Victorian Meaning of Flowers

Victorian Flower Meaning

When the word Victorian is heard the first thing to come to mind is flowers. Victorian women have created fine art with flower arrangements, creating beautiful bouquets with strong hidden meanings. Flowers had a strong meaning in Victorian period and everything Victorian needs to be adorned with flowers. Although the floral language had its origin much before, during the Victorian era, it became imperative to learn the sophisticated meaning of flowers, by their color and position when gifted or received and with which hand. .

The development of floral language and its spread all over Europe was a slow process. Better known as Victorian Age Floral Language actually started rooting much before the 19 th century. The social customs prevailed in the Europe helped the development of floral language. Lovers were not allowed to express their romantic feelings in the public. The etiquette and custom prevailed during the Elizabethan period forced lovers to find a socially acceptable and aristocratic way of expressing the romantic feelings lovers had towards their heartthrobs. The Victorian Era (1837 –1901) saw assigning simple meaning to different flowers which meant the beginning of the development of the Victorian meaning of flowers. Several publishers of the Victorian time came out with dictionaries that described the Victorian meaning of flowers for individual flowers. The Victorian meaning of different flowers helped mostly lovers to create and send secret messages without the fear of being caught. Men and women of Victorian age could create telling messages carrying the meaning of love using flowers. An entire romantic poem was hidden within the flowers.

Knowing the meaning of floral language was as important as coming well dressed in public places during the Victorian age. The scent of the flowers too carried different meaning. A young man may win the heart of lady or estrange her with his selection of flower and method of presentation. The size and color gave different meaning in the Victorian age. A flower or a bouquet held up right conveyed a strong positive meaning and a flower held upside down assumed negative meaning in the Victorian flower language. If a man gave her love a rose by holding it in an inverted position meant the lady is rejected. If the lady accepted the flower with right hand, it meant welcome “Yes” the meaning of accepting the flowers with left hand indicates a “No”. The Victorian meaning of flowers was as you can se a very delicate and complicated thing.

The Victorian age people made bouquets to be presented along with satin that made likeable gifts. The Victorian age people were truly the world champions in mastering floral language.

Among the different flowers roses assumed a more powerful sentiments flower meaning even before the Victorian age. It is said that rose became red because they blushed when Adam and Eve were expelled from the Eden. How to forget Cleopatra showering rose petals before Mark Antony to express her feeling. A white rose meant innocence. Red roses still have the same meaning today as the meaning these flowers had in the Victorian era, I LOVE YOU.