Floriography: what the heck is that?!

I've just learnt a new word: floriography, the language of flowers, in other words it means communicating through the symbolism of flowers. 'Floriography' seems to be a very new coinage: suggested as a 'new word' only a few years ago, on 19.07.2013 to one on my favourite dictionaries – the Collins.*

In the dictionary's online entry for 'floriography' we see this as a 'new word suggestion' for the inclusion in the dictionary, from DavidWachsman3, who defines floriography as 'a cryptological communication through the use or arrangement of flowers'.

However, the word seems to have already entered the language and is being used freely – for instance it caught my eye today as it appears in a local Oxford free magazine **, on the heading of an article about Valentine's Day and the approaching Mother's Day:

"As we approach Valentine's and Mother's Day, Peter Anderson explores the ancient art of floriography to help you send the right message..."

Oh heck! Another new polysyllabic word...! Can't we just use simple words? Can't we just "Say it with flowers" – which is also a well known advertisement slogan for a chain of florists in the UK.

But people have been 'saying it with flowers' for millennia: funerary flowers, birthday bunches, lovers' tokens, wedding posies, welcome garlands, petals and perfumes for almost every occasion...

Today it's St Valentine's Day, 14th February, and the language of flowers is everywhere: out-of-season red roses have come to symbolise romantic love and affection. Which is a shame, as these red roses have to come at the expense of many airmiles from hot countries far, far away, while the delicacy of the perfect white of snowdrops emerging out of slim green blades of leaves would be so much more in keeping with mid February – here in Britain, in the northern hemisphere anyway.

But the red of the red rose has its own crypto-meaning in colour symbolism: passion, fire, vitality, fast-beating hearts... so red, and roses – the flower of love – it has to be.

Another shame is, however, how disappointing are the bland and scentless well-travelled red roses of a cold British Valentine's Day. Shakespeare was only too aware of the symbolism of flowers, but he would be the first to argue for the necessity of a rose having a fragrance:
'What's in a name? that which we call a rose
by any other name would smell as sweet..' ***

This (rightful) insistence on scentedness suggests that maybe Shakespeare wouldn't even grace the bland red UK Valentine's rose with the name of rose!... but we shall never know.

Well, today as the cold north wind blows and the winter continues to bite, we have early (very bright, upbeat and yellow) British daffs**** in our house, and lovely, seasonal and scented they are too :)



* The Collins English Dictionary https://www.collinsdictionary.com/submission/11342/Floriography  (accessed 14.02.2018)
** 'Round & About' February 2018
*** 'Romeo and Juliet' Act II Scene II, William Shakespeare
**** daffs = daffodils, of course!