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A Gardner's Diary
Have you ever thought about keeping a gardener's diary to record what you plant and where you plant it? Keeping a diary will help you plan next year's garden by recording which plants grew well and which ones didn't. You can also note which colors...
Gardening: Creating Your Own Private Paradise
What comes to mind when the word "gardening" crops up (no pun
intended) is a lady in her golden years happily oblivious to the
outside world, efficiently caring for flowers, shrubs and all
other kinds of plants, in her own Garden of Eden.
...
Hummingbirds … Attracting Those Little Flying Powerhouses
It’s early in May a beautiful fairly warm day so I’ve decided to enjoy it and sit on the front porch. While relaxing in a rocking chair with my eyes closed, just enjoying the sun and early warmth I begin to hear a sound off in the distance. At...
Next Day Flower Delivery
In some cases, you need flowers delivered on short notice but not necessarily the same day. Many companies offer next day flower delivery and are often happy to accommodate your needs. As with any other order for flower delivery you place, be sure...
Tips for Planting Flower Bulbs
Flower bulbs can produce some amazing flowers throughout the
whole year for little care and effort once planted. This yearly
display can start with the earliest flowering bulbs in the
spring such as snowdrops and crocus and proceed into winter...
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History of the flower language
Attributing flowers with hidden meanings and using them to
express feelings and sending messages is an ancient tradition
and even the old Greeks used flowers in this manner. Cleopatra
used to shower her lover Marcus Antonius in rose petals to
express her love for him. During the 17th century B.C. the Turks
developed a large flower language that soon spread and gained
popularity all over Europe. During the strict Victorian era,
conveying messages in the form of flowers experienced a new boom
and secret lovers sent seemingly innocent flower bouquets to
each other.
The Elizabethan period is usually considered as the height of
the Victoria era and one of the harshest periods from a moral
point of view. This naturally formed a rich breeding ground for
hypocrisy and ways to go around the austere official codes of
behavior - especially for the upper and middle classes. It was
also a period when the romantic love was highly sought for and
the flower language contains both these components; romantic
gestures and the idea of true love conquering any obstacles and
strict rules.
During the Victorian era several different flower dictionaries
were published that helped to spread the knowledge of the
'secret' flower language. It was common to fabricate poetical
explanations to the shapes and colors of flowers. One popular
myth claimed that the red rose came into existence when a white
rose blushed in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve's ate the
apple. Virtually any type of message could be transformed into a
beautiful flower bouquet since a whole sentence could be
conveyed in a single flower.
Since several different flowers could have almost the same
meaning, it was usually not hard to construct a good looking
bouquet with matching flowers for each message. The flower
language even had a type of basic "grammar" since messages
could
be altered depending on how the flowers where arranged and
combined. A red rose combined with white rose buds would for
instance mean a different thing than a single red blooming rose.
Scents, sizes and even the position of the giver when bouquets
were delivered directly would affect the message. The receiver
could also take the opportunity to send secret messages to the
giver. Accepting a flower or floral bouquet with the right hand
was generally perceived as a "Yes" while the left hand indicated
"No". A flower held upside down when presented would literary
turn the message upside down and the message should be
interpreted as the total opposite of the normal meaning of the
flower. Giving a lady or gentlemen a red rose that had been
turned upside down was a very strong sing of rejection.
Flowers has always been used to decorate rooms and to mark
important occasions, but during the Victorian era the natural
world became highly fashionable since it was linked to the new
romanticisms, a reaction to the scientific ideals of the 16th
century. Floral arrangements was frequently enfolded in satin
and received as wrapped gifts. Every room should ideally be
decorated with flowers and the Victorian women devoted their
time to the construction of highly sophisticated and very
beautiful floral arrangements. The flower language was not only
used in bouquets sent to lovers; the flower language would
affect everything from centerpieces to wedding bouquets.
Understanding the floral language became and imperative part of
Victorian life.
About the author:
Visit our site to read more about the flower language and about
the meaning of flowers
. You can also visit our site that is special devoted to the
flower language for roses and the meaning of roses .
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