If you lived back in the 19th century, the rules of social communication were so strict you practically needed a roadmap just to address your aunt.

Floriography was a way around that. An elegant and discreet secret language of flowers where even the stem, colour and leaf could have a specific message.

But between all the oohing and aahing over polite phrases and hidden messages, things got a little twisted. Floriography stopped being only about romantic sweet talk and was used to throw in a few (or several) hidden insults.

After all, who needs polite talk when you can hide insults behind elegance? Floriography turned into a messy game of code-breaking: love and insults got jumbled up and in many cases, the exact same types of flowers could send exactly opposite messages depending on what part of the bouquet it ended up in. For a Florist Tewkesbury, consider https://flowershedtewkesbury.co.uk/

The Hidden Insults

A bright-looking flower like a yellow carnation, for instance, was actually the opposite of cheerful. It was a lovely (looking) way to tell someone they disgusted you – if not more explicitly, tell them to go away.

A sweet-smelling geranium told potential admirers they were silly for continuing to pursue it – as if you were telling someone, ‘Hey, I know we had fun last night but if you keep texting, you’re a little bit dumb.’ A larkspur could be an elegant way to hint someone has an inflated ego that needs some poking at.

If you want to know how a single petunia could send two messages, simply look at the petunias themselves – white ones mean anger or disapproval, while red and purple convey passion.

When choosing flowers, there is one final thing to consider. As noted above, flowers that have different parts to them can send fully different messages. But colours matter too. Think about it like fashion accessories or makeup. What would you look like wearing your best dress if your lipstick colour clashed against your skin? The same goes for the roses.

What might appear to be a harmless gesture could be seen as making a mockery of someone. A dark crimson rose does not equate with romantic bliss; instead, it expresses deep mourning. Basil belongs with aromatic kitchen bouquets and is not exactly what you want to put in a present; it shows deep-seated hatred. Imagine going over to visit your mother-in-law for dinner, only to show up at the doorstep with said flower. It’s basically declaring war.

So the next time you head off to the florist, don’t choose flowers that look pretty against your living room curtains. Take some time to think about what they say and remember, they can speak a thousand words. Hopefully, not ones you didn’t mean.