The Language of Flowers
"I cannot imagine a more appropriate plant to symbolize female ambition, its tall pretty pastel blooms swaying at the back of our cottage gardens."
This is a quote from a lovely book, which has become quite the resource in my home, describing the Hollyhock...one of my very favorite flowers, and one that I must plant in the gardens of our Rose Water Cottage.
I first heard reference to this book as I watched one of my best loved series...Cranford...one dreary, winter evening while husband was away. Wearing my long, white, victorian-style nightgown, wrapped under a cozy blanket, with beeswax candle lit, teacup of hot tea by my down-cushioned chair...I approached the quiet evening and this wonderful BBC production (a dear-to-my-heart birthday gift from my mother).
Remember these specifics, as you come upon an evening with a clear agenda.
In the movie, based on the delightful book by Mrs. Gaskell, the ladies witness the delivery of a bouquet of anemones, received by a young lady. With their dresses swishing, as they hurry to search for the tiny book, there is a rapturous sigh as one reads from the text, the flower's meaning. Steadfast love...another chorus of ....ahhhhhh.....
In the movie, the book was so tiny, it seemed as if it might be a miniature. How I searched for such a clever little book...one that was antiquated and similar in size...but not one could I find. The book I came upon, shown above, has suited me and has become a lovely addition to my library. Each page is beautiful in itself, with lovely botanical paintings and other Victorian inspired themes. The meaning of each flower is followed by its origin...I refer to this quite often, in these days of discovering English Cottage Gardening.
In the movie 'Cranford' ... one of my favorite terms used by the women of the quaint little town, is "Elegant Economy." The candles on their mantles and at their bedsides, were used quite sparingly, as beeswax was quite a luxury.
How fortunate I am to have found such a splendid gilded copy of this favored book.
The tiny beeswax candles were found in Old Salem...the wonderful little town in North Carolina...at the Moravian Bookstore and Gift Shoppe.
You will see a vintage Webster's Dictionary amongst the books in the photo....it dates from the early 1900's, and it was acquired to discover the definitions of words used at the turn of the century...as this is the era in which most of the books in my collection were written. I hope this will prove helpful to you, as well.