The Language of Flowers

Waukesha Floral was pleased to welcome The Spring City Garden Club to the greenhouse today for a discussion of The Language of Flowers.  Here is additional information on how to access Victoria's Flower Dictionary.

Vanessa Diffenbaugh's novel "The Language of Flowers" tells a touching tale of Victoria, a young woman from the foster-care system, who uses the Victorian language of flowers to develop her passion for floral arranging and provide a means of communication for her customers.

Diffenbaugh created Victoria's Flower Dictionary by reviewing several dictionaries, including "Language of Flowers" by Kate Greenaway and "Flora's Lexicon" by Catharine H. Waterman, and choosing the definition that occurred most often or the one she liked best for modern times.

"My goal was to create a usable, relevant dictionary for modern readers, Diffenbaugh said. "I deleted plants from the Victorian dictionaries that are no longer common, and added flowers that were rarely used in the 1800s but are more popular today."

Diffenbaugh asks readers: "Knowing what you now know about the language of the flowers, to whom would you send a bouquet and what would you want it to say?"

Download Victoria's Flower Dictionary (pdf) here.

Daisies don't tell... or do they?