The forgotten language of flowers

The language of flowers, sometimes called floriography, was a Victorian-era means of communication in which various flowers and floral arrangements were used to send coded messages, allowing individuals to express feelings which otherwise could not be spoken.

In the early 18th century, the Turkish Secret Language of Flowers was introduced to Europe by Lady Mary Wortley Montague. In 1819 a French woman writing under the pen name of Madame Charlotte de la Tour wrote and published Le Langage des Fleurs, which offered seasonal floral and anecdotal advice to those wishing to send secret messages to each other.

The nuances of this language are now mostly forgotten, but red roses still imply passionate romantic love and pink roses a lesser affection; white roses suggest virtue and chastity and yellow roses still stand for friendship or devotion.

Virginia says, "someone said to me yesterday that these paintings remind her of two old friends having a long meandering conversation that goes on for hours. They remind me of feminine thoughts."