Is there a floriographer in the house?

In my previous post I touched on the fact that flowers can have specific meanings. Floral symbols have been used by the ancient Greeks, early Chinese, Romans, Assyrians, Egyptians, and Indians, but the Victorian Era produced many books on the subject.

Also known as The Language of Flowers, floriography was a communication through flowers which allowed the expression of feelings that could not be spoken. In the Victoran Era, tussie mussies were the most popular way to send along a communication. Different flowers held different meanings, and it was possible to convey a lot through a variety of flowers in one bouquet.
However, it was important that the sender and receiver were both following the same dictionary, as there were differing ideas about what some flowers meant. A dictionary such as

The Language of Flowers by Kate Greenaway (1884) can still be found today.

One example I found is the meaning of a hugely popular flower, the Peony. It could mean "Happy Marriage" or "Good Fortune", but on the flip side it could mean "shame" and "bashfulness". Big difference, right?

It seems, though, that a red rose has the same meaning across the board. No wonder they are so popular still to send for Valentine's Day. No mixed signals there!