The passing of messages through flowers was known in Turkey in the 1600s,but did not spread to Europe until 1716 when the celebrated letter writer and society poet,Lady Mary Wortley Montague,accompanied her husband to the Turkish Court in Constantinople.She learned how massages of love could be passed without recourse to letter writing or talking.
Returning to England in 1718,she immediately told friends of the meaning of flowers,but after quarrelling with the post and satirist,Alexander Pope,went to live abroad.The French were enthused by the romanticism of flowers and quickly took to using flowers to send quite complex messages,returning the idea to Britain during the reign of Queen Victoria through a book by Madame de la tour called Le Langage des Fleurs.Some of its sentiments and messages were too lusty for the Victorians and needed to be tempered.
In literature,many references are made to flowers and their specific meanings.For those with a romantic imagination,the following list will help you choose from flowers (and foliage) with special symbolism for your bouquets.
Now that you know what each flower symbolises,guys,be careful you send the correct message!!!
Back to Love Shrine