The Language of Flowers...

I was talking to a lady during my woodland volunteering afternoon yesterday about a book called The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh.

I read the book last year and did some research about the meanings of flowers. It was interesting to find out the meanings behind my favourite flowers.

It's a shame that the meaning behind flowers is often overlooked these days. It seems it is a lost art. Like letter writing. I still write letters to friends and family and it is a real joy to receive a letter through the post, much more so than a text message or email in my opinion.

I like the idea of giving flowers where the message is the flowers themselves rather than what is written on the card.

There are obviously quite a number of variations on flower meanings but here are mine from dictionary in the book...

Angelica - Inspiration
Bell Flower - Gratitude
Cowslip - Pensiveness
Daisy - Innocence
Euphorbia - Persistence
Fern (Maidenhair) - Secrecy
Geranium (Pencil Leaf) - Ingenuity
Hawthorn - Hope
Iris - Message
Jasmine (white) - Amiability
K is not listed in the book, and I could find only a few interpretations the most common being Kings Spear which stands for Regret and Kennedia which is Intellectual Beauty
Lilac - First emotions of love
Moss - Maternal Love
Nasturtium - Impetuous Love
Oregano - Joy
Primrose - Childhood
Queen Anne's Lace - Fantasy
Rosemary - Remembrance
Saxifraga - Affection
Thistle - Misanthropy
U is not listed either, but one plant I love is Umbrella Sedge which represents home.
Violet - Modest Worth
Witch Hazel - A spell
X is not listed either but one flower I like that starts with x is Xeranthemum Annuum (Immortelle) although I can't find a meaning for it.
Yarrow - Cure for a broken heart
Zinnia - I mourn your absence (I don't really like Zinnia's but this is the only Z listed in the book)

I received a lovely recycled paper sketchbook for my birthday and I plan to create my own dictionary of flower meanings accompanied by a small watercolour of each flower.

I might even make a few more to give as gifts.

I picked up an old flower press kit at a boot fair a few months ago and I want to press some flowers from the garden. I love pressing flowers.

I really think I am living in the wrong era.

I want to be wondering around the countryside all Pride and Prejudice like.

I want to collect feathers, leaves and lichen and make a nature diary like the one below from http://zuzuspetalsstuff.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/hand-bound-scrap-book-for-calico-crafts.html

 I especially want to frame the ferns I collected and pressed from my trip to France. I want to hang them over my desk, something like this tutorial from http://www.designsponge.com/2009/08/made-with-love-pressed-botanical-specimens.html

 

Goodnight x