Victorians were very interesting people. They tended to romanticize and embellish many aspects of life, from the grim to the beautiful to the everyday. Flowers were no exception, and nearly every one was ascribed a certain meaning and used to convey tacit messages. People would send bouquets, with each flower thoughtfully chosen based on its meaning, whether it was to congratulate someone on their engagement or to send a nasty but sweet smelling message.
Our Spring Flowers Bouquet is beautiful, but what would it mean in victorian England?
This bouquet is comprised of gerberas, tulips, spray roses, alstroemerias, lilacs and irises.
Red garberas were used to show the recipient that the sender was fully in love and smitten by them. However, orange gerberas conveyed that the recipient was the "sunshine" of the sender's life. Yellow ones have a more general meaning of happiness.
The tulips in this bouquet are variegated, so they would mean to tell the recipient that they have beautiful eyes.
In this bouquet there are yellow, red and orange roses. The yellow roses convey contentment. Red roses, depending on dark or light reds, could mean different things. Darker red roses convey mourning, while lighter reds are a way to say "I love you." Orange roses, however, are another way to show fascination.
The alstroemerias were used to show someone devotion.
The lilacs represent the first emotions of love. A man could send lilac to a woman he wishes to begin courting to express his interest.
The irises convey faithfulness. They could be gifted to a loved one as a way to quietly say "I trust you."
So, now that you know the meaning of this arrangement of flowers, who are you thinking of sending it to?
