language of flowers – My Chicago Botanic Garden

As proud gardeners, we are thrilled to announce the arrival of flower names as a fresh trend on the best baby name lists.

While Lily, Rose, and Daisy have been perennial list favorites, Violet has just cracked the top five on Nameberry.

What’s behind the trend? Celebrities, for starters. When Gwyneth named baby Apple a dozen years ago, some scratched their heads. Fast forward to 2012, and Blue Ivy Carter (Beyoncé’s first) sounded just right.

Media has played a role, too. Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling surely knew her flowers: Harry’s mother was named Lily and his aunt, Petunia—and support characters that pop up are named Pansy, Lavender, and Poppy. And then there was Downton Abbey, with its worldwide audience that sighed with happiness when Lady Edith named the baby Marigold.

Speaking of England, behind today’s trend is an even earlier, Victorian-era trend rooted in the language of flowers. This is a topic near and dear to the Garden’s heart, as an amazing gift of 400 books related to the Language of Flowers was donated to the Lenhardt Library in 2015.

The new exhibition at the Lenhardt Library, Language of Flowers: Floral Art and Poetry, is a great opportunity to examine some of the rarest of those volumes—we’re especially enamored of the 1852 Lexicon of Ladies’ Names, with their Floral Emblems. Modern books are out on one of the library tables for you to browse, too—and that’s where you’ll find these beautiful names for girls (and boys) and their language of flowers meanings.

See Language of Flowers: Floral Art and Poetry at the Lenhardt Library through August 7, 2016.

Angelica (Angelica gigas) — *Angelica gigas*

Angelica: Inspiration

Apple: Temptation

Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica) — *Mertensia virginica*

Bluebell: Constancy

Daisy (Leucanthemum x superbum ('Darling Daisy') — *Leucanthemum* × *superbum* (‘Darling Daisy’)

Daisy: Innocence

China rose (Hibiscus 'Mrs. Jimmy Spangler') — *Hibiscus* ‘Mrs. Jimmy Spangler’

Hibiscus: Beauty always new

Holly (Ilex aquifolium 'Monvila') GOLD COAST™ — *Ilex aquifolium* ‘Monvila’ Gold Coast™

Holly: Foresight

Hyacinth (Hyacinthus orientalis) — *Hyacinthus orientalis*

Hyacinth: Sport, game, play

Iris (Iris 'Superstition') — *Iris* ‘Superstition’

Iris: Message

Ivy (Parthenocissius) — *Parthenocissus*

Ivy: Fidelity, marriage

Jasmine (Jasminum polyanthemum) — *Jasminum polyanthum*

Jasmine: Amiability

Laurel (Laurus nobilis) — *Laurus nobilis*

Laurel: Glory

Lavender: Distrust

Lily (Lilium 'Acapulco') — *Lilium* ‘Acapulco’

Lily: Majesty

Marigold (Tagetes patula 'Janie Deep Orange') — *Tagetes patula* ‘Janie Deep Orange’

Marigold: Grief

Pansy (Viola x wittrockiana 'Matrix') — *Viola* × *wittrockiana* ‘Matrix’

Pansy: Thoughts

Pinks (Dianthus hybrida 'Valda Louise') — *Dianthus hybrida* ‘Valda Louise’

Pinks: Boldness

Poppy: Consolation

Rose (Rosa 'Medallion') — *Rosa* ‘Medallion’

Rose: Love

African violets (Saintpaulia ionantha) — *Saintpaulia ionantha*

Violet: Faithfulness

Don’t like the idea of an associated flower meaning? You can always choose Flora, Fleur, or Blossom. Or just stick with Sweet Pea as a nickname, because, girl or boy, what baby isn’t a “delicate pleasure”?

What About the Boys?

Sweet William (Dianthus barbatus) meant “gallantry” and Rocket (Eruca sativa) connoted “rivalry” in the language of flowers, but names for boys are few in the world of blooms. Expand into the wider world of plants and a few more names emerge: Sage, Forest, Ash, Bay, Glen.

What other nature-related names for boys can you think of?

Today we text hearts. But in Victorian times, flowers acted as the instant messaging and emojis of the day.

In nineteenth-century Europe (and eventually in America), communication by flower became all the rage. A language of flowers emerged. Books appeared that set the standard for flower meanings and guided the sender and the recipient in their floral dialogue. Victorians turned the trend into an art form; a properly arranged bouquet could convey quite a complex message.

Naturally, books on the subject often had lavishly decorated or illustrated covers.

Now an amazing collection of books about the subject, including many entitled The Language of Flowers, has been donated to the Lenhardt Library. The gift of James Moretz, the retired director of the American Floral Art School in Chicago, the collection includes more than 400 volumes from his extensive personal library on floral design. Moretz taught the floral arts for 45 years, traveled the world in pursuit of the history and knowledge of flowers, and authored several books on the topic. His donation gives the Chicago Botanic Garden’s Lenhardt Library one of the Midwest’s best collections of literature on the language of flowers.

As even these few photos show, there are books filled with intricate illustrations, books specific to one flower, handpainted books, pocket-sized books, and dictionaries. The oldest volume dates to 1810. Two are covered in pink paper—seldom seen 200 years ago, but quite subject-appropriate. Many books are charmingly small—the better to fit, it was thought, in a woman’s hands.

A non-written type of communication, the language of flowers needed a standardized dictionary in order to be properly understood.

PHOTO: Carnation Fascination bookcover. — Carnations held several meanings: a solid color said yes, a striped flower said no, red meant admiration, while yellow meant disappointment.

The language of flowers translated well: there are books in French, Spanish, Italian, German, Dutch, Japanese…and English. Some 240 of the volumes are quite rare—those will, of course, be added to the library’s Rare Book Collection. The remainder will be catalogued and added to the library shelves during the course of the year.

PHOTO: The tiny books of of The Language of Flowers. — Tiny books were sized for women’s hands—and to slip into pockets.

PHOTO: Cupid's Almanac and Guide to Hearticulture bookcover. — This pocket-sized Victorian reference could come in handy when courting.

Librarians aren’t often at a loss for words, yet when I asked Lenhardt Library director Leora Siegel about the importance of the donation, she paused for a very long moment before responding. Clearly, her answer would have weight.

“It is the single most outstanding donation in my tenure as director,” she replied.

And so to Mr. Moretz, one last word of thanks:

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