The Language of Flowers

Jonquil

Alas, my poor heart
Is revealed in red carnations.
Dark thoughts of begonia
Arise from marigold’s grief!

Hydrangea’s heartlessness
And foxglove’s insincerity
Leave love-in-a-mist’s perplexity
To confound without relief!

Distrust of lavender and
Uselessness of meadowsweet
Override persistent petunia’s
Pleas to never despair.

The counterfeit mock orange
Continues to deceive
And the uncertainty of convolvulus
Is always there.

No balm of sympathy or
Comfort of scarlet geranium
No message of iris or
Plea to auricula will do.

Because I feel forsaken
As the garden anemone, and
As jonquil, I desire a return
Of affection from you!

Cherel S. Justice

I've written several poems in florigraphy, the language of the flowers. This use of the flower language was discovered in Turkey and brought to Europe in the 1700s. I love flowers and was fascinated when I discovered that it was a common practice in Victorian-era England to let the flowers do one's talking.

What could be more romantic than to use flowers with designated meanings to share one's deepest feelings, hopes, desires, dreams or even disappointments? We still give red roses to express love and yellow roses for friendship but we have, for the most part, let this beautiful art slip away from us. So sad! There are over 600 flowers with meanings to choose from.

If you'd like to read a short article and view a Flower Meaning Chart, use the following link.    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_of_flowers 

or  for more info visit  http://www.languageofflowers.com/ .

There are many sites and books to choose from if you'd like to revive this beautiful and romantic art in your life.

Charts will differ depending on country of origin. Lily of the Valley means Trustworthy on the wiki chart but Return of Happiness (which makes more sense to me) on others.  Enjoy!!!

Oh, by the way, Jonquil is the flower for March, making it my husband's birth flower. The meaning suits him-- and probably most guys!   :-)