What do you think of the Victorian era means of communicating via flowers?

Question

Floriography was a means of communication in which various flowers were used to send coded messages. This means that a couple could be strolling in the garden, chatting about flowers , while the entire undercurrent of the conversation is full of sexual connotations.

Each flower had a special meaning. For example.....

Pink rose- Secret love

Yellow rose- Friendship

Forget-me-not- True love

Lilac, Mauve: “Do You Still Love Me”

When a flower was recieved, it's meaning was interpreted and the lady would give her response in the way she wore the flower.(Ex. She would show that his love was mutual by wearing the flower over her heart, or reject him by wearing it upside down.)

Would the revival of this custom, or a similar one be beneficial? Would this help suitors save face if rejected? Would it make it easier to turn down advances? Is it so different than the modern dating customs? Or is it just silly?! LOL

Answer 1

Too complicated. I think I prefer speech.

Answer 2

Wow this would be really romantic if i ever met a girl sophisticated enough to embrace this with, and not some girl who'd be worried more about the color of her nails or what new highlights would be in her hair hah

Answer 3

I'm a direct person, so I prefer direct communication over this silly mess.

Answer 4

Considering the time period, I think this was an effective way of showing one's feelings through symbolism.  If someone doesn't have the courage to say, "I like you/I love you", then surely this would have been one of the perfect icebreakers...Much like a card or a note or a letter.

Comparing this gesture to today's standards, I wouldn't mind sending a bunch of yellow roses out to women who would want to participate in this sort of communication and in fact, I Think it is very romantic, especially to those who have problems expressing themselves and their feelings towards another person (Talking doesn't always help, btw.) I can imagine that the stabbing blow of rejection would be reduced to a dulled poke, since words can be as sharp as a butcher's or a kitchen knife.  I wouldn't mind doing something like this, but I think that the majority of people, especially the tons of women who feel it is a man's place to express love or something, wouldn't go for it, especially with the prices today.

And hey, if you're too busy to receive a flower, then you're too busy to talk yes?

Answer 5

The word best to describe this is elegant, today courtship is brutish and devoid of subtly. A rush to the  bed leave us with an intimacy deficit.

Answer 6

My husband (with the help of a florist I'm sure) often sends me flower arrangements by color and meaning. I find it wonderful he puts the thought into it. However for dating I'm not sure how great it would work.

Answer 7

I think it's charming and lovely, but in modern times, very expensive.  In Victorian times you could buy flowers on the street - cheap.

I do have an English garden in my front yard and I have rosemary planted by my garden gate - for remembrance.

Answer 8

WOW! That is so romantic. That would be awesome to do that again, but I think that because of the Feminist movement, it has almost deminished Femininity and Masculinity. A lot of men do not see women today as delicate because the Feminist are always trying to prove themselves as tough and not something to be pursued. I myself would love this to come back. We need to restore femininity and masculinity back to their natural way. Now days there aren't many feminine women out there that actually like to be pursued. So many women have become masculine in and of the way that they make themselves out to be as strong as men, what they aren't realizing is that it has taken away the natural attraction of femininity and masculinity.....they were created different to attract.

Answer 9

I think its a nice way of communicating in addition to other methods - talking, for example. No, its NOT silly for the romantically inclined.

Answer 10

It is quite beautiful and elusive and I rather like a good mystery!Communing through actions rather then words is more ideal in some senses. It is more perfect in that people often mar their speech through expletives, or fillers like 'um, ah, uggghh' when caught for words, or a pervasive lack of articulation of one's thoughts. This floriography turns things into art, I think. How lovely and great for the shy folks. It seems a more sincere mode of communication

Answer 11

I loved sending my late girlfriend roses. Not that I cared about the flowers, but I loved seeing the expression on her face when she got them. She was so beautiful.

My dad sends my mum flowers once a month for no reason.

Answer 12

I think it was a lovely idea, much more subtle and romantic than modern dating which is more about sexual intimacy than love. It might make it easier for people to express their feelings, if it's hard to say them in words for fear of rejection.

Answer 13

I think it was really sweet. I do think that times have changed and if the process was brought back the meaning of the flowers would also have to change.

Sadly, it would probably go more like this...

Pink rose- Secret desire to f*ck

Yellow rose- F*ck buddy

Forget-me-not- True love

Lilac, Mauve: “Do You Still Want to F*ck Me?"

And so on..

Answer 14

No its not silly at all, we use codes all the time.

Answer 15

Geez, couldn't they just TALK? I'm a very busy person; I don't have time to cultivate an entire flower garden in my house.

Answer 16

Interesting.  I can remember a time when a guy and a gal kissed & stuff for many months before they made love (if they did.)  It was more romantic than today's rule of having s*x on the third date.

You really got to know someone and making love was special.

That would be great to bring back more romantic

gestures/traditions.