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The Language of Flowers: Where Flower Meanings Come From

A short history of floriography, the Victorian language of flowers, with the meanings given for roses, lilies, irises, poppies, violets and peonies.

The Language of Flowers: Where Flower Meanings Come From

People have given flowers as messages for a long time. The practice has a name, floriography, and it grew into a popular hobby in the 1800s. This guide explains where the meanings came from, which ones appear most often, and how to use them when you choose a print for a room or a gift.

One caution first. Flower meanings were never a fixed code. Different books gave different answers, and the sources we read say so too. Treat each meaning below as a tradition, not a rule.

Where the idea started

Wikipedia's article on floriography traces the practice to the Turkish tradition called sélam, which used objects such as flowers to send hidden messages, and dates it to the 14th century. The article also says the Ottoman court was fascinated by tulips in the early 1700s. It reports that Mary Wortley Montagu brought the practice to England from Constantinople in 1718, although the article warns that some of these claims are not well sourced. Treat those dates with care.

The first published lists came later. The article says Joseph Hammer-Purgstall's dictionary of the language of flowers, from 1809, appears to be the first published list that pairs flowers with symbolic meanings. In 1819, Louise Cortambert, writing under the name Charlotte de la Tour, published Le langage des Fleurs. The article calls it the first floriography dictionary.

The books that spread it

Several books followed in English-speaking countries. Elizabeth Wirt's Flora's Dictionary and Dorothea Dix's The Garland of Flora both appeared in 1829. Robert Tyas published The Sentiment of Flowers in 1836, billed as an English version of de la Tour's book. Other writers, among them Sarah Josepha Hale, Catharine Esling, Lucy Hooper and Frances Osgood, produced further works in the 1830s and 1840s.

According to the article, interest peaked in Victorian England, North America and France during the 19th century. This is also the period when many botanical books were printed, which is why old flower plates and flower dictionaries often feel like part of the same world. Read more about those plates in our guide to botanical illustration.

Meanings you will see most often

The meanings below come from the same Wikipedia article. They are old associations, and a different book may say something else.

  • Red rose. Deep red roses can stand for intense romantic love, and the article links them to the blood of Christ. Pink suggests a lesser affection. White suggests virtue and chastity. Yellow suggests friendship or devotion. See rose prints.
  • Lily. In ancient Greece the lily stood for purity and motherhood. In Renaissance paintings of the Annunciation it signals the purity of the Virgin Mary. See lily prints.
  • Iris. In Greek myth the iris meant communication with the gods and the rainbow. See iris prints.
  • Poppy. Greek associations tie the poppy to sleep, peace and fertility. The article also notes the modern custom of wearing poppies for remembrance. See poppy prints.
  • Violet. Greek associations link violets to fertility, love and Athens. In Hamlet, Ophelia says her violets withered when her father died.
  • Peony. In Chinese tradition the tree peony is the "king of flowers," with meanings of masculinity, brightness and prosperity. In the West it signifies boldness. See peony prints.
  • Tulip. The article gives no common Western meaning. It links the tulip to the Ottoman court in the early 1700s, and to martyrdom and national pride in modern Iran. See tulip prints.

The article has no meaning for the sunflower, the daisy in general, or the forget-me-not in general, so we do not give one. It mentions the daisy only in Hamlet, where Ophelia hands out flowers with symbolic meanings, and forget-me-nots only as part of the flowers in Millais's painting of Ophelia.

Why the meanings differ

A language of flowers needs a dictionary, and each author wrote a different one. That is why you can find two books that give the same flower two different messages. The article notes that the sources are mixed and that some claims are unsourced.

For a buyer, the practical point is that you do not need the "right" meaning. You need one you like. If a print is a gift, read a couple of sources and choose a flower whose message fits the person.

Choosing a flower print with a meaning in mind

Here are some ways to use the tradition without overthinking it.

  1. Pick the flower first. Look at the collection for flowers and note which species you are drawn to.
  2. Check the meaning in one source. Use the list above or the Wikipedia article. Read the source's wording so you know who said it.
  3. Match color to message. The rose is the clearest case, since the article assigns different meanings to red, pink, white and yellow. You can filter by color with pink flower prints or yellow flower prints.
  4. Choose a size for the room. A small 12x18 suits a desk or a hallway. A 24x36 fills a wall. See the size guide.

You can also build a small set. Three prints of the same flower in different colors make a quiet, tidy group, and they tell a clear story. Our gallery wall guide explains spacing and height.

Where the pictures come from

Many of the older flower pictures in our shop were drawn as scientific plates, not as messages. Pierre-Joseph Redouté, for example, published Les Roses in three volumes between 1817 and 1824, and many of his flower paintings appeared as large colored stipple engravings, according to Wikipedia's article on Redouté. His rose plates were made for study and display. The symbolism in floriography came from readers, not from the artist. Read how we source images on the sources page.

Sources