Hello publisher Andrews McMeel — PLEASE MAKE THIS BOOK INTO AN ORACLE OR LENORMAND DECK !!!!!!!!

Ok, now that I’ve gotten that out of the way — what a great book. I really enjoyed this a lot.

This is an easy read, a beautiful coffee table book, an a solid reference book on a topic that I’ve never seen a book dedicated to covering. I could easily see this at home in a florist shop, and equally at home on the bookshelf of a Green Witch, a poet who loves to write about flowers, or someone who just really likes flowers.

The book provides a really neat reference and historical context for the use of flowers as a secret code, so if you’ve read Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, you might also appreciate this book, in that the secret language of flowers is akin to the use of fans to secretly communicate in code.

The art is lovely, and the book really and truly reads like an Oracle guidebook (or Lenormand, because it also gives explanations for flower combination meanings.)

In the back, there are “bouquet recipes” (my description) with accompanying illustrations of different types of floral bouquet combinations to signify different meanings. Easy to approach even if you know nothing about flowers except what’s pretty to you.

I’m 100% getting this for myself and family when it comes out. And if they never make it into a deck of Oracle cards, you best believe that I’ll pick up an extra deck to make one myself.

My only criticism is that for me, I had to use multiple devices to open it, since the ARC file wouldn’t open on my kindle. That won’t be a problem for anyone who’s not using an ARC copy, but it might dissuade reviewers since getting it to open was a hassle. I’m glad I didn’t give up on it!

Beautifully illustrated book with fantastic detail and information. Can't wait to buy a copy for my flower loving friend.

Floriography is an amazing floral guide to the Victorian meanings of flowers. I currently have been exploring botanical symbolism in Victorian literature for my schooling, and Floriography is reminiscent of many of the floral guides available from the 1800s; however, this guide is modern while still maintaining the symbols attributed to each floral. The artwork is absolutely stunning as well. It also reminds me of modern depiction of the images in Victorian era flower guides.

As a reader obsessed with Victorian literature and study, this is a must have on my shelf!

This book is absolutely beautiful.

The information is all really clear and easy to understand and I love how the pages are split into the meaning, history, and then pairings. The illustrations were really simple, but gorgeous, which is great because it helps the flowers be more recognizable.

I love the bouquet section at the back of the book too. The illustrations in this section really blew me away.

The index at the back makes it super easy to find exactly what you're looking for. I requested this book as I am planning on writing a novel with a magic system that is influenced by flowers and this is exactly what I needed.

Thank you Andrews McMeel Publishing for the ARC!

Floriography is a breathtakingly gorgeous illustrated treatise on the Victorian "secret" meanings of flowers. Due out 15th Sept 2020 from Andrews McMeel, it's 224 pages and will be available in hardcover and ebook formats. The author is a well known artist with a strong following on social media and this is a really beautiful showcase of her botanical work.

The first section of the book is an herbal primer with each of the entries containing the common and botanical (Latin) name, the floriographic meanings, suggestions for pairing and bouquets, as well as a sepia toned delicately colored full page illustration. The art is wonderful and evocative, delicate and detailed.

The second section includes bouquets (see cover art) along with some more detailed descriptions of uses and occasions (both happy and bitter - there are numerous suggestions from which to choose). The author/artist has also included an abbreviated index arranged by emotion/occasion with suggestions for appropriate floral regards. Many of the full page illustrations are rendered on darker colored background with tinted nostalgic looking artwork. It's a beautiful effect and marries perfectly with the subject matter.

Five stars. This would make a lovely gift for a gardening friend or historical re-enactor, botanical artist or just for lovers of beautiful books. Restrained and beautifully done.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

When I first picked Floriography I thought to myself that it should be an interesting read to reinforce what I knew about the language of flowers.

☆ I was taken away about how each entry was listed in the book. The information and recommendations were pristine and wonderful. I love that the flower drawings were chosen over pictures of them in the wild. It went well with the aesthetic of the book and font. I enjoyed reading and learning more about the flowers that I thought I knew, and I especially enjoyed the bouquet recommendations that they added towards the back.

Definitely a good book to pick up if your wanting to learn about flowers and their background.

This book reminded me/was exactly like The Language of Flowers.
But this book simplifies it, as well as uses updated terminology.
The images were pretty, but I would of expected a more scientific image.

I was so drawn in by the stunning cover of this book, and I'm so glad I came across it! I've been interested in learning about the language of flowers for such a long time, as I find them so beautiful and alluring. The art is lost on us today in the 21st century, but I appreciate that there can still be meaning found in the selection of flowers. What separates each flower from the rest, and what makes it special?

There were SO many flowers - and I wasn't expect that! I appreciate the amount of work that went into the gorgeous illustrations that match each description. I found the descriptions brief, but to the point. I love the detail of adding reccomendations to pair with each flower, to further the special meaning one wishes to convey. I think adding a location for each flower would be helpful, to understand what grows in your own area.

This was beautiful, inspiring, and very informative. I loved it!

Very interesting and beautiful artwork. This book is different from any other I have read on the subject. Clear and to the point without it being wordy.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a great book!

The drawings of flowers and bouquets are beautiful! There's short descriptions about what each flower represents, some history of the meaning, and suggestions on what to pair it with depending on what kind of message you're wanting to send.

It's a really unique look at some Victorian traditions. I wish there was more information on the flower and details on if they were seasonal or where they'd grow. Like were olive branches abundant in Victorian England? Did everyone have access to some of these highly poisonous plants and was it normal to send them to people?? Some context for how these messages were agreed to mean what they mean would have also been interesting.

This was a quick and informative read that definitely left me wanting more.

I asked for this book because one of my friends keeps talking about plants and she got me intrigued! I didn't think I would be this delighted by flowers and their significance!

It was both charming and instructive!
Charming thanks to the subject, the way it was broached and the author's illustrations! I loved her style! Actually, I felt good looking at them: I love the atmosphere Jessica Roux created in a few pages.
Instructive because we learn something about Victorian society. We discover that, as people at this time never talked about their feelings, they expressed them through plants and, mostly, flowers. I find this so poetic! Just crossing the path of a friend could mean you knew what happened to them or what they thought/felt just by looking at which flower they were carrying! No need to write a letter, you could just send a bouquet and your friend knew what you meant! It is so fascinating and inspiring! Some flowers still mean the same today, like forget-me-nots or roses; others are less obvious. It was really enchanting to learn where some meanings came from, be it history, mythology or classic literature! I even found explanations for names in some works of fiction thanks to this book!

It was great to have significance for flowers but also a part about bouquets! I now want to offer some to friends and family, and to fill my house with colors and floral meanings!

I'm sure I'll buy a physical copy of this book, just so I can find which flower to offer at the perfect time!

This was a beautiful gift or coffee table book. The illustrations were gorgeous and I loved learning about the meanings of flowers.

This is a beautiful book. The author gives the meaning and origin for each flower along with, recommendations of flower pairings. Every flower is also beautifully illustrated, each on its own full page. The illustrations are stunning and are individual pieces of art. At the end, the author gives example bouquet floral combinations, each having their own specific meaning - a fun way of conveying a specific message to someone using flowers. If you love flowers, floral arranging or botanical illustration, I highly recommend this book. Even if you don't, this would make a great gift or a nice addition to your coffee table book collection.

Floriography was a very fascinating read. I’m not too well-versed on flower language, and this book turned out to be a good place to start. This book was arranged in a two page profile style format, with brief definitions to accompany the matching illustration. I do have to note that Roux’s illustrations were gorgeous. The book cover alone is enough of an example of the kind of work put into Floriography, and the overall presentation of the flowers and information was enjoyable to read. It was also cool to find out about all the meanings applied to the flowers and where that sort of came from. I also enjoyed the section on bouquets, as well as the parts that explained what each flower could be paired with and what kind of meaning would come from it.

Floriography was definitely a guidebook. I liked it, and I’m certainly interested in reading more about the subject. If you’ve wanted to learn a little about flower language, or were looking for a place to start—especially in a Victorian era context—then you might want to consider giving this book a try.

Disclaimer: This copy of the book was provided by the publisher (Andrews McMeel Publishing) via netgalley for this review, thank you!

I've often wondered at the meaning behind flowers and from my love of historical romances, I knew that each flower had a particular meaning. For example, red roses signify romantic love and yellow are a sign of friendship. I've always wondered about other flowers and their meanings, and I jumped at the chance to review this book. This is an excellent reference for anyone who has ever wondered at the meaning behind a particular flower or the best arrangement to create to perfectly convey your feelings. Beautifully illustrated, this book is simply written and a delight to read.

I received an arc of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The language of flowers, picking flowers that show your feelings, is an art form that was probably perfected in the Victorian era and has been nearly forgotten since then. Yes, of course, you know what red roses represent, or forget-me-nots, but what about tulips, daisies, or cowslips?

This book offers information on what feelings the individual flowers represent, as well as some historical information on the origin of the name, or use.

I especially liked the full colour illustrations of the individual flowers, the bouquet suggestions, and the indexes in the back of the book.

This encyclopedia of the language of flowers is absolutely beautiful and lovely. It is also incredibly easy to read and well laid out in an organized fashion. The flowers are set in alphabetical order and each one includes a gorgeous illustration accompanied by the meanings of it and the origins of those meanings as well as what other flowers it is paired with. I am excited to keep returning to this book as a reference.

Floriography by Jessica Roux provides the reader with a neat and fascinating compilation of various flowers and their meaning in "the Language of Flowers" during the Victorian era. The illustrations provided for each flower are beautiful and if you don't know the flower in question, it makes you want to look them up.

I really appreciated that there were background information from history or myths for some of the flowers so the reader got a sense of how and why the flowers had these associations.

Also, for each flower, extra two meanings that can be conveyed when used with other flowers are given, so you can admire the subtlety of such a mode of communication.

The use of flowers to convey emotions and thoughts, beyond general appreciation and love might be over, but this book gives you a great opportunity to learn that they used to mean much more in detail.

I specifically recommend this book to everyone interested in Victorian era or flowers. I had so many friends ask me what I was reading even if they had no particular interest in these two though, so don't let that stop you if these two aren't usually your cup of tea!

This is so lovely. I feel like this is just the type of book to read in a quiet afternoon over tea. Floriography is the Victorian costume of communication via flowers and it's so nice to have a little insight into this part of humanity. Sometimes history can be gentle too.

This little archive contains the meaning and lore behind the flowers/plants and a beyond gorgeous illustration of each of them. It can be read in one very atmospheric sitting and it gave me a newfound love for the little things in life.

Floriography is a beautiful compilation of various florals and their meanings. Each flower is dedicated two pages, one with the scientific and common names, meaning and origin of meaning, and flowers to pair with it, and the other page a beautiful illustration of the flower in bloom. The book ends with several bouquet suggestions for different purposes.
This book would make an excellent gift for anyone interested in floriculture or gardening. It is also perfect to reference when gifting floral arrangements if you want to convey a particular meaning. Overall, a fantastically done book!