Dating Gifts by Hayden Allen

 

The language, meaning and history of flowers

 

History

Thank the 17th Century Turks for the meaning of flowers! The French then stole the idea (as they do) and in 1819 a bird called Louise Cortambert wrote and published THE first dictionary of flowers and their meanings – Le Language Des Fleurs. It became a best seller (well there was no Playboy back then!)

During the reign of Queen Victoria in England from 1837 – 1901, the meaning of flowers became commonly known with the classes. They were more popular with Victorian ladies than men which makes sense looking at today’s situation. They became a way of communicating messages.

In 1884 a whole book on the subject and entitled, The Language of Flowers, by Jean Marsh and illustrated by Kate Greenaway, was published in London. It became popular and respected and has been the standard source for Victorian flower meaning ever since.

Meanings

Here’s a taster for you as to what some of the most popular flowers mean… go on, get your ass up and go and buy her some flowers!

ACACIA: Concealed love, chaste love.
AGAPANTHUS Love letters, love.
ALIUM Strength.
ALSTROMERIA Wealth, prosperity, fortune.
AMARYLLIS Pride.
AMBROSIA Love is reciprocated.
ANEMONE Forsaken, expectation.
ANTHURIUM Lover.
APPLE BLOSSUMS Good fortune.
ARBUTUS Do I love.
ASPARAGUS FERN Fascination.
ASTER: Variety, elegance, daintiness.
ASTILBE: I’ll still be waiting.
AZALEA: Love, romance, first love, fragile passion, temperance. It is also the Chinese symbol of womanhood.
BABY’S BREATH: Innocence.
BACHELOR BUTTON: Single blessedness.
BALSAM: Ardent love.
BEGONIA: Beware.
BELLS OF IRELAND: Good luck.
BIRD OF PARADISE: Magnificence.
BITTERSWEET: Truth.
BLUEBELL: Humility, constancy.
BOUVARDIA: Enthusiasm.
BROOM: Humility.
BUTTERCUP: Childishness.
CACTUS: Endurance.
CALENDULA: Grief, jealousy. Also the birthflower for October.
CALLA LILY: Magnificent beauty. Associated with the sixth wedding anniversary.
CAMELLIA: Gratitude.
CAMELLIA, PINK: Longing for you.
CAMELLIA, RED: You’re a flame in my heart.
CAMELLIA, WHITE: You’re adorable.
CARNATION: Fascination, distinction, divine love, woman, yes. Also the birthflower for January.
CARNATION, PINK: A woman’s love, I’ll never forget you, mother’s love.
CARNATION, PURPLE: Capriciousness.
CARNATION, RED: Alas for my poor heart, admiration, my heart aches for you, fascination.
CARNATION, STRIPED: Refusal, No, sorry I can’t be with you.
CARNATION, WHITE: Innocence, faithfulness, sweet and lovely, pure love, ardent love, good luck.
CARNATION, YELLOW: Disdain, rejection, you have disappointed me.
CATTAIL: Peace, prosperity.
CHRYSANTHEMUM: Cheerfulness, optimism, rest, truth. Considered to be a noble flower in Asian culture, mums are used as an object of meditation per a suggestion by Confucius. Also the birthflower for November.
CHRYSANTHEMUM, RED: I love.
CHRYSANTHEMUM, WHITE: Truth, loyal love.
CHRYSANTHEMUM, YELLOW: Slighted love.
CLEMATIS: Clever, intellectual. Associated with the eighth wedding anniversary.
CORNFLOWER: Delicacy.
COSMOS: Modesty. Associated with the 2nd wedding anniversary.
CROCUS: Cheerfulness, abuse not.
CYCLAMEN: Resignation, good-bye.
DAFFODIL: Regard, rebirth, new beginnings, unrequited love, you’re the only one, chivalry. Associated with the tenth wedding anniversary. Also the birthflower for March.
DAFFODIL, SINGLE: Misfortune.
DAFFODIL, SEVERAL: Joy, happiness.
DAHLIA: Instability. Associated with the fourteenth wedding anniversary.
DAISY: Innocence, loyal love, I’ll never tell, purity. Associated with the fifth wedding anniversary.
DANDELION: Faithfulness, happiness, love’s oracle.
DAY LILY: Coquetry, Chinese emblem for mother. Associated with the twentieth wedding anniversary.
DELPHINIUM: Big-hearted, fun.
EBONY: Blackness.
EREMURUS: Endurance.
EUPHORBIA: Persistence.
FERN: Sincerity, magic, fascination, confidence, shelter.
FIR: Time.
FLAX: Domestic symbol.
FLYTRAP: Deceit.
FORGET-ME-NOT: True love, hope, remembrance, memories.
FORSYTHIA: Anticipation.
FOUR-LEAF CLOVER: Good luck, be mine.
FOXGLOVE: Insincerity.
FREESIA: Innocence, thoughtfulness.
FUSCHIA: Taste. Associated with the third wedding anniversary.
GARDENIA: You’re lovely, secret love, joy, sweet love, good luck.
GERANIUM: Stupidity, folly, comfort, gentility. Associated with the fourth wedding anniversary.
GINGER: Strength.
GLADIOLUS: Strength of character, remembrance, infatuation, splendid beauty, give me a break
GLOXINA: Love at first sight.
HEATHER, LAVENDER: Admiration, solitude, beauty.
HEATHER, WHITE: Protection, wishes will come true.
HIBISCUS: Delicate beauty.
HOLLY: Foresight, defence, domestic happiness, enchantment.
HOLLYHOCK: Ambition, fruitfulness. Associated with the thirteenth wedding anniversary.
HONEYSUCKLE: Bonds of love.
HUCKLEBERRY: Simple pleasure.
HYACINTH: Sport, play, games, rashness.
HYACINTH, BLUE: Constancy.
HYACINTH, PURPLE: I am sorry, sorrow, please forgive me.
HYACINTH, RED OR PINK: Play.
HYACINTH, WHITE: Loveliness, I’ll pray for you.
HYACINTH, YELLOW: Jealousy.
HYDRANGEA: Thank you for understanding, frigidity, heartlessness, heartless.
IRIS: Wisdom, Fleur-de-lis, emblem of France, your friendship means so much to me, faith, hope, valor, my compliments. Associated with the twenty-fifth wedding anniversary.
IRIS, BLUE: Faith, hope.
IRIS, PURPLE: Wisdom, compliments.
IRIS, YELLOW: Passion.
IRIS, WHITE: Purity.
IVY: Fidelity, wedded love, friendship, affection, marriage.
IXIA: Happiness.
JACK-IN-THE-PULPIT: Associated with the seventh wedding anniversary.
JASMINE, WHITE or INDIAN: Amiability , I attach myself to you, sensuality, attachment.
JASMINE, SPANISH: Sensuality.
JASMINE, YELLOW: Grace, elegance.
JONQUIL: Sympathy , love me, affection returned, desire.
LADY SLIPPER: Capricious beauty.
LARKSPUR: Fickleness, ardent attachment, levity, lightness.
LARKSPUR, PINK: Fickleness.
LARKSPUR, PURPLE: First love.
LAVENDER: Devotion.
LEATHERLEAF FERN: Fascination.
LILAC: Youthful, humility, confidence.
LILY: Majesty, wealth, pride, innocence, purity.
LILY, WHITE: Purity, modesty, virginity, majesty.
LILY, ORANGE: flame, I burn for you.
LILY, YELLOW: I’m walking on air, false, gay.
LILY OF THE VALLEY: Return of happiness, purity of heart, sweetness.
LOTUS BLOSSUM: Estranged love.
MAGNOLIA: Dignity, love of nature, nobility.
MARIGOLD: Affection, cruelty, grief, jealousy.
MARIGOLD, POT: Grief, despair.
MIMOSA: Sensitivity.
MINT: Virtue.
MISTLETOE: Kiss me, affection, to surmount difficulties, sacred plant of India.
MONKSHOOD: Beware, a deadly foe is near, danger.
MORNING GLORY: Loves you. Associated with the eleventh wedding anniversary.
MOSS: Maternal love, charity.
MYRTLE: Love, Hebrew emblem of marriage.
NARCISSUS: Egotism, conceit, self love, self admiration, formality.
NASTURTIUM: Conquest, victory in battle. Associated with the fortieth wedding anniversary.
OAK LEAVES: Bravery.
OLEANDER: Caution.
OLIVE BRANCH: Peace.
ORANGE BLOSSUM: Purity, innocence, eternal love, marriage and fruitfulness, fertility.
ORANGE, MOCK: Deceit.
ORCHID: Rare beauty, love, refinement, beautiful lady, Chinese symbol for many children, mature charm, beauty, long life. Associated with twenty-eighth wedding anniversary.
PALM LEAVES: Victory, success.
PANSIES: Recipient is being thought about. Associated with the first wedding anniversary.
PAPERWHITE: Aphrodisiac due to its intoxicating scent.
PEONY: Bashfulness, shame, happy life, happy marriage, good health, prosperity. Associated with the twelfth wedding anniversary.
PEPPERMINT: Cordiality.
PERIWINKLE: Friendship.
PETUNIA: Resentment, anger, your presence soothes me.
PHLOX: Unanimity.
POPPY: Eternal sleep, oblivion, imagination. Associated with ninth wedding anniversary.
POPPY, RED: Pleasure, consolation.
POPPY, WHITE: Consolation, sleep, rest.
POPPY, YELLOW: Wealth, success.
PRIMROSE: I can’t live without you.
PRIMROSE, EVENING: Happy love.
QUEEN ANNE’S LACE: Haven.
RANUNCULUS: You are radiant with charm, radiant charm.
RHODODENDRON: Danger, caution.
ROSE: Love, passion, perfection. Associated with the fifthteenth wedding anniversary. It is also known as the birthflower of June.
ROSE, BURGUNDY: Beauty within.
ROSE, CORAL: Desire.
ROSE, DARK CRIMSON: Mourning.
ROSE, HIBISCUS: Delicate beauty.
ROSE, LAVENDER: Love at first sight, enchantment.
ROSE, LEAF: You may hope.
ROSE, MOSS: Confessions of love.
ROSE, ORANGE: Fascination, display feeling of enthusiasm.
ROSE, PEACH: Desire, gratitude, apprecation, admiration, sympathy, modesty.
ROSE, PINK: Happiness, appreciation, admiration, friendship, sympathy.
ROSE, DARK PINK: Thankfulness.
ROSE, LIGHT PINK: Grace, gladness, joy, perfect happiness, please believe me, gratitude, admiration, gentility.
ROSE, RED: Love, passion, respect, courage, I love you, beauty, pure and lovely, prosperity.
ROSE, DEEP RED: Un-selfconscious beauty.
ROSE, SINGLE, FULL BLOOM: I love you, I still love you, new love.
ROSE, BUD, SMALL: Pure and lovely, beauty and youth, a heart innocent of love.
ROSE, THORNLESS: Love at first sight.
ROSE, WHITE: Innocence, purity, secrecy.
ROSE, WHITE, DRIED: Death is preferable to loss of virtue.
ROSE, YELLOW: Joy, friendship, true love, decrease of love, jealousy, try to care, freedom, slighted love, shows “I care”, joy, gladness.
ROSES, BOUQUET, MATURE: Gratitude.
ROSES, RED & WHITE TOGETHER: Unity, flower emblem of England.
ROSES, YELLOW & RED TOGETHER: Happiness, congratulations.
ROSES, YELLOW & ORANGE TOGETHER: Passionate thoughts.
ROSEMARY: Remembrance, purity, rebirth.
SAGE: Virtue.
SALAL: Zest.
SCABIOUS: Unfortunate love.
SMILAX: Loveliness.
SNAPDRAGON: Deception, gracious lady, presumption.
SPEARMINT: Warm sentiment.
SPIDER FLOWER: Elope with me.
STAR OF BETHLEHEM: Purity.
STATICE: Sympathy, remembrance, success.
STEPHANOTIS: Happiness in marriage, desire to travel.
STOCK: Lasting beauty, bonds of affection, promptness, you’ll always be beautiful to me.
SUNFLOWER: Follows the sun as it grows, adoration, haughtiness.
SWEET PEA: Lasting pleasure, good-bye, departure, blissful pleasure, thank you for a lovely time, I think of you.
SWEET WILLIAM: Gallantry, smile, finesse.
THYME: Activity.
TUBEROSE: Dangerous pleasure.
TULIP: Perfect lover, frame, flower emblem of Holland.
TULIP, RED: Believe me, declaration of love, fame.
TULIP, VARIEGATED: Beautiful eyes.
TULIP, YELLOW: Hopeless love, there’s sunshine in your smile.
VIOLET: Modesty, faithfulness, innocence, understated beauty. Associated with the fifth wedding anniversary.
VIOLET, BLUE: Watchfulness, faithfulness, I’ll always be true.
VIOLET, PURPLE: Thoughts of you, blue love.
VIOLET, WHITE: Let’s take a chance, youthful innocence.
VIOLET, YELLOW: Love of country.
WATER LILY: Purity of heart.
WEEPING WILLOW: Mourning.
WHEAT: Friendliness.
YARROW: Healing, sorrow.
ZINNIA: Thoughts of absent friends, in memory of an absent friend.
ZINNIA, SCARLET: Constancy.
ZINNIA, WHITE: Goodness.
ZINNIA, YELLOW: Daily remembrance.

Not only types of flowers have a meaning, so does quantity, colour and grouping. Believe it or not, how you wear a flower is also important. Also, flowers can be used to answer questions. When they are presented with the right hand the answer is “yes,” but when presented with the left hand the answer is “no.”

Tatty Love Gifts

 

We’ve all had one at some stage of our life, and although sweet enough they end up on our granny’s dressing table, a car boot or the best place – the dump. Before you think about spending your hard errant bucks on a load of old shit bare in mind what it says about your feelings for that person. Don’t get me wrong, it’s lovely to receive a gift… but I’m talking perfume (not chav crap like Brut), flowers, and nice jewellery. Definitely not china ornaments and teddies made in China.

Gifts are all bout making the right impression and you won’t do that with rubbish like the dodgy items I’ve shown below:

CRAP, CRAP, CRAP!

What I can’t understand is that most of this toss is really expensive. I’m not even sure I understand the psychology behind giving these, but it has to be pikies.

So… why do people give them I ask, maybe its because of one of the following reasons:

1 - You hate the person you are giving it to.
2 - You have absolutely no taste!
3 - You are too much of a chavvy pikie and you really like them!
4 - You are too tight to buy anything decent.
5 - You don’t want the relationship to last.

I’d even go as far to say that if you give something like this you can’t be expecting a relationship to last. A trip to Interflora would cost the same and bring you rewards 10 fold.

Top Ten Most Romantic Movies

 

So you’ve got a nice bottle of wine in the fridge, a meal in the oven, your date will be over in about 30 minutes and you want to have a chilled night in where you can just cuddle up on the couch.

Alternatively, you may be single and longing for a relationship but finding it a bit tricky, and just want to lose yourself in a chic flic.

I’ve done the hard work for you and chosen the top 10 romantic movies that will create the atmosphere you are after, so get out your Blockbusters card and head down the shops (obviously if I have missed any off then email me and I’ll add to the list):

KEY DESCRIPTION:
STORY – How good the storyline is.
SNOGABILITY – The likelihood of a snog during the film.

Dirty Dancing

Every ladies favourite movie. This pulls the hardest of heart strings and there’s a little bit of action for the boys. If you haven’t seen it yet there’s loads of dancing and snogging and not a bad story line.
Story 7/10
Snogability 6/10

Titanic

Another modern Hollywood blockbuster classic offering a few fight scenes, drama of a sinking ship and a love story that will have you gripped throughout. It’s 3 hours long so make sure you get really comfortable!
Story 9/10
Snogability 5/10

Splash

An 80’s classic and Tom Hanks at his best. All about a mermaid who falls in love with Mr Hanks. Great story that’s easy to follow and a good laugh. Is a little dated now (fashions etc) and a little childish, but it presents some hugely romantic moments.
Story 5/10
Snogability 8/10

Pretty Woman

Now I’d be surprised if none of you have heard of this one, it’s about a hooker (Julia Roberts) who gets into Richard Gere’s car, by mistake of course and the rest is history. It’s one of those you drag out because you have both seen it but want to make a move on the other so won’t be too bothered about missing any of the storyline.
Story 6/10
Snogability 10/10

When Harry Met Sally

Another timeless classic all about the fact men and women can’t be friends because the sex part always gets in the way, and the film goes on to explore this notion. It’s the film with the famous faked orgasm in the café… very funny! A nice light entertainer.
Story 7/10
Snogability 7/10

Four Weddings & a Funeral

An English classic with a huge raft of stars. Like the title suggests, there are 4 weddings and one funeral to contend with. If you want a bit of slapstick comedy with a squeeze of romance then go for this one.
Story 8/10
Snogability 6/10

Ghost

Patrick Swayze at his best. A quite in depth story about love and deception and the notion of …. You guessed it ‘ghosts’. Very cleverly portrayed film offering a little more than romance and focussing on the dark side a little. A cracking story though.
Story 10/10
Snogability 4/10

Casablanca

What list would be complete without this 1942 epic tale. Don’t expect much snogging in this one as the story line is too good to miss. On most of the most romantic movies listed on the web, it always appears. Don’t be put off by it being black & white, this adds to the romance it portrays. Humphry Bogart is a true legend in this one.
Story 10/10
Snogability 3/10

Bridget Jones

The film where Rene Zellweger dorns her poshest English accent and has a couple of romantic encounters, with only one true winner.  It’s a great comedy so nice and light if you are looking more for snogs.
Story 7/10
Snogability 7/10

Love Story

This is arguably one of the best love stories to be found today. It’s your typical tear jerker so be ready with a tissue. Produced in 1970, this is another film that just doesn’t seem to date. Sends your emotions into a spin.
Story 9/10
Snogability 3/10

Gone With The Wind

One recommended by you and a true classic. Although it’s shot in three-strip Technicolor and produced back in 1939, it’s considered the most beloved, enduring and popular film of all time. Featuring Clark Gable and set in the American Civil War its a story of love and danger.  A bit of a tear jerker to be honest.
Story 8/10
Snogability 4/10