The language of flowers: history and symbols through the seasons

Giving a bouquet of flowers is one of the most common gestures there is, but for a long time it was also a true act of communication. In the nineteenth century, in Europe, the so-called language of flowers spread: a code in which every flower, every colour and even every way of arranging the bouquet expressed a precise message. This system, also called floriography, rested on older meanings drawn from mythology, religion and folklore. Following it through the seasons allows us to read the wheel of the year through its flowers.

The origins of the language of flowers

The idea that flowers could carry secret messages reached Europe partly through the accounts of travellers in the Ottoman Empire. Among the most frequently cited testimonies are the letters of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, who in the early eighteenth century described a system of communication based on objects and flowers, in which each item recalled a rhyming word. Scholars have noted that the practice differed from the way Europeans imagined it, but the idea exerted a strong fascination.

During the nineteenth century, especially in France and England, flower dictionaries multiplied: small illustrated books listing plants and their meanings. One of the best known was published in France in the early decades of the century under the title Le Langage des Fleurs. Meanings varied from one dictionary to another, and this is an important point: the language of flowers was never a single, rigid code.

Winter: the flowers of endurance

In the depth of winter few flowers bloom, and for that very reason they have strong symbolic value.

• The snowdrop: it pushes through the snow at the end of winter and is traditionally a symbol of hope and consolation. Its Italian name, bucaneve, says it all: the flower that pierces the snow.
• The hellebore, also called the Christmas rose: it blooms in the heart of the cold season and is linked to the idea of a beauty that endures. It should be remembered that it is a toxic plant, to be admired and not handled lightly.

Spring: the flowers of beginning

Spring is the season when the language of flowers becomes richest.

• The violet: small and hidden in the grass, it has for centuries been a symbol of humility and modesty. In nineteenth-century language the violet also signified a discreet and faithful love.
• Lily of the valley: in France it is a tradition to give a sprig on the first of May as a wish for happiness. It symbolises the return of joy.
• The lily: in Christian art it is the attribute of the Virgin in Annunciation scenes, and represents purity.

Summer: the flowers of fullness

Summer brings the most striking and fragrant flowers, linked to passion and light.

• The rose: perhaps the flower most laden with meaning. In the ancient world it was linked to Venus and to love; in Christian iconography to the Virgin. In nineteenth-century language the colour changed the message: the red rose meant passionate love, the white purity or silence, the yellow in some dictionaries jealousy. The Latin expression sub rosa, "under the rose", denoted something to be kept secret.
• The sunflower: it follows the light while growing and gave rise to the myth of a flower always turned towards the sun. Ovid tells the story of Clytie, the nymph who out of love for the Sun was transformed into a flower that keeps gazing at him: in the ancient text it is the heliotrope, but after the sunflower arrived from the Americas the myth was often associated with it. The sunflower is a symbol of devotion and of faithfulness to the light.

Autumn: the flowers of memory

Autumn brings more sober flowers that accompany the decline of the light.

• The chrysanthemum: in Italy it is the flower of remembrance of the dead, because it blooms precisely at the beginning of November, coinciding with the commemoration of the departed. In other cultures, such as the Japanese, it has a royal and solar meaning instead. This contrast is an excellent example of how the same flower can carry opposite meanings in different traditions.
• The aster: with its petals arranged like a star, it has been associated with patience and affectionate memory.

How to use the language of flowers today

The language of flowers can become a tool for attentiveness to the seasons and to other people. Some suggestions:

1. Observe which flowers bloom where you live over the course of the year, and note them in a notebook.
2. Choose the flowers you give with awareness, considering not only their beauty but also their meaning.
3. Remember that meanings change from one culture to another: when in doubt, intention matters more than the code.
4. Prefer seasonal flowers, which tie the gesture to the cycle of nature.

In short

• The language of flowers spread in Europe in the nineteenth century through flower dictionaries.
• The letters of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu helped spread the idea of floral messages.
• Meanings were never fixed: they vary between dictionaries, periods and cultures.
• Each season has its symbolic flowers, from the snowdrop of hope to the chrysanthemum of memory.
• Choosing seasonal flowers ties the gesture of giving to the cycle of the year.