Tag Archives: floriography

Ranunculus to You, Baby’s Breath to Betony

                                    B *BABY’S BREATH   “Reserved” BACHELOR’S BUTTON   “Celibacy”             Celibacy, strictly speaking, means the state of being unmarried, if you were giggling.  All bachelors are by definition celibate, no matter how many of them go along with the popular alternate meaning for this flower, “I With the Morning’s Love Have Oft Made Sport”.  I don’tContinue reading “Ranunculus to You, Baby’s Breath to Betony”

Ranunculus to You, Angelica to Azalea

ANGELICA   “Inspiration”             This struck me as an easy one: angels carried inspiration to humans, right?  Claire Powell, a floriographer who has no truck with easy answers, says it derives from the custom of poets in Lapland to sniff it before reciting their latest work.  Really great Laplander poets were awarded a crown of angelica. Continue reading “Ranunculus to You, Angelica to Azalea”

Ranunculus To You: A to Allspice

                                                                        A ABATINA   “Fickleness”             Despite its appearance in eight of the flower language books consulted, abatina is still a mystery to me.  The best io can tell you is that once upon a time, the conifers, or trees with cones, were referred to as “abietinae”.  But see the next entry. ABECEDARY   “Volubility”             AlmostContinue reading “Ranunculus To You: A to Allspice”