The Language of Flowers I

Subject: The Language of Flowers I Sat Nov 15, 2008 2:27 am

Iceland Moss ..........................Health

Ice Plant .................................Your looks freeze me

Imperial Montague.................. Power

Indian Cress ............................Warlike trophy

Indian Jasmine (Ipomcea)........Attachment

Indian Pink (double................. Always lovely

Indian Plum .............................Privation

Iris ............................................Message

Iris, German .............................Flame

(Iris was the messenger of the ancient Greek gods and she appeared to the mortals on earth in the form of a rainbow. The glorious arc was said to be the flight of Iris winging a message across the sky. She was as fleet of foot as the bloom of the flower is short, and there are as many different shades of the Iris as there are colors in the rainbow.

The Iris had many admirers, including the kings of France who used it as their royal emblem, and called it the Fleur-de-lis. Shakespeare often referred to the flower in his plays by the anglicised name Flower-de-luce.)

Ivy Fidelity............................... Marriage.

Ivy, Sprig of, with tendrils........ Assidous to please.

(Ivy is not able to support itself but depends upon trees and walls up which to climb. But once it has gained hold, nothing can separate it, hence its meaning. It does not live off its partner, however, but feeds off its own roots. We associate it in our minds with Holly for they are both used to decorate our houses at Christmas. This tradition originated Centuries ago in order to protect us from evil spirits. The druids believed the Holly and the Ivy had magical properties and would drive away the devil It was even hung in the cow-shed to stop the milk from turning sour.

If it grew on the wall of a house the occupants would be safe from witches and if it died, diaster was anticipated. In Wales, if the ivy failed, it meant that the house would pass into other hands, probably through infertility. Ivy, with its clinging habit, is a feminine symbol. Girls living in Oxfordshire learned to put an ivy leaf in their pocket before strolling out. Then the first man they encountered was their bridegroom to be.)