On the Language of Flowers

Index of Sentiments, A – L

  --from Tussie-Mussies; The Victorian Art of Expressing Yourself In the Language of Flowers by Geraldine Adamich Laufer

Anemones? Abandonment. Which begs the

Question, How would you even offer them? The brouhaha

That follows might be noted through a hallway

Vase of rhubarb, and to emphasize the cruelty, well

Nettles say it best, and might be laced along the

Window frame, encasing stems of lavender to illustrate

Distrust forevermore, a well-placed narcissus added,

Avowing to the lover that their ego wrecked things

From the get-go, some pennyroyal flung on to shoo

“Flee, flee away!” you devil! But perhaps our avenging

Florist protest too much, or tires, since tucked within

Their toolbox wilts a bit of thistle, wistful, a strand

Of grief for company while broken things get fixed.

And things do! A toaster, the bike gears, and after this

Sabbatical from passion, this drought-dried heart Is

Set to rights by the healing balm of bachelor-button

Pinned on a lapel. Ho-hum, tra la. Life sings in the rain,

Secret sprigs of just-picked dill stowed in their brim,

Professing only to the wearer their irresistibility—

Although to whom they can’t yet know—and the

Tussie-mussies of black-eyed Susans, still-green maple

Leaves and pine they clutch announce that justice

Holds the key to their heart’s loyalty, just love, just.

- Jessica Greenbaum

My favorite gift this holiday was the oddly titled book Tussie-Mussies: The Language of FLOWERS.  I’d never heard of Tussie-Mussies, but apparently they have been a huge influence on flower design, going back 100’s of years.The OED defines “tuzzy mussy” as a bunch of spray of flowers,  nosegay, a garland of flowers.”  It first appeared in print in 1440!

According to author of the aforementioned book, Geraldine Adamich Laufer, “The language of Flowers, which occupied so many minds during the Victorian age, was rooted in two rich beds...First, the western tradition of floral symbolism that filtered down from antiquity...and the emblematic use of flowers in heraldry during the 16th century.  Second, the Turkish Selam, or language of objects, which contributed to the idea of sending encoded messages via symbolic objects, in this case, flowers.  The Selam (meaning “a greeting”) was popularized by European travelers to the Near East…”  Laufer goes on to quote John Ingram (1869) who said ‘the origin of this floral system was connected to “the idleness of the harem ..and the desire for amusement and variety which the ladies shut up there, without employment and culture must feel…”  A Phd could be written on that topic…

The first flower language book in English came out in 1823.  Then followed a slew of them.  57 writers produced 98 books on the Language of Flowers!  Who knew?? A few reasons for the popularity of the Language of Flowers: “Victorian mores held that the wearing of flowers was more suitable for young women than Jewelry...it was the custom among ALL CLASSES to give and receive bouquets...and it was CUSTOMARY FOR MEN TO GIVE THEIR SWEETHEARTS bouquets.  Women and children exchanged them too.”  

More interesting to me is the importance of flowers to multiple civilizations.  For example, “The bones of a prehistoric man were discovered in the Middle East, ceremoniously laid out and covered with what had been once, 50,000 years ago, a mantle of wild flowers.” And “when they weren’t busy sacrificing prisoners of war on the altar of the sun, Aztec noblemen carried tussie-mussies to symbolize their high rank.” In the Bronze age, “both sexes wore circular collars of flowers, leaves, and fruits…”  Further, “The ancient Greeks and Romans carried flowers to ward off disease, believing that their fragrance could both prevent and cure..”  In medieval times, flowers were a necessity to camouflage the horrid smells of daily existence. So much more to be said on this topic!

“Where did the meanings for individual flowers originate? While there was no single method of pairing plants and meanings, there seem to have been three sources for the definitions: natural appearance or character, cultural meanings, and meaning arbitrarily assigned by early authors and editors of flower vocabularies and then faithfully followed by others.” says Laufer.

I’ll just offer a few “translations”:

Rosemary is for Remembrance

Roses(depends on the color) for Love, silence, excess, congratulations.  

   (A thornless rose means Early Attachment! Red and White Roses mean Creative Force!!)

Forget-me-not is for True Love

Lavender is for Devotion

Honeysuckle is for Bonds of Love, Generous and Devoted Affection

Ivy is for Constancy

Tulips represent Happy Years

And sadly, Dahlias (one of my favorites) is for Treachery!  

The good news is you don’t have to rely on roses to convey your affection!

More about ways to celebrate your loved ones in my next missive.  There’s so much one can say without words...

Love’s language may be talked with these; 

To work out choicest sentences

No blossoms can be meeter;

And, such being used in Eastern bowers, 

Young maids may wonder if the flowers

Or meanings be the sweeter.

• Elisabeth Barrett Browning