A Brief Dictionary of Shakespearean Flowers and Herbs
| Flower |
Symbol of |
|---|---|
| Daffodil | Regard |
| Daisy | Innocence |
| Fennel | Strength and praiseworthiness |
| Gilliflower | Betrothal, marriage, and fidelity |
| Hyssop | Cleansing, penitence, and humility (purgative powers) |
| Ivy | Fidelity and marriage (clinging habit) |
| Iris | Fleur de lis: represents royalty, France, England, Florence, and the Virgin at different points in time |
| Lavender | Cleanliness and chastity (associated with the Virgin). Later, symbolized distrust |
| Lily, white | Chastity and purity |
| Lily, yellow | Falsehood |
| Marigold | Grief and despair; sacred to the Virgin |
| Pansy | Thoughts, remembrance, and meditation |
| Rose | Love |
| Rose, red | Purity and loveliness |
| Rose, white | Worthiness |
| Rose, yellow | Jealousy |
| Rose, mixed | Unity when red and white are mixed |
| Rosemary | Remembrance and friendship |
| Rue | Penitence, regret, and later, disdain |
| Violet | Humility, modesty, faithfulness |
| Woodbine | Married love and fidelity |
| Wormwood | Bitterness and later, absence |
--Excerpted from Barbara Damrosch, Theme Gardens
Bibliography
Many books have been written on this subject. I list more recent texts which are still in print and easily found.
Bayard, Tania. Sweet Herbs and Sundry Flowers: Medieval Gardens and the Gardens of the Cloisters. NY: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1997.
Damrosch, Barbara. Theme Gardens. NY: Workman Publishing Company, 1982.
Kerr, Jessica. Shakespeare's Flowers. Boulder: Johnson Printing, 1969.
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