The Language of Flowers

by Mandy Kirkby

A flower is not a flower alone; a thousand thoughts invest it' all over the world, flowers are an integral part of human culture whether it is the perfect table centre for a wedding, a beautiful bouquet for a birthday, a message of thanks, or to pay one's respect at a funeral. But, while everyone knows that red roses signify love, few may realise that an entire language of flowers exists with every bloom, folliage and plant having a particular emotion attached, be it hazel for reconcilliation, wisteria for welcome or ivy for fidelity.

Genres: Nonfiction, Nature, Reference, Art, History, Poetry, Self Help

187 pages, Unknown Binding

Published January 1, 2011

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully illustrated little book that I received as a gift, about the meanings the Victorians gave to the flowers they sent to each other.

It has a forward by Vanessa Diffenbaugh the author of The Language of Flowers a fictional story I read with a reading group a few years ago.....the two books would make good companion reads.

[Vanya Prodanova · Rating 4 out of 5]

Много красиво направена книга, която като я погледнеш и знаеш, че целта й е да краси хорските библиотеки и да служи като верен справочник, когато потрябва.

Освен обаче, че изглежда красиво, всъщност е и доста интересна информацията вътре. Описани са значенията и историите на 50 цветя и с всяко описание се потапяш повече и повече в света на цветята и се възхищаваш колко дълбоки са корените на значенията им и имената им.

Единственият недостатък на книгата е, че е толкова малка. Определено провокира глад за повече информация и знания у мен. :)

[LeatheHatless · Rating 5 out of 5]

On of the best books gifted to me, the Language of Flowers combines the beauty of nature and the hidden meanings they carry. I'm a huge fan of symbolism so having a full book dedicated to this topic is fantastic. Not only do we get the meaning but we are also told the history and traditions that come along with these flowers.

You should pick it up if you like the topic or if you want to find a bit more about it. Also, it helps that is a pleasing to the eye. *wink wink*

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would have much preferred a few illustrations to some of the paintings mentioned in the book. I had to stop and "google" them every few pages for a better understanding of their representation and meanings. However, it was a lovely reminder of The Language of Flowers. And I really enjoyed the literary references and the poems - they were quite the treat...

[Nayruna · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely little book about the importance and meanings given to flowers by the victorians, where they came from and how they were cultivated - each entry ending in a poem from the times and an illustration.
Took me a while to read because of its chill "pick up and read whenever" nature but if you like flowers you will enjoy the time spent.

[fenrir · Rating 3 out of 5]

Conosco un ciglio dove il timo selvatico fiorisce,
crescon le margherite e reclinano il capo le viole,
coperto da un padiglione di fin troppo rigoglioso caprifoglio,
con dolci rose muschiate e roselline di macchia.
Colà, fra i fiori, Titania dorme talvolta di notte,
cullata da musiche e danze.

[Rachel Adamson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A gem of a book. Beautiful illustrations and a piece of refined elegance in a hectic world.

[Teo · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars*

[Allen Sanita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this pretty little book about the meaning of flowers, what does they say before you give them to someone and the Victorian's history of them. Perfect gift for someone who enjoys plants, flower-viewing, gardens, etc. The only thing i dislike from this book is, they were mentioning and descripting history or remarkable artwork about the flowers, but didn't put the picture of the painting or artwork beside/below the description. Maybe it's a copyright issue and they needed to ask permission first to put the pictures, ok, but it was bugging me and of course i was curious after such interesting description of the artwork and i had to look them up in google each time. It was like, 'Put down my book, look it up in google, put down my book, look it up in google'. Almost every chapter. That wasn't fun. I'd rather them not to mention about the flower artwork at all.

But overall, this book is beautiful, soothing and you will imagine flowers behind your eyelid and smell the flower's scent during your reading time.

[Helena · Rating 5 out of 5]

gorgeous little book to have around! i use all the time to reference when im foraging for flowers to arrange or painting my silly little pots, gives said activities extra depth! i really like the addition of herbs too, i love to put herbs in my bouquets to add fragrance, but its even better to know their traditional meanings and symbolism. you can even code your bouquet or whatevs so if you don't like someone put loads of basil in there and they wouldn't even know mwahaahahaha! i wouldn't do that though i don't think but the point is that you could!

[Frynk · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute index, an love the different examples and origins for each of the 50 highlighted flowers in the book. I just feel like it was missing something. More drawings and space between the lines perhaps? It is a little hard to read, because the words blend together in big paragraphs. But very trinquill indeed.

[Jenna Black · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually really enjoyed this! It inspired ideas for a few paintings that I'd like to do now, which is always nice to have!

It was a little bit sad because all of my favourite flowers have negative emblems. I did enjoy the bit about Scotland choosing the thistle despite its ugly emblem though. :)

[Kaye Salter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I. Love. This. Book. First, it's BEAUTIFUL!! Second, it has some lovely illustrations! Third, it's not nearly as expensive as a Victorian version of The Language of Flowers, which is what I've technically been looking for, but this is a wonderful substitute.

[Juju · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nunca leí algo así, pero me pareció muy interesante y creo que es muy fácil de leer. Muy buena idea dejar poemas y el significado de cada flor.

[Birgit · Rating 5 out of 5]

A red rose means love, everyone knows that. How about Canterbury Bells or Mistletoe then? Most people know that flowers convey certain feelings and while we still revert to a floral language by giving flower bouquets on special occasions, much of the meaning behind the individual flowers has been reduced to a very limited and generalized one since Victorian times.
Mandy Kirkby presents a wonderful book with The Language Of Flowers: A Miscellany, the official companion to the novel of the same title by Vanessa Diffenbaugh. Enveloped with beautiful illustrations and poetry, you learn about the meaning and history of fifty different flowers. Short and crisp the author introduces each flower in a perfect blend of information and fascinating references of how a certain flower makes an appearance in certain books, poems, or even paintings. An emotional dictionary and the suggestions on composing posies for specific occasions such as courtship, births, or funerals round off this miscellany.
Just like similar books were meant for the coffee table, to be studied and indulged in, in Victorian times, this adorable book has invited me more than once to browse in it since first reading it. If you've ever been fascinated by flowers and their meaning, I can only recommend this lovely compendium. It goes without saying it also makes for a lovely gift to a good friend. Just don't forget to include a freesia when you present it!
In short: A gorgeous gift book in best Victorian tradition!

[Pål Lystrup · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice design, some nice pictures, and probably a cute little book for the coffee table. However, I'm hardly a middle aged woman, and I was hoping for more than slight drizzles of information and a half-successful selection of poems sprinkled along the read.
Floriography without choreography, and for some reason Aaron Stainthorpe seemed to narrate a lot of it in my head as I read – which obviously leaves me ambiguous as to whether that is a good thing or something to leave my lilies bent by tears...
I would much rather have more info, more structure, and especially some actual floriography, where things had a proper and consistant taxonomy, and preferably intermixed with some more sciency stuff on emotion – like a psychological perspective (how scents affect our memory, or some other aspect of perception) or maybe a neuroaesthetic approach to it...

[Katter · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fun read! Yes, I did read the whole thing from front to back and thoroughly enjoyed it. This was the book I read in between novels when I still had quiet time in the house. I was not disappointed!

There are beautiful illustrations, pages of information on flower meaning backgrounds and traditions, along with poems. I have never particularly been into poetry but I found that the poems added to this book were very complimentary!

I was so fond of some of the poets that I will be looking into their work, which I never thought would be something I'd do!

I think I will also look to this book continuously for flower referencing as I think it is a delightful link to the past. There is just something so alluring about keeping some traditions alive and the one for flowers is nothing short of charming.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Long winded in parts; it also would’ve been nice to see each illustration before reading about a particular flower, to have a visual in mind rather than having to turn over to the next page. Nevertheless, this beautifully bound book was I nformative and interesting. 3/5

[Lizbeth Bringas · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's quite brief but a really pretty book, has historical, mythological and artistic references which makes the reading more interesting and some of the poems and quotes have become favourites of mine.
I wish more flowers and plants could be included though.

[Elise · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book. It’s simple, pretty, quite extensive, and most flowers had an accompanying poem from some ye olde poet or other. There’s an “emotions dictionary” followed by some suggested flowers to use to make a bouquet for specific occasions or messages. A charming reference piece.

[˚˖⭐໋Maria✧ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I must say this is an amazing coffee book . I love that it talks about the history about the flowers and has a little poem at the end . I reccomend you this book if you want to learn more about flowers!

[Shirley Mclaughlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well written. We are to discuss this book @ our next meeting. I am anxious for the discussion with others.

[Rose English]

Inspired to purchase this again via 'The Signature of All Things'

This book is unique as even though it is BRAND NEW the cover has been attached upside down

[Karin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty. Pretty. Pretty.

Wish it had more entries.

[Claudia Loureiro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Be prepared for emotional depth and beautiful writing. I'd like to see this one become a movie. Very good characterization.

[LudmilaM · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75 stars

[Charlie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very easy to read and taught me a lot

[Elizabeth Bryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wish there were more flowers in it but pencil sketches were lovely and I enjoyed the historical explanations to the meanings of flowers as well as the references to it in art.