Houseplants, live herbs, or just cut flowers can be welcome gifts at this time of year. Their colors and scents bring a little bit of spring into the tail end of winter.
As I wrote recently, many flowers have traditional meanings. The same is true for many other plants, including herbs, so the gift of a potted plant can send a message, too. These meanings come, once again, from The Language of Flowers by Kate Greenaway.
Cactus: Warmth (well, that makes sense if you don’t mind the spikes)
Fern: Fascination.
Fig tree: A wish for lots of children, or lots of work accomplished.
Ivy: Faithfulness — or marriage. You’ll want to be careful with this one.
Geranium: This popular plant is a whole category on its own. Oak-leaved geraniums stand for true friendship, lemon geraniums for unexpected meetings, nutmeg geraniums for expected meetings, and rose-scented geraniums for “preference”.
Everyday herbs that anyone might grow in their kitchen have meanings, too:
Parsley: Party time
Peppermint: Warm feelings
Sweet basil: Good wishes
Thyme: Staying active
Fennel: Praise and strength
Chervil: Sincerity
Rosemary: Memories
Sage: Esteem
Chicory: Frugality
Cress: Stability or power
Camomile: Energy in adversity.
Finally, here are meanings for a few flowers we didn’t get to last time.
Lily of the Valley: Happy days are here again
Pansy: Thoughts
Sweet pea: Going away
Multi-colored daisy: You’re beautiful
Multi-colored tulip: You have beautiful eyes (being a little more specific)
Zinnia: Thoughts of absent friends.
Clematis: A beautiful mind.
Rose in full bloom, placed over two rosebuds: Secrecy.
