#victorian flower language

[wolfsbane-and-nettles]

More lore for 'Chosen Horizons' as written in Ori's journal. This time it is about the language of flowers and how hobbits use it. I plan on going into more detail about the language and how it is used in this AU, even if it isn't in the story exactly...

My sources are primarily from

'Floriography' by Jessica Roux

'The Complete Language of Flowers' By S. Theresa Dietz

and many online sources that I constantly forget to save or bookmark.

Feel free to use this as references for your own fics, if you'd like...just keep in mind that despite my best attempt at sticking to the authentic language of flowers...I am but an American Millennial, and not a Victorian who actually practices this... I use it as I see fit and make some changes where I feel is necessary for the plot.

For example, I don't know if there are legitimately flowers associated with each day of the week, but I chose to use the "Monday's Child" poem as a baseline for it...As well as the secret messages bit. I do plan on adding more, like I said...so stay tuned. I'm planning on making a simple dictionary of all the flowers and their meanings that I have used/plan on using/think Bilbo/hobbits would use, etc...And as always, feel free to use it yourself.

[phantomtomes]

🍂 I am utterly in love with this book and learning about Victorian flower language. 🍂

[sugarcube589]

Yellow Rose - Decrease in love;

Black Mulberry - I will not survive you

Lotus - Estranged Love;

White Catchfly - Betrayed;

Major Convolvulus - Hope extinguished;

Sweet Basil - Hatred;

Mourning Bride - I have lost everything;

@fishymom-art I may be cooking

[ill-kidnap-all-the-stars]

So...I'm working on a Kirk fan art and I decided to lean into Victorian flower language, so I included edelweiss, which grows high up in the Alps, so bringing some to your lover was supposed to represent courage and daring, but I'm also working my way through the Star Trek movies and literally as I'm drawing the edelweiss I got to the scene in 5 of Kirk climbing the mountain and Spock literally just hovering there and going “dear husband, please stop this foolishness”

Anyway, Kirk climbing a mountain to bring Spock a bouquet

[nessahero]

Wait a second....

"In Victorian flower language, the moss-rose holds a special meaning as a **confession of love**. Its delicate beauty, combined with the soft mossy growth around its stem, was seen as a metaphor for love’s tenderness and the guarded emotions surrounding romantic feelings. The presence of the moss suggested a sense of mystery, protection, and depth, making it an ideal symbol for a heartfelt and sometimes shy declaration of love."

Huh....

Feel free to interpret

[aroacearchangel]

furiously googling “flowers with no romance meaning” because a. I love flower language and b. I love being aro and found exactly what I was looking for!!

image description under the cut

[id: A screenshot of a flower website stating: “Alstroemeria. Also called Peruvian lily, alstroemeria symbolizes the strong bond between two people that transcends romantic love. Send this elegant flower to a special friend to celebrate the strength and devotion of your friendship. Alstroemerias are tuberous perennials native to the cold, mountainous regions of South America. They are popular as cut flowers and also in the garden. Their delicate flowers come in many colors, and they bloom every summer and fall.” Above the text is a circular photo of the aforementioned orange and yellow flowers. Half of the petals on the flowers are speckled with dark brown lines. The flowers’ dark green leaves are long and thin.]

[guiltypleasureswriting]

One afternoon in May, I closed up my local practice early and decided to take a stroll through the village. The quaint white stucco and stone buildings that lined the avenue made me smile. The sight was relaxing to my ageing bones. I had grown tired of the bustle of the city and took comfort in the slow country life.

As I neared the florist’s, I paused. Perhaps a fresh bouquet would liven up the cottage and bring a smile to my companion’s face. He had quite a fondness for flowers after all. In my time with my Sherlock, I had picked up some knowledge of what they call “flower language”. Quite a romantic bit of knowledge for a cold, calculating mind, I had pointed out to his chagrin.

In the florist’s, I picked heliotrope, arborvitae, and baby’s breath. Something simple enough that any clueless mind could pick it out without realising the meaning. I did my best to look that clueless mind, as everyone in the village knew I was not taking flowers home to a wife. When I brought my selected flowers to the woman managing the shop, Mrs. Bernard, she looked askance for a moment, which I ignored.

“Do you know the meanings of flowers, Doctor Watson?” Asked she.

“Not at all.” I chuckled– rather convincingly if I may flatter myself. “Our dear Anne told me a nice bouquet would bring the Spring into the cottage; though I suspect she just wants something nicer to look at than chemical experiments.” Mrs. Bernard had lost her strange look, so I continued. “Why? Do these mean something quite foolish?”

Mrs. Bernard smiled congenially. “Not at all, Doctor.” She handed me the bouquet and I slipped the coin into her hand.

“Have a lovely day, Mrs. Bernard.”

When I arrived back at the cottage, I called out as I came through the door, “Holmes? Holmes, I’m back early!” I looked around the sitting room. “Sherlock?” Still with no response, I headed to his favourite place.

I went out the back door, bouquet still in hand, and walked along the path Sherlock had carved into the grass on his many visits to the bees. As I crested the small hill, I caught sight of him, head covered by that strange beekeeper’s net.

“Holmes!” I called out. The detective turned to me and I raised a hand to him.

“Ah! John!” I could see his smile, even from that distance, as he gently shook the bees from himself and removed the net as he strode to me. “You’re home early.”

“I had to get these for you,” I said slyly as I held the bouquet out to him. Although he tried to hide it, the delight that glowed on his face was clear to me. “I thought you might appreciate the meaning.” Sherlock shook his head fondly.

“Romantic nonsense.” He claimed. “Useless nonsense.” The words would have been hurtful if he hadn’t been cupping my face in hand while saying it. 

“Nonsense only for you, my dear.” Said I.

----

My new hyperfixation, I can not think about anything else. I'm sorry to people who don't care ab Sherlock Holmes lol

I don't usually like writing in first person perspective but for this specifically it's easier. I just have to channel Watson

[killertoons]

Y'all I'm doing flower language studying to find videos I'm losing it-

[yearofthesnape]

Severus Snape and Nettle Wine

Two among our number hold only nettle wine...

I've often wondered why Snape's famous logic puzzle uses nettle wine, rather than (say) currant wine, cherry wine, parsnip wine, or any other kind of wine that would fit the metric requirements of his poem. The light color of nettle wine should not matter, as color is never referenced in the entire puzzle sequence. As far as I know, nettle wine is not more common than the preceding varieties I've listed (though other voices may want to weigh in, as I'm hardly a wine expert). There must be some deeper significance, then, to using nettle. Here are some thoughts I had:

It's a sideways reference to John Nettleship, on whom Snape's character is known to be based.

In Victorian flower language (yes I'm bringing that up again), nettles mean slander. Snape knows people talk about him - how can he not? - and this is his subtle way of saying he has been maligned. In the bigger story, it's a sort of narrative hint, right before we get the proof that all that suspicion of Snape really was slander after all.

The stinging nettle, out of which nettle wine is made, is a weed whose contact is unpleasant to other people (in wild form) but also refreshes them, stinging in a different format (as wine). Snape is also initially and obviously unpleasant and has been treated as unwanted and overlooked, but as time goes on, we see that while he still stings, he also displays unexpected finer qualities.

It seems likely that Snape made the wine as well as the other potions; he can take the unpleasantness in his life, figured by nettles, and turn it into something better.

The irritating weed-like quality of nettles also poetically echoes the nature of these flasks in the riddle; they are nonlethal hindrances to a goal (in this case, getting through the flames). Snape has been observed to deal in imagery, metaphor, and the layers of things, and this is one more example.

As a side note, all the possible configurations listed on the Harry Potter Wiki involve the "second left and the second on the right" being nettle wine. Thus, nettle wine - a possible metonym for Snape himself - is the consistent substance under two different guises, just as Snape plays double agent.

[floracreativa]

Chasing Butterflies - Sarah Stilwell Weber

1914

Oil on board. Stilwell Weber was a founding member of a female art association group made to promote and exhibit visual art, The Plastic Club. This painting is a perfect example of victorian art and the Victorian language of flowers. In victorian times, Pansies and violets meant "thinking of you," and some lesbians gifted violets to their lovers, although there is no evidence Stilwell Weber was a lesbian or had any association to lesbians. One of the most well known flowers and its meanings are the red roses, symbolizing love and infatuation. Stilwell Weber utilized elements from Art Nouveau including symbolism, naturalism, and decorative ornamentation. Like many art nouveau artists, her art was often published in magazines and illustrated books.

[bamfwizard]

heyyy!!!!!! so today I told my therapist that

[eccentric-stingray]

I beg your finest pardon? Is it just me or is his tie green? And are those or are those not flowers on his tie?? So green flowers?? Are any of them carnations, just by chance? Is this subtle foreshadowing or…?

[pigeon-tracks]

Flower Portraits

[alfieloveswriting]

Floriography: Resources for Writers

For centuries, flowers, herbs, and other plants have been used to convey meaning, both in life and in literature. Many of the greats, including Shakespeare, Austen, the Brontë sisters, and Steinbeck referred to floral symbolism to delicately weave into their intricate works. Flowers influenced art for generations before us, and with luck, they will continue to inspire artists for generations after us--long after we've become them.

Victorian Floral Code.pdf

Floriography: An Illustrated Guide to the Victorian Flower Language by Jessica Roux

Language of Flowers Wiki

Hanakotoba - Japanese Flower Language Wiki

Ikebana - Japanese Flower Arrangement Wiki

Kate Greenaway's Language of Flowers

Floral Emblem Guide

Plant Motifs In English, Russian, and Tatar (pdf)

Flower Language Myths

Language of Flowers.com

[ill-kidnap-all-the-stars]

They belong together

[ image description:

1/ a digital drawing of an art nouveau-inspired card in which gold vines intertwine everything. Spock is drawn in profile at the centre, looking to the right and wearing a flower crown with purple clematis and ivy leaves. The phases of the moon, as well as several stars, surround him. There is orange honeysuckle to the left and red camellia to the right. There is a quote from the Queen song “I Want To Break Free” in the vines: “I’ve fallen in love for the first time / and this time I know it's for real”

2/ a very similar digital drawing, however Kirk is drawn in the centre, in profile again but looking to the left. The moon phases around him have been replaced with a gold sun and he is wearing a flower crown of white edelweiss and oak leaves. The quotes are replaced with lyrics from a different Queen song, “Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy”: “I'd like for you and I to go romancing / say the word, your wish is my command”

end description ]

prints ✨ commissions

My Spock and Kirk cards were designed to go together (two halves of one whole and all that), so I thought I'd post them together. I had so much fun designing these cards to mirror in some ways and complement in others: the patterns of the stars are mirror images but the vines are exact replicas; the honeysuckle and camellias stay the same, but their flower crowns are different; they're both in profile but they're looking at each other. And, of course, one is the sun and the other is the moon. Idk man, I just love these silly little space dudes

[wherewisteriaends]

Those are some of the flowers I could identify on Agatha's grave Dandelion - It can mean divination and fortune-telling. Chicory - It stands for perseverance and endless waiting. Statice - Remembrance or fond or memories. Echeveria Cante - Due to its plant condition, it can be seen as a source of water.

Lisanthius - Life-long bonds and gratitude. In purple, dignity.

Allium - Humility and patience among others. Spiked Speewell - Healing and protection and support. Lavender - Mistrust and distrust (I might have confounded it with spiked speewell the shot isn't very clear). White chrysanthemum - Condolences. In white, truth. White Dahlia - Eternal love and commitment. White for rebirth. Asparagus - A reflexion of a life's journey and growth. Deptford Pink - Passion and beauty. Soprano Purple - Innocence and purity. African Daisy - It carries messages of love and care. And @h-azzy I did this while listening to the bolero. Now all of you can go cry given the symbolic.