Floriography, the language of flowers, is a form of communication that was popular in Victorian times. Botanical species were assigned sentimental meanings that were collected in exhaustive dictionaries, the blooms' symbolism varying in tone from the sweet (Ivy Geranium conveying the gallant request "Your hand for the next dance?") to the melodramatic (Vibernum declaring "I die if neglected") and the downright combative (a dried white rose indicating "death before dishonor"). A thoughtfully curated bouquet could thus ...
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Floriography, the language of flowers, is a form of communication that was popular in Victorian times. Botanical species were assigned sentimental meanings that were collected in exhaustive dictionaries, the blooms' symbolism varying in tone from the sweet (Ivy Geranium conveying the gallant request "Your hand for the next dance?") to the melodramatic (Vibernum declaring "I die if neglected") and the downright combative (a dried white rose indicating "death before dishonor"). A thoughtfully curated bouquet could thus deliver a layered poetic memo, which the recipient would be required to decipher. An added complication, however, was the possibility of mistranslation introduced by widespread inconsistencies between reference works.
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