During the Victorian era, it became especially popular to attach significant meanings
to flowers and plants.
Also known as
floriography, the language of flowers
was a very useful means of relaying important messages ...
Pine Cone (Pinus) . . . Conviviality, Life
Mullein (Verbascum) . . . Take courage
Poppy (Papaver) . . . Fantastic extravagance
Often, the meanings were positive and affirming,
but some were not - quite to the contrary, in fact.
Clematis (Clematis) . . . Poverty
Pansy (Viola) . . . Think of me
Lavender (Lavandula) . . . Mistrust
The next time I assemble a bouquet I certainly won't be viewing the arrangement
in quite the same way as I did before reading this book ...
for so long I'd almost given up hope of getting my hands on it [perpetually checked out]
so I was ecstatic when I found a used copy at the thrift store.
It has been much loved with many dog-ears & now I can understand why.
Every now and again a book crosses my path which feels like its my
destiny to read. The best writers can make their readers feel this way, I think.
Without giving too much away, the heroine of this story is Victoria, a young woman
who's been in and out of foster care her entire life but has one all-embracing solace ...
a deep love of plants.
As a child she learned this Victorian language of flowers - an era when every blossom was
assigned a deeper meaning, then used as a way to express sentiment and romantic emotions
since more outward signs were restricted - and since Victoria can't [or won't]
express her emotions either, flowers become her vehicle.
That's only a tiny nutshell of a description ... the story is beautifully complicated.
Filled with symbolism and filled with historical references,
I've barely been able to put this one down.
Amaranth (Amaranthus) . . . Immortality
Victoria decides at one point to assemble her own reference collection,
so she carefully & methodically teaches herself the parameters of photography [film, not digital]
and sets out to capture her subjects with great dedication & perseverence.
The book is set in the San Francisco Bay area of California
and she visits many spots familiar to me
such as the Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park,
along with other locales I know and love oh so well [and miss to this day].
At the back of the book the author has included
Victoria's Dictionary of Flowers
and as I was perusing the list, recognizing many names of plants I've grown in my own garden
at one time or another, I got the crazy idea to take a backwards gander at my own photo files
to see if I could find some items from Victoria's list.
If nothing else it would be a fun exercise in learning those elusive floriography terms.
I soon discovered flowers that one might expect to have, well, a more "positive"
emotion attached to them,
but do not at all ...
like these two.
Currant (Ribes) . . . Thy frown will kill me
Rose, yellow (Rosa) . . . Infidelity
I just love books like this
where I'm introduced to a whole new way of looking and thinking
about something otherwise so familiar.
Rose, purple (Rosa) . . . Enchantment
Rose, pale peach (Rosa) . . . Modesty
Scabiosa (Scabiosa) . . . Unfortunate love
Dog (Canis lupus) . . . Undying devotion [my floriography]
oh hi. how'd you get in here?
Just making sure you folks haven't fallen asleep in the petals yet ...
[chuckling happily]
Cherry blossoms (Prunus cerasus) . . . Impermanence
Of course, I'm a tad partial to the next one
Sweet pea (Lathyrus odorata) . . . Delicate pleasures
and as it happens, I have quite a lot of this next one in my garden.
Yarrow (Achillea) . . . Cure for a broken heart
Hmmm, what can it all mean?
I'm looking forward to spring and making that next bouquet ...
: : :
Wishing all of you who stop by here a most lovely season
of joy and beauty
P.S. WAIT! Have I got the holiday gift for you! Just as I was finishing this book-related post,
my masterful dye friend,
India Flint, announced that she has put together a NEW BOOK ...
In her words:
"it contains a technique you can do even in the smallest of apartments
and that I think you will want to do over and over again."
Go see ~ there's a preview & you can buy it now ... over
HERE on Blurb.
I treated myself to the hardback ;>]
