If of thy mortal goods thou art bereft,
And of thy meager store
Two loaves alone to thee are left,
Sell one, and with the dole
Buy hyacinths to feed thy soul.
- Sheikh Muslih-uddin Saadi Shirazi
I'd rather have roses on my table than diamonds on my neck.
- Emma Goldman
flowers are not made by singing "Oh, how beautiful," and sitting in the shade.
- Rudyard Kipling
In the 1600's, a language of flowers developed in Constantinople and in the poetry of Persia.
Charles II introduced the Persian poetry to Europe, and Lady Mary Wortley Montagu brought the flower language from Turkey to England in 1716.
It spread to France and became a handbook of 800 floral messages known as the Book Le Language des Fleurs.
Lovers exchanged messages as they gave each other selected flowers or bouquets. A full red rose meant beauty. Red and white mean unity.
Crocus said "abuse not", while a white rosebud warns that one is too young for love.
Yellow roses were for jealousy, yellow iris for passion, filbert for reconciliation and ivy for marriage.
- Valentine's Day Love Traditions