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The Secret Language of Flowers
Flowers are one of the most popular and well-received gifts, given to express love and affection. But did you know the type of flowers you give can speak volumes? The Secret Language of Flowers is a fascinating insight into the Victorian tradition of using flowers to convey secret messages, in a society where feelings often had to be suppressed. In this beautifully illustrated book - the perfect gift itself - Samantha Gray reveals how flowers came by their meanings in folklore and how flowers became the language of courtship, love, friendship, beauty and more. Discover the meanings behind over 50 flowers - such as how lily of the valley symbolises the return of happiness, how bluebells stand for constancy and everlasting love, and how daffodils represent high regard and chivalry. With stunning illustrations by artist Sarah Perkins that capture all of the beauty of flowers, this is an exceptionally lovely and fascinating gift book.
- GenresNonfictionPlants
128 pages, Hardcover
First published October 11, 2011
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540 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
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October 3, 2016Do you understand the language of Flowers? Here are a few of the beautiful messages you will be able to send once you have mastered its secrets.
Saying you've invited Gennifer Flowers to your debate: I am an asshole.
Saying you've invited Gennifer Flowers to your debate but not doing so: I am an asshole.
Saying you've invited Gennifer Flowers to your debate, not doing so, and then telling your surrogates to keep talking about it for the next week: I am an asshole.
Misspelling the name "Gennifer Flowers" in a tweet: I am an illiterate asshole.
Saying you've invited Gennifer Flowers to your debate: I am an asshole.
Saying you've invited Gennifer Flowers to your debate but not doing so: I am an asshole.
Saying you've invited Gennifer Flowers to your debate, not doing so, and then telling your surrogates to keep talking about it for the next week: I am an asshole.
Misspelling the name "Gennifer Flowers" in a tweet: I am an illiterate asshole.
August 23, 2015
I thought that this book was well written, it was full of interesting facts about various different kinds of flowers including folklore on how the flower came into being and gave the meaning of a flowers name.
Since the book is about the secret language of flowers that was created in the Victorian era it also discusses how a certain number of flowers, the color, the arrangement of the flowers or if the a flower is paired up with another the message it may send.
This book will even tell you what kind of personality you may have depending on your flower preferences. It is also full of astonishing illustrations. However I did notice that some things could have been more clearly worded and I noticed a technical mistake in a story of folklore about one of the flowers. But I think that the combination of the illustrations and the interesting stories about each flower make up for it, I just wish it was longer.
Since the book is about the secret language of flowers that was created in the Victorian era it also discusses how a certain number of flowers, the color, the arrangement of the flowers or if the a flower is paired up with another the message it may send.
This book will even tell you what kind of personality you may have depending on your flower preferences. It is also full of astonishing illustrations. However I did notice that some things could have been more clearly worded and I noticed a technical mistake in a story of folklore about one of the flowers. But I think that the combination of the illustrations and the interesting stories about each flower make up for it, I just wish it was longer.
October 30, 2013
The book's appeal rests in its aesthetically pleasing layout and its vivid illustrations for the individual flowers; for that it received the second star. The text itself was poorly written, and each entry contained a random smattering of myths and facts regarding each flower, with no defined method of categorisation or uniformity in the style of information given. Each entry was concluded with a lame sort of "flower horoscope" paragraph, which I found highly annoying. Overall, while it supplied a few interesting tidbits and anecdotes and provided a pleasant visual experience, this book did not offer much of substance from which to learn.
September 18, 2022
3.5 stars This is a really beautiful little book that explores the romantic language of giving flowers along with the history of the flower, mythology and any other facts and trivia about the plant. Each plant gets a page or two and the opposing page has a full page, vintage illustration.
It's a fast,sweet read that's perfect for hopeless romantics. I'm excited to use the flower guide when I meet my soulmate. 💖
It's a fast,sweet read that's perfect for hopeless romantics. I'm excited to use the flower guide when I meet my soulmate. 💖
April 13, 2014
A quick read. An interesting theme. A bit of a stretch to believe the story but the main character is likable and brings a unique perspective about the importance of family and belonging.
April 17, 2019
Lily says “You’re a good friend,” and Camellia wishes “Good Luck.” Daisy promises, “I will never tell.” They talk in silence, and their beautiful reserve is all the more appreciated by the sophisticated secret messages they carry. It’s the elaborate world of Floriography, language of flowers, based upon the legends and folklore ascribed to flowers exquisitely developed in the Victorian period, when an expression of feelings and emotions was constrained as an indication of propriety and ethical virtue. For years, Floriography has been something of flower-version of Morse Codes through the use or arrangement of flowers to deliver particular sentiments in the most subtly compelling way among those who find a niche in a quiet revelation of emotions and yearnings safely guarded in the secret garden of heart. In this regard, The Secret Language of Flowers by Samantha Gray is a treasure garden of 50 flowers speaking in their own words with beautiful illustrations that promises a dazzling treat to the eye as well as the mind of the reader.
Of the 50 flowers of Gray’s own choice, my selection of flowers is threefold: Crocuses and Lilies for their meanings that chime the bells of my heart resonate with their stories and meanings. A crocus, dedicated to St. Valentine, a Roman physician and a Christian priest during the reign of Claudius II, was sentenced to death for his faith and just before his execution, Valentine gave a jailer whose blind daughter he had treated a note for her in which he had wrapped a saffron crocus, the source of healing herb, saffron. As the girl opened the note, her sight was restored, and it was the yellow crocus she first saw that was shining like the golden sun. The message the condemned physician wrote was: “From Your Valentine”. It is said that if anyone who likes crocuses has a deeply spiritual aspect to his/her nature expressed in writing, painting, dancing, and music with a caring heart.
Lilies symbolize female beauty, purity, majesty, and charm against evil. Legend has it that a lily sprang from Eve’s tears as she was expelled from the Garden of Eden. It also has a different name of “Our Lady’s tears” as it came to being due to the tears by Virgin Mary – also revered as the Second Eve – at the Crucifixion. Furthermore, it is said that when Mary’s tomb was opened, Thomas, one of the Twelve Disciples, saw that her body had been assumed into heaven, and the place was filled with fragrant lilies. However, a sacredness of lilies do not confine in Christianity in the history of civilization. A lily was first discovered in the garden of an ancient villa in Crete about 1500 BC; it was dedicated to the Greek goddess Hera. According to legend, Zeus intoxicated Hera to nurse his son Hercules whose mother was a beautiful mortal woman named Alceme. When Hera awoke, she chucked the baby out of her breasts in horrified surprise, during which some of her milk gushed through the skies, creating a cluster of stars – the Milky Way- and some of it fell to the Earth, from which grew the first lilies.
Further to the divine touch of this modest pure beauty, lilies are known to ward off evil power associated with curses, omens, and possessions. Planting lilies in a garden protected it from ghosts and evil spirits, and monks accordingly grew them for decorating altars like stairways to heaven. But the most interesting fact about lilies that piqued my special attention is that it has been used as a tonic for strengthening a weak memory by applying it on the forehead and on the back of the head. Besides, it is known to boost common sense and impediment of speech. So maybe it’s high time that the reader in search of a magic portion to improve academic performance or develop the faculty of the mind wanted to check local herbalists to procure a tonic made from lilies.
Reading this book is like walking through the author’s private garden full of enchanted flowers that are in full bloom lovingly cared for by the gardener who understands the language they speak in silence. At the heart of this book lies the author’s love of Nature and Humanity that is fancifully nuanced in her story-telling like narrative with a collection of her own paintings that I find soothing and loving. Each of the 50 flowers speaks to the heart of the reader in its own language that is magical and fascinating in this world of grand collapsed grand hokum, fake news, and many a competing vehement opinions out of unbridled angst and anxiousness in a paroxysm of existential vertigo. Both a painter and a writer, Gray draws the reader to the world of Nature where the earth laughs in flowers. Upon reading this book, the reader cannot help but agree with Hans Christian Anderson: “Just living is not enough… One must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.” This is a beautiful read that tallies with its beautiful subject.
Of the 50 flowers of Gray’s own choice, my selection of flowers is threefold: Crocuses and Lilies for their meanings that chime the bells of my heart resonate with their stories and meanings. A crocus, dedicated to St. Valentine, a Roman physician and a Christian priest during the reign of Claudius II, was sentenced to death for his faith and just before his execution, Valentine gave a jailer whose blind daughter he had treated a note for her in which he had wrapped a saffron crocus, the source of healing herb, saffron. As the girl opened the note, her sight was restored, and it was the yellow crocus she first saw that was shining like the golden sun. The message the condemned physician wrote was: “From Your Valentine”. It is said that if anyone who likes crocuses has a deeply spiritual aspect to his/her nature expressed in writing, painting, dancing, and music with a caring heart.
Lilies symbolize female beauty, purity, majesty, and charm against evil. Legend has it that a lily sprang from Eve’s tears as she was expelled from the Garden of Eden. It also has a different name of “Our Lady’s tears” as it came to being due to the tears by Virgin Mary – also revered as the Second Eve – at the Crucifixion. Furthermore, it is said that when Mary’s tomb was opened, Thomas, one of the Twelve Disciples, saw that her body had been assumed into heaven, and the place was filled with fragrant lilies. However, a sacredness of lilies do not confine in Christianity in the history of civilization. A lily was first discovered in the garden of an ancient villa in Crete about 1500 BC; it was dedicated to the Greek goddess Hera. According to legend, Zeus intoxicated Hera to nurse his son Hercules whose mother was a beautiful mortal woman named Alceme. When Hera awoke, she chucked the baby out of her breasts in horrified surprise, during which some of her milk gushed through the skies, creating a cluster of stars – the Milky Way- and some of it fell to the Earth, from which grew the first lilies.
Further to the divine touch of this modest pure beauty, lilies are known to ward off evil power associated with curses, omens, and possessions. Planting lilies in a garden protected it from ghosts and evil spirits, and monks accordingly grew them for decorating altars like stairways to heaven. But the most interesting fact about lilies that piqued my special attention is that it has been used as a tonic for strengthening a weak memory by applying it on the forehead and on the back of the head. Besides, it is known to boost common sense and impediment of speech. So maybe it’s high time that the reader in search of a magic portion to improve academic performance or develop the faculty of the mind wanted to check local herbalists to procure a tonic made from lilies.
Reading this book is like walking through the author’s private garden full of enchanted flowers that are in full bloom lovingly cared for by the gardener who understands the language they speak in silence. At the heart of this book lies the author’s love of Nature and Humanity that is fancifully nuanced in her story-telling like narrative with a collection of her own paintings that I find soothing and loving. Each of the 50 flowers speaks to the heart of the reader in its own language that is magical and fascinating in this world of grand collapsed grand hokum, fake news, and many a competing vehement opinions out of unbridled angst and anxiousness in a paroxysm of existential vertigo. Both a painter and a writer, Gray draws the reader to the world of Nature where the earth laughs in flowers. Upon reading this book, the reader cannot help but agree with Hans Christian Anderson: “Just living is not enough… One must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.” This is a beautiful read that tallies with its beautiful subject.
January 2, 2021
I enjoyed the references to the Victorian custom of assigning meaningful messages to flowers. I always get hung up on implausible plot and melodrama. Uneven but enjoyable and some things to think about with the foster care system.
September 21, 2023
I thought was a well written book and an interesting take on the folklore of the language of flowers. illustrated well , I needed for a craft project I was doing. I gave this book a 3.75 out of 5 stars!
February 21, 2022
The art was beautiful.
May 15, 2013
I loved this book. It's a quick read and very well done. The way the story unfolds helps you savor every moment. I wanted to get to know the characters and was cheering for a positive outcome. What a great book!
January 23, 2013
so good so far
July 16, 2014
The pictures are beautiful, but the information is, on the whole, limited. It was lovely to look at, but not enormously informative.
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January 4, 2016One of my top 10 in the last year. I highly recommend it.
February 14, 2016
Thought this book would just be too light for me but I really enjoyed it. Nice surprise.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews