The Meaning of Flowers: Myth, Language & Lore

by Ann Field, Ann Field (Collaborator), Holly Lindem (Photographer)

Should you send a rose of crimson or of white to the one you love? What gift of flowers best expresses thanks to a dear friend? From ancient days, long before words complicated what we say to one another, flowers have been our messengers, invested with our most cherished feelings. Illustrated with luscious collages by acclaimed artist Ann Field, this enchanting tribute to the power and symbolism of flowers offers a contemporary introduction to an age-old tradition. The text draws on botanical, historical, and mythological sources worldwide, from ancient Rome to Victorian England, from Asia to the Americas, presenting portraits of almost 50 blossoms favored for all time. In Persia, for instance, the black medulla of the red tulip was said to represent the lover's heart, burnt to a coal by love's passion. To Victorians, lavender signified a broken trust, hollyhocks fertility, and nasturtiums a jest or whimsy. Blending fact, folktale, natural history, and original art, The Meaning of Flowers explores the language and lore of nature's most intimate and beautiful gifts.

Genres: Nonfiction, Reference, Gardening, History, Art, Nature, Folklore

108 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 1998

Reviews

[Rosa]

Gorgeous flower collages. Some of my favorites are: Bachelor’s Button—a folded, faded black-and-white photograph of a smiling young man with a long-stemmed frilly purple bloom placed between his teeth, more marching down his jacket, and one on his lapel; Orchid, six wildly different orchids pinned in a box and numbered like butterflies; Delphinium, a graceful dolphin made of purple petals, shedding dewdrops; Ranunculus, rows of circles of pale paint getting brighter until they end with four perfect flowers, red, orange, peach, and yellow; and Primrose, a peach-pink robot holding two delicate, matching flowers.
I have other favorites, too—Poppy, Camellia, Rose, Chrysanthemum, Snapdragon, Sweet Pea. What a flower artist Ann Field is!
When I have my own house, I will surely have this book in the bathroom or guest room.
I am currently trying to grow bachelor’s buttons myself. I hope that I will see a flower.

[♡ella grey♡︎]

**2.5 stars**

I love flowers, so this was interesting. Although great for symbolism in writing as well, the layout became really repetitive and boring pretty quick.
Plus, there were no citations to back up all of this historical knowledge.

[Aims]

Very interesting, and well-rounded background knowledge of flowers.

[Kathleen]

Meh. Short little book (with, I admit, excellent illustrations) that goes over the meanings of various flowers in flower language, as well as a brief introduction that goes into what flower language actually is. It does give meanings that are not strictly European in origin, which was nice. The problem is that it doesn't actually source any of its assertions and I'm not particularly sure I believe any of them. Pick it up at the library for the illustrations, but I'm not sure it's really useful for anything else.

[Marisa]

Beautiful photographs? Check. Interesting facts? Double check! I love flowers, in another life I would be a florist instead of a receptionist. For those complaining about certain pages not having photographs, it’s called drawing you in with curiosity so you can find for yourself the pictures of those flowers. Minimalism and Subtlety are two words that perfectly describe this beautiful book! It makes me want to learn the Victorian Language of Flowers aka the coolest way to send coded messages.

[LOVEROFBOOKS]

For a book meant to instruct on the meaning of flowers, I expected more: more info and more photos!! How can so many of the pages not even have photos? I find I go from the book to the computer to see what they look like.

Also mentioned in the introduction is the tuberose but no entry in the book nor photo? Odd.

I will be searching for more informative books on this topic.

[Louise]

This could be a nice gift book for the gardener in your life, or for people with an interest in historical botany and plant-related cultural stuff.

Mini-review at Lone Star on a Lark

[Samantha Fucile]

A very pretty book, but not much information or background information at all.

[Toni]

An enjoyable coffee table read. Creative illustrastions and interesting tidbits of information. I love flowers so it was a pleasure to read about the meanings historically ascribed to them.

[Savannah]

Charming and interesting. I wish it had more flowers though. And better pictures.

[Michelle Hall]

A beautiful look at Flower Code

[Juli Anna]

Insubstantial and without citations, saved only from a one-star review by the surprisingly intriguing photographs.

[Chissanthi]

It was a very informative text with many of the known flowers and plants. The myths were good and I liked especially the references to Asian and African cultures.

[Sunny]

A cute little book, and a nice jumping off point for more research into the topic of symbolism and history.

[Biased]

Unfortunately, it barely had any information per flower and lacked even an illustration/photo reference.

[Lev Headrick]

Not extremely detailed, but a nice starting place for floral significance

[Erin]

Fun book with pretty picutres!

[Chloe :)]

This was a wonderful resource for those looking for the meanings of flowers in everyday life, and as a tool when writing! I love symbolism and flowers, and some of these meanings were really interesting.

[Gina]

This was a fun little book to read in two or three minute increments. If I had tried to sit down with it for hours at a time, it would have been boring, but it makes a great coffee table or bathroom book. The photographs are charming and the little stories sometimes very interesting. This is very short, just a paragraph or two, at the most, about each of sixty common flowers, a little about their history and their symbolism in a particular culture or two.

Some of the more interesting little facts include that the hibiscus can mean "seize this opportunity", because the blooms are only open for a little while each day, and the mimosa means sensitivity, because it will withdraw its leaves if disturbed. I'll probably not remember any of these tidbits, but they were fun to read.

[Dalia]

كتاب خفيف..
كان بودي لو كان أغنى مما هو عليه، فهو يقدم كل زهرة في أسطر معدودة، ولا بأس في ذلك لو أن المعلومات دقيقة، وحقيقة لم أكن لأدرك عدم دقة المعلومات لولا قوله:
"The koran praises the hyacinth. If you have just two loaves left, the book recommends, sell one and buy hyacinths, 'to feed thy soul'"
وحقيقة شككت في أن مرجعه القرآن وقلت ربما يقصد شيئا آخر خاصة وكتابته لكلمة القرآن مختلفة عما عهدتها، فراجعت جوجل لأجد أحدهم قد توقف عند ذات النقطة:
https://plexity.wordpress.com/2013/06...

وحقيقة عدم دقة الكتاب أرضتني من جانب آخر، فهو يقول عن الداليا:
"The dahlia suggests the instability of perfect beauty"
وعدا ذلك استمتعت بالكولاج الذي صاحب أغلب الصفحات، وربما أجد كتب أغنى في ذات الموضوع بالمكتبة.

[Justwinter]

A beautifully illustrated book of sixty-two different flowers and their historical/social meanings.

The next time you want to send roses to your love, why not show her how you really feel and send her violets instead, as a pledge of your faithfulness. Or red heather that promises passion?

The sparse, neat writing combines well with the elegant collage work. The language of flowers may be archaic, but it may be worth reviving...

[Brandon]

I mourn for the trees that were killed to make these pages, as well as the ink that was wasted. One possible option of redemption would be to frame the illustrations. If the best possible outcome for a novel is described as a bathroom reader or an element of decorating you can rest assured that is is a failure. There are no footnotes or sources in which the author attempts to provide stamina for her dubious assertions of symbolism, meaning, or history.

[Cws]

398.36 Sco

[Deborah Morgan]

Each flower has a meaning and this book tells and explains each.

[Mel]

Interesting, since I've always been fascinated with flowers and their meanings. This wasn't as useful as I'd hoped, however.

[Cynthia]

Lovely book!

[Krittle Belle]

Contained some interesting information.

[Marin]

Great for a beginner in this field! It's worth the read just for ann field's whimsical imagery.

[Becca]

A sweet, quick read; a crash course in the meanings behind flowers, complete with beautiful pictures. The only thing I didn't like was that there was not a picture with every flower!

[stormiedog]

It is what it is... Light, beautifully illustrated drivel....