“There is no colour, no flower, no weed, no fruit, herb, pebble, or feather, that has not a verse belonging to it; and you may quarrel, reproach, or send letters of passion, friendship, or civility, or even of news, without ever inking your fingers”
-Lady Mary Wortley Montague, 1718
Welcome to the Floral Archive!
The Floral Archive is an online project centred around floriography, that is, the language of flowers. Throughout history and across cultures, plants and flowers have long held important roles such as food, medicine, art, and literature. Plants often have significance and meanings attributed to them. However, these meanings can be specific to a distinct time period or unique culture; each of these meanings can differ starkly.
When asking the meaning or symbolism of a specific flower, often there are multiple meanings-- many of them contradicting each other. Take the common poppy for example. In the United States, the poppy is associated with gold due to the California Poppies found during the gold rush. Upon arriving in California to pan for gold, miners experienced fields of brightly coloured yellow poppies, seemingly predicting good luck in their future endeavours. Contrastingly, in Europe the poppy is comparable to the zeitgeist post-World War I of mourning, hope and remembrance and is worn annually on Remembrance Sunday and Armistice Day. With countless connotations, multiple legends and symbolic gestures attributed to flowers across time, how is it possible to navigate the complex realm of floriography?
It was not until the beginning of the 18th century that flowers and their meanings became popular within England. Lady Mary Wortley Montague is credited with introducing Victorian England to the symbolic love language of flowers, later known as floriography. During her travels to Turkey and having experienced the Turkish traditions, Lady Mary stated, “There is no colour, no flower, no weed, no fruit, herb, pebble, or feather that has not a verse belonging to it: and you may quarrel, reproach, or send letters of passion, friendship, or civility, or even of news, without ever inking your fingers”. From 1820-1880, the popularity of using flowers to convey meanings peaked; not only was it gaining popularity in England, but it was also spreading to France, Sweden and even to America. As the language of flowers became more mainstream, flower dictionaries detailing floral symbolism were published and the language of flowers flourished. Flowers were given and received, feelings and motivations were left unspoken yet still understood.
Almost as soon as floriography was introduced to Western Europe, flower dictionaries deciphering the language of flowers were written. These dictionaries would often borrow from the Turkish meanings as well as the medicinal and physical traits of the flower. In addition, many flowers gained their meanings through folklore and fairytales, although, these meanings were often much more specific according to a particular region. As flower dictionaries continued to emerge, many dictionaries built and adapted on others, or introduced new meanings entirely.
Floriography is a complex and often befuddling language to decode. Although flower dictionaries help to decipher the language and meaning behind a specific flower, many other surrounding details reveal the true message in which one is conveying. The best way I have found to break down and describe floriography is by comparing it to reading and writing; if one flower is considered one word or phrase of meaning, an entire bouquet could be considered a paragraph of meanings. If a flower has multiple meanings, the message would depend on the context of the surrounding flowers or in the manner in which it was presented. In floriography, a flower does not equate one specific meaning but it is instead a much more fluid language.
One flower can be described as one meaning or a sentence of meaning, but when put with other flowers the stem gains additional symbolism and can be described as a paragraph of sentiments. Take one flower stem, for example, a red tulip. This single red tulip stem most often symbolises ‘a declaration of love’.
However, adding cyclamen, symbolising ‘timid
hope’, the sentiment being expressed evolves deeper. If ambrosia, symbolising ‘love returned’ is also added, the now bouquet continues to have a greater depth of meaning. The single red tulip began as a simple ‘declaration of love’. However, the now created bouquet expresses a much deeper declaration of love communicating the giver’s ‘timid hope’ that the ‘declared love’ will be ‘returned’.
As you now understand, floriography is not as necessarily straight forward and easily deciphered as one might believe. The above example is not including possible modifications to the language. These modifications can make deciphering a sentiment much more difficult and can include details such as the number of, or lack thereof, leaves, the presence of thorns, the manner in which the flower or plant is presented, and so forth. The Floral Archive project is dedicated to deciphering the language of flowers and presenting it in a way that is easily understood and communicated.
The Floral Archive is a two-strand project dedicated to deciphering the meaning and symbolism of flowers according to the Victorian England standard and how those meanings could be conveyed in today’s colloquial dialect. The purpose of this project is to answer the questions “What does this flower symbolise?” and “Why?”. The first strand of the project is the Floral Archive Instagram account (@The_Floral_Archive) which will share photos, symbolism, and a condensed history about a specific plant or flower. The second strand of this project is the Floral Archive website. This website can be seen as an extension of the Instagram account; each entry to the Floral Archive will include a blog post. Every blog post will be dedicated to a specific flower or plant and the history and symbolism. The blog will explore the origin of the symbolisation as well as a reference to it in Victorian culture and today’s culture. Additionally, the blog will include the topic flower in different bouquets demonstrating different meanings or modifications to the original meaning.
Thank you so much for following along with this project and please be encouraged to interact with the topic material. Comments, questions, and suggestions are always helpful as the Floral Archive seeks to create a resurgence of modern-day floriography.
To Learn More:
“Curiosities of Fashion: In the Matter of Love Letters.” London Society, vol. 7, 1865, pp. 339–346. Digitised 22 November 2006.