7 fascinating facts about the language of flowers, floriography, and the mysterious language of flowers

Flowers can express almost anything. Each conveys a different message, which means that the seemingly simple language of flowers is actually a complex labyrinth of hints and symbols. In the past, it was enough to put a flower in your hair, decorate your ball gown with it, or pin it to your lapel to convey a secret message. How did this mysterious pastime actually come about?

1. The language of flowers and letters from the Orient

There is a view that the language of flowers has its roots in the Orient and reached its peak popularity in Victorian England during the reign of Queen Victoria from 1837 to 1901. British aristocrat Mary Wortley Montagu (1689–1762) is said to have described symbolic messages associated with flowers in her letters while living in what was then Constantinople with her husband, the ambassador to the Ottoman Empire. But like flowers, the language of flowers has a much longer and more complex history. William Shakespeare (1564–1616) used the symbolic meanings of pansies, rosemary, violets, daffodils, primroses and other flowers in his plays. Later, flowers also appeared in the works of Jane Austen and the Brontë sisters, combining wild herbs and elegant salon flowers. Wherever and however the language of flowers appeared, its main purpose was the same: to express what would be socially inappropriate to say aloud, especially when it came to romantic relationships between men and women.

2. The rose, queen of flowers

If we were to focus only on roses, it would be simple: each shade expressed a different message, and even the type of rose mattered — whether it was classic, tea, wild, in full bloom or just a bud. A white rose symbolised humility, innocence and friendship, a red rose expressed strong love, a pink rose offered forgiveness, an orange rose symbolised passion and desire, while a yellow rose signified jealousy.

However, the meanings of flowers can be misleading, and sometimes you will find that one flower can have multiple interpretations. So if your partner loves yellow roses, don’t hesitate to go out and buy them, regardless of their traditional meanings.

3. The language of flowers is not limited to roses

In addition to roses, many other flowers have their place in the language of flowers. Their messages vary only slightly – from lilies (symbolising modesty, sincerity, purity), hellebores (“I’m always thinking of you”) or violets (fidelity) to gladioli (hurry slowly), lily of the valley (love at first sight), lilac (the purest feelings) and tulips (pure feelings, desire) to camellias (I long for you and will never let you go). Finding out the meaning of hyacinths was a challenge: white indicated that mutual affection was waning, red meant “I remember you fondly”, blue “I will keep you in my memory”, purple an apology, yellow jealousy and pink seemed to say “it’s just fun”.

4. The language of flowers and the secrets of colours

Until the mid-19th century, it was very popular to give bouquets made up of different types of flowers, which meant that a single bouquet could express a whole range of feelings and secrets. If we were more familiar with the symbolism of flowers, the rich floral still lifes of the 17th and 18th centuries would be clearer to us. Sometimes it was even easier to focus on the symbolism of colours. White innocence, yellow jealousy and red love have already been mentioned; shades of orange expressed passion, blue mystery, red attention and pink tranquillity.

5. Go to hell!

Do you think all flowers conveyed positive messages? No, there were flowers that expressed anger, hostility and breakups. For example, the innocent-looking pale yellow flowers of the wolfsbane plant even wished the recipient a quick death. And that’s not all: the daffodil, as a symbol of vanity, told the recipient that they were too interested in themselves, the pasque flower signified abandonment, the yellow chrysanthemum symbolised contemptuous love, the pasque flower signified a break-up, the cyclamen signified the end of a relationship, the striped carnation signified rejection, the petunia signified anger, and the orange lily signified hatred.

6. The symbolism of the number of flowers in a bouquet

In addition to individual flowers, their colour variations and the way they are arranged, the number of flowers also has its own symbolism. Similar to the folklore that says that black cats bring bad luck, there are widespread superstitions that an even number of flowers is not suitable as a gift for celebrations, but rather as a contribution to a grave. The origin of this old superstition is unknown, but florists understand that numbers still have meaning today. For example, one hundred or fifty roses symbolise deep love, while a bouquet of eighty-eight roses signifies a plea for forgiveness. Sixty-six flowers indicate that love will endure. A bouquet of eighteen roses carries a hidden message: “I still see you as you were at eighteen,” and a bouquet of six different roses wishes you a happy journey. Certain numbers of flowers also have hidden meanings.

7. The language of flowers from florists and meadows

Would you ever think of giving a flower with the blooms facing upwards, tilted to the left or right, or carefully arranged into intricate patterns? All of this has meaning in the language of flowers, and no one knows this better than florists. Today, there are florists who try to express anything and everything with the help of flowers. You may be interested in tips on various florists, such as Kytky od potoka (Flowers from the Stream) or Kveetko with their unique kveetkomat in Němčičky in South Moravia, where instead of importing expensive flowers from far away, they grow many traditional species known from domestic gardens.

Another option is to pick flowers yourself. What flowers can you find along our nature trails? For example, dandelions (you are like a child), poppies (I am not free), nettles (you are trying in vain) or birch twigs (time is flying and you are still deciding when to get married). However, it might be better to choose a florist…