The Language of Bouquets
History
A few years before the language took off, the nobles of some of the eastern cities decided to start sending secret flower messages to each other. These all meant simple things such as "I miss you" or "Wishing you good fortune", but as the public began to learn of these flower meanings the language got more and more complicated until you could tell someone practically anything through the bouquets.Regional Dialects
There are a few different dialects of the language of bouquets, with different flowers and plant matter meaning different things in different places. In one place, you could send someone a message asking if they wanted to visit, and in another region you could be asking them to give you their house.There are also places where region-specific flora is used, but that type of flora rarely goes outside of where it is native. As an example, Spiculo Moss is exclusive to areas by the Deep Forest , which is notorious for being off-limits to visiors. Stuff like this can help with identifying where a bouquet is from, but if you don't know the meanings things can get confusing really quick.
How to use the Language of Bouquets
The language of bouquets is very complex, but the basics are relatively simple to explain.First step— Arranging The Flora
The flowers are your actual words, and what usually have the most of the information. This can be tricky, but usually this is just leafing through manuals until you can find a jumble that fits what you are trying to say. After you have that figured out and all of the components gathered and structured correctly, things move on to the next step. Here is a quick guide to some basic flora used in simple bouquets:Flora | Meaning |
Daffodil | Truth, forgiveness |
Mayscorn | Depending on number of leaves, that number |
Venus Flytrap | Deceit, lying |
Hellebore | A scandal |
Raspberry | Remorse |
Broken straw | A broken contract |
Lupine | Imagination |
Iris | Message |
Holly | Foresight |
Gooseberry | Anticipation |
Second Step— The Wrap
Different wraps mean different things. These indicate the tone of the message, from casual and laid-back to flirty and playful to formal and strict. Here is a short list of the most common wraps, but it is in no way all of them.Wrap Color | Meaning |
No wrap | Honesty, bluntness |
Clear wrap, no tint | Casual or informal |
Clear wrap, tinted | Casual, reinforces ribbon meaning (see ribbon colors) |
Clear wrap, iridescent | Playful, flirty, joyous |
Opaque wrap, glossy white | Formal, informative |
Opaque wrap, glossy black | Formal, requesting |
Opaque wrap, tinted | Formal, reinforces ribbon meaning (see ribbon colors) |
Third Step— The Ribbon
Like the wraps, different ribbons mean different things. The color matters, but so does the texture of the ribbon. The color summarizes the purpose of the message, while the texture represents the requested response times.Here are the meanings for the main colors:
Ribbon Color | Purpose |
Red | Warning |
Orange | Gift |
Yellow | Good news |
Light green | Normal message |
Dark green | Very important |
Blue | Updates on previous events |
Purple | Declaration |
White | Event, usually negative |
Black | Event, usually positive |
Texture/type | Requested response time |
Lace | No need to reply/do not reply |
Rough | Respond later, take your time |
Medium | Reply within a month |
Smooth | Respond as quick as you can |
How to read bouquets
Bouquets are read in circular patterns, with individual sentences being read counterclockwise and the overall bouquet read clockwise. The sentences are usually wrapped with paper, cord, or fabric to separate them and tell what tense the sentence is in (see tenses section in grammar).Beginners to this language are encouraged to take out the sentences and read them one by one, and the more adept they get the quicker they can identify the sentence without needing to pull it out and check. When in doubt, here's a guide:
Grammar
The language of bouquets has its own grammar system, with the three main elements shown here:Word Order
This language uses a subject-verb-adverbial phrase sequence, with the subject usually being the first word in the sentence.If the subject is a person rather than an object with a flower assigned to it, most of the time it is written as a flower with the person's initials carved into the stem or leaves.
Punctuation
The punctuation is quite simple, with only three punctuation marks. A strip of grass between two flowers acts as a comma, a maple leaf acts like a question mark, and an oak twig represents an exclamation mark. Unless ended by one of the latter two, the end of a sentence is always when the flower spiral ends.Tenses
These are placed near their relevant flora, usually wound around the stems to avoid confusion.
Found In:
Valyria
Rarity:
Uncommon
Difficulty to Learn:
High
Dictionary
Common Phrases/ bouquets
Here are some of the most common bouquets sent and what they mean.STANDARD GREETING
Length: One sentence.Flora used: Cherry flower, one short grass strand, one long grass strand, olive branch, two long grass strands (tied together), and azalea, all arranged in the above order.
Wrap color: either opaque or clear, with light green tint.
Ribbon color and texture: Light green, usually medium-smooth.
Direct translation: "Greetings, I hope you're well."
INVITATION
Length: One sentence.Flora used: Two long grass strands (tied together), wisteria, flower that represents the event (Example: rose), and mayscorn with desired number of leaves, right color, and address carved into a leaf, all in that order.
Wrap color: White or black. Can be either opaque or clear, depending on the event. (in this example, black, likely opaque)
Ribbon color and texture: Same as wrap, usually smooth or medium textured.
Direct Translation: "You're welcome/invited to a/an (event) at (place) and (time)."
MEET WITH ME
Length: One sentence.Flora used: Hydrangea or cherry flower, one long grass strand, and mayscorn with the correct amount of leaves, color, and address carved into a leaf.
Wrap color: Usually clear without a tint.
Ribbon Color and texture: Light green, technically any texture.
Direct Translation: "Meet me at (place) at (time)."
Very clever idea, and I love that you actually went into so much detail in providing examples of the messages, showing how this code really works!
Thank you so much! I've always been curious about secret codes and victorian flower language, so when I learned about this prompt I couldn't wait to use all the little bits of information I had gathered. It was really fun to write!