As a heritage site with several acres of gardens, we’re always looking for new ways to use our gorgeous plants to tell stories; not only the stories of the plants themselves–where did they originate? how did they get here? what makes them important historically?–but also their broader uses and meanings. Many of our plants are edible, for example, or have special medicinal or artistic uses, or are otherwise just exceptionally cool.
Another way to look at plants, though, is through their symbolism. In the Victorian era, it was in vogue to use special meanings attached to different flowers to create bouquets that communicated a wide variety of sentiments that might be awkward or otherwise couldn’t be spoken aloud in prim-and-proper Victorian society. With the help of any one of many popular flower “dictionaries” available at the time, one could communicate blinding love, deep longing or crushing regret with a handful of carefully selected blooms. Even today, we still associate red roses with love.
This coming summer (2022), as part of the significant improvements we’re making to our gardens, we’ll also be making available pamphlets that will help you learn about the meaning of some of the key flowers we’ve planted on site and add an extra layer of meaning to your visit, if you’re interested.
We’re also excited to be selling some cards featuring lovely botanical illustrations that share some thoroughly modern sentiments. You can find those in our online store.
