissus, is often recognised as a yellow flower but other colour varieties are white and orange. It is a widely cultivated ornamental plant with clustered flowers and a trumpet-shaped central crown. This fragrant flower is native to southern Europe.
The word ‘jonquil’ comes from ‘jonquillo’ a Spanish word meaning ‘rush’ as in a description of the leaves of the plant that are ‘rush-like.’
When giving a daffodil, the message being sent is “You Are An Angel.”
The fragrant pastel coloured flowers of this climbing garden plant make it extremely popular.
The sweet pea appears in a wide range of pastel colours and also blooms in two-tone varieties and symbolizes pleasure or good-bye, which explains the message “Thank You For A Lovely Time” attached to the flower.
The Latin ‘lathyrus odoratus,’ which means ‘pea’ and ‘fragrant’ is how the sweet pea was named.
This low growing perennial plant has small fragrant bell-shaped flowers and two large oblong lanceolate leaves and bloom in white.
Latin words ‘maius’ (May) and ‘anthemon’ (flower), a reference to when this plant blooms, is how it was named.
Lily of the Valley symbolises sweetness and humility and “You’ve Made My Life Complete” is the hidden message connected to the flower.
This flower and shrub of the Rosa genus are usually found in the Northern Hemisphere and are available in colours ranging from red and pink to white and yellow.
Latin ‘rosa’ and Greek ‘rhodia’ are the words that led to the naming of the rose.
Hidden messages of roses include “I Love You” (red), “I Am Worthy Of You” (white), “You Are My Secret Love” (orange), “You Are Heavenly” (white), “I Am Not Worthy Of Your Love” (yellow), “We Are Inseparable” (white and red) and “Please Believe Me” (pink).
Come back on Saturday for the second half! 🙂