He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not, He Loves Me!

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Sending or bringing someone flowers has ever made the recipient feel special. But for a fastidious gentleman following the rules of polite society and not wanting to excite expectations, what bouquet might he gift a young lady of his new acquaintance? Not everyone knows the language of flowers, but it is usually universally obvious. In this instance, the gentleman would not wish to choose red roses, for they would declare his passionate love to the lady—rarely misconstrued no matter the era.

One might err though adding lilies to the bouquet. The choice of white lilies indicates purity of heart, so if there were a question regarding a lady’s character, this would tell her the sender did not believe the rumors and knew she was innocent of any wrongdoing. A lily of the valley means a return of happiness, while an orange lily communicates hatred. In arranging a bouquet from a hothouse, baby’s breath, marigolds, and foxgloves announce while the love of the sender is everlasting (baby’s breath), he finds the recipient cruel (marigolds) and (one of their) intentions insincere (foxgloves). One excellent option is orchids, for they mean beauty, and whatever the context, one cannot misconstrue the compliment.

Image from rosaclarabridal.com

Not everyone was rich enough to afford hothouse flowers. The plants found in one’s gardens and local fields could communicate sentiments equally as meaningful. Thyme is a gift that sends courage or strength; a simple fern, an offering of hope; and basil, good wishes.

Weddings — Ann-Marie VanTassell Photography

Perhaps the next time you purchase a bouquet, you might have as much fun deciding which flowers to include for the message they will send! In my upcoming book, Crossing Lengths and Breadths: A Pride and Prejudice Vagary, Georgiana’s hoped-for suitor, Colonel Mortimer, has a history of sending her bouquets to mark special occasions, taking liberty with the use of red and white roses. The cause is just, and I hope you will enjoy that secondary plot within this tale.

Sources for He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not, He Loves Me!:

Iannotti, Marie “The Secret Meaning of the Flowers You Give” the spruce, November 11, 2019 https://www.thespruce.com/the-language-of-flowers-watch-what-you-say-1402330

Authors unlisted, “Language of flowers” Wikipedia, last updated December 30, 2022 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_of_flowers

Brewer, Jean “Language Of Flowers & Flower Meaning,” Language Of Flowers https://languageofflowers.com/

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8 responses to “He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not, He Loves Me!”

  1. Regina Jeffers Avatar

    I am looking forward to a new book from you. Many blessings …
    As to my heart, yellow roses do more for me than red ones. Although, nowadays, yellow roses represent “friendship,” I am inclined one cannot love a person without also being his/her friend. Readers will often find my heroine’s preference the same. LOL! The damask roses and the bicolor form ‘kokanica,’ known as the yellow rose of Asia, are generally regarded as the ancestors of most of the European hybrids. The significance of the yellow rose of Asia lies in its color there are no deep yellow roses native to Europe and the fact that it readily produces bicolor yellow and red forms. The most widely grown China rose is probably ‘Mutablis,’ an interesting rose as the flowers change from yellow to red as the season progresses. [Sorry, my gardener mind clicked in.]

    1. kimbelle1 Avatar
      kimbelle1

      I love yellow roses! Peach is my particular favorite of that flower, but I confess I prefer a few others even more than roses, for there are so many beautiful options around the world. An unexpected bloom in the desert is just as beautiful to me as the bloom on a cactus! I enjoyed sharing this secret pleasure, and I hope others might enjoy it with us! Thank you for your comment about this particular book, Colonel Mortimer is a particularly fun character to write as I styled him in sentiment and kindness after my husband, who always is exactly the man I wish, want, and need. ~I hope you enjoy meeting the version of him written within~

  2. Kirstin Odegaard Avatar

    I did not realize some flower gifts had hidden, sinister meanings! There have got to be a lot of fun plot ideas hidden in that.

    Best of luck with your book! I was touched by that tribute to your husband.

    1. kimbelle1 Avatar
      kimbelle1

      Hi Kristin, I have always loved that some of the most commonly used flowers in a bouquet are ones that, if looked at in meaning, are not…exactly…meant to make someone smile, yet they are stunning and cause one to smile when they are seen. And herb bouquets are, at times, far more wonderful to put by a window allowing in a light breeze…probably not yellow carnations and orange lilies, though a stunning autumn centerpiece! Thank you for your sentiments for my making a character around my husband. I spun for him into the most difficult of situations a man might find at the time, and amused myself greatly as he made his way through it with a casual suave I was almost envious of the dear girl! I have such fun making sport of the men! I usually give Darcy a hard time, but I will make it up to him in one of the coming books. Thank you for reading!

  3. cindie snyder Avatar
    cindie snyder

    I never knew the meaning of some of those flowers! I love roses they are my favorite! Your new book sounds great!

    1. kimbelle1 Avatar
      kimbelle1

      Thank you, Cindie! I have found pleasure in this for many years and I thank you for sharing it with me today! I also thank you for the expressed interest in one of my upcoming vagaries and hope you enjoy it as much as I did writing it~

  4. Riana Everly Avatar

    I find these “hidden” languages so fascinating, like the messages women could send by how they moved their fans.
    I would be useless at this, though. I’m botanically challenged, but probably couldn’t tell a lily from an iris if my life depended on it.
    Thanks for this interesting post.

    1. kimbelle1 Avatar
      kimbelle1

      Riana, thank you for taking the time to read the post and I hope you enjoyed it! There are some comments for my books that overwhelmed me with happiness at the sharing of the enjoyment found in my books as I am sure it has you and your wonderful books. Hope that you have an inspiring and wonderful day~

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