My thanks to Quarto Publishing Group - Wellfleet Pressfor a temporary digital edition via NetGalley of ‘The Complete Language of Flowers: A Definitive and Illustrated History” by by S. Theresa Dietz in exchange for an honest review.

“The Complete Language of Flowers is a comprehensive dictionary for over 1,001 flower species. Along with a visual depiction, each entry provides the flower's name, characteristics, and historic meanings from mythology, medieval legends, folklore, and flower poetry.”

I have been quite fascinated by the secret language of flowers since I first encountered it in historical romances. In a society so defined by its rules of etiquette, the idea of fragrant nosegays created to deliver a private message was intriguing. I have also had a long standing interest in the folklore associated with plants and flowers.

This lavish and beautifully illustrated reference book contains both aspects as each entry contains information on symbolism, folklore and facts. The entries are organised alphabetically by the scientific names of each flower. At the conclusion are indexes of both common flower names and common flower meanings.

An attractive book that I expect will be of interest to aspiring and experienced botanists as a reference work. It would also make an excellent gift for same.

I heard about this book on a podcast the other day and immediately wrote it on my TBR. I was so happy to receive this book and it didn't disappoint! I love the story and it just keeps you wanting more!

A Thank You to @netgalley and the publisher ( Well Fleet Press) for this advanced copy of #the completelanguageofflowers by #stheresadietz In this guide to flowers and their many messages Dietz explores the history and meaning behind many flowers that we encounter daily. Be it that Valentine’s Day is around the corner perhaps you may want to express your thoughts to your crush by telling them with flowers how you feel. If not then buy the flowers yourself. Self care, baby! This book comes out February 4th,2020.

This book is gorgeously illustrated and its information is well-presented. A must read for any gardener or person interested in floral design or cryptic communication. I will never look at grocery store bouquets the same way again.

I loved this book! It's well organized and the pictures of the flowers are all very well drawn. The only drawback I had was that this book was very hard to read on my tablet because the font was small, so I'm not sure if that's just my tablet being wonky or if the font really is small in the printed edition.

The Complete Language of Flowers is a reference book that provides insight into the symbolism and folklore of certain trees, plants, and flowers. The plants are listed alphabetically by their scientific names, however, if you don’t know the scientific name of the plant, then you can look up its common name in the index at the end of the book. Each page has 4-5 flowers that are illustrated beautifully which makes it a joy to look through the book. I will be purchasing this for myself and I highly recommend it to all the flower lovers.

As a flower lover, I am a little low hanging fruit. I enjoyed reading about the different species, a little history and some of the stories associated with each flower.

It is an eloquent language, folklore and the illustrations are really beautiful.

Interesting and informative, I've always wanted to get a flower guide because I'm a sucker for symbolism. Quick and easy to get through, though you don't need to finish it in order!

The Complete Language of Flowers is a surprisingly colorful and fun to page through guide to 1,001 types of flowers. Each is alphabetized by its Latin name, followed by a symbolic meaning, supposed powers, color-specific attributes and any folklore/facts associated with it. From the parthenocissus quinquefolia and lysimachia nummalaria to your backyard planter geranium and tulip, this book has it all.

My favorite part about paging through was perhaps a bit shallow, but feasting my eyes on the artwork. I may or may not have doodled a few of my favorites! The illustrations are vibrant and charming, which perfectly matches the whimsical vibe. It feels like a book you would find in a sunlit, fairy tale cottage.

This guide focuses on the fantastical elements flowers. Taking into account the sheer number of plants included, I can see why the information was limited to just that. As a biology student, I would have loved to see some more scientific information, perhaps about each flower's growing process/location, scent, if it can be brewed into a nice tea, stuff like that. Maybe not for every species, because again with over one thousand flowers that would be a decade long and A+ nightmare. But for some of the more common or interesting breeds it would’ve been cool to read! I'm a Ravenclaw, I like lots of detail :>

All in all, this is a wonderful coffee table book, perfect for family/friends who are anywhere on the spectrum from hardcore gardener to simply appreciative of the artistry of flowers. If I were to see this in stores I would definitely gift it to both myself and others!

This book is an alphabetical listing of over 1,000 flowers by their Latin name with small illustrations of what they look like. Each flower has its scientific name, its common name, if its toxic, and folklore and facts. Some flowers also have extra information provided like symbolic meanings, possible powers and specific color meaning. The reference book is very well organized and easy to find whatever flower you are looking for, even if you only know its common name.

I know basically nothing about flowers and their meanings so this book was fascinating. I especially loved the folklore and facts part about the flowers. There is a lot of interesting facts to learn about flowers. Overall, this was a wonderful reference book for beginners and experts. I highly recommend this book if you are a flower person or want to be a flower person.

*ARC provided by Netgalley for an honest review.*

The Complete Language of Flowers is a comprehensive dictionary for over 1,001 flower species. Along with a visual depiction, each entry provides the flower's name, characteristics, and historic meanings from mythology, medieval legends, folklore, and flower poetry.

For centuries, symbolic flower meanings have fascinated readers, writers, poets, and suddenly smitten couples alike. Extremely popular during the Victorian era, these floriographies flourished and versed the public on the hidden meaning of popular flowers like peonies (bashfulness) and tulips (passion).Coupled with stunning full-color illustrations, this beautiful reference is a must-have for gardeners, florists, and flower enthusiasts. Whether you're looking to arrange the perfectly bespoken wedding bouquet or to understand what the yellow rose you just received from an admirer means (friendship), this updated floriography is a visual delight.


My thoughts

Would I recommend it ? Yes ,but only to people who this type of book

Would I read anything else by this author ? Nope

Beautiful cover as well as pictures in it , of the different types of flowers ,as well as been in alphabetically by botanical genus or species.And while it's not a book that will make you want to read it in a day, since it's more of an encyclopedia ,it is a

wonderful tool to have in your home to consult whenever you encounter a certain flower and wish you knew more about it.With that said I want to thank Netgalley as well as the Publishers for letting read and review it.

An informative, interesting and entertaining guide to the language of flowers.
I liked the style of writing, how the book is organised and the illustrations.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Oh wow, this is something!

This book is as complete a glossary as I have ever seen one, containing a whole lot of flowers and beautifully describing their language/meaning.

This is not something you pick up and read in an afternoon, but it is a wonderful tool to have in your home and consult whenever you encounter a certain flower and wish you knew more about it.

It is beautifully drawn , I loved the guide at the beginning, the selection is quite wide and I love how there are multiple names under the latin one. This makes it so much easier to recognize the plant, especially for people who were not born nor live in an English country and are not privy to its complete vocabulary.

Originally published on my blog: <a href="https://nonstopreaderbooks.blogspot.com/2020/01/the-complete-language-of-flowers.html">Nonstop Reader</a>.

<b><i>The Complete Language of Flowers</i></b> is an encyclopedic manual of the traditional meaning for flowers and bouquet building in the traditional manner of the Victorians. Due out 4th Feb 2020 from Quarto on their <a href="https://www.quartoknows.com/Wellfleet-Press">Wellfleet</a> imprint, it's 256 pages and will be available in paperback format.

The book has a retro botanical print vibe and the introduction leads directly into a very short 'how to use this book'. The bulk of the book contains an alphabetical listing of the flowers and plants. Each listing contains a color illustration followed by some of the common names for each plant listed, symbolic meaning(s), possible powers, and folklore and facts. The listings are compact, there are 4-6 listings per page. The book includes a nice bibliography and two indices. One index includes the flowers listed with common names alphabetically, the other includes meanings, so if the reader wants to let the recipient down gently by declaring their platonic affection, it's easily looked up in the second index (Acacia, robinia, Austrian roses).

This is an appealing and very pretty book for a somewhat niche audience.

Four stars.

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

Absolutely stunning and so informative! I knew flowers had different meanings, but this is so thorough and has so much more than just the basic information. It is beautifully illustrated and would be a treasured title for anyone’s library.

This is a beautifully illustrated book that's a joy to flip through. The whimsical art is the star here, though there are other lovely elements.

What this book is: An alphabetical listing (by latin name) of over a thousand flower species, with small color illustrations of each one and information such as whether it's poisonous (simply shown by a skull and crossbones by the name), other names it's known by, symbolic meanings throughout history, brief folklore and facts, and "possible powers" (such as death, healing, magic, sending away thieves, killing serpents, protection against witches and more for black elderberries).

What this book is not: This is not a gardening book (no growing zones, information about annual or perennial, size, etc. is given) or an herbal book (no information on how to use elder or echinacea, for instance). It also doesn't give uses for flowers in terms of edibility, teas, etc.

I found the illustrations delightful and really enjoyed looking through it. I appreciated that it's arranged by Latin name, since names for flowers vary so greatly by region and it's good for gardeners, herbalists and foragers to know plants by their Latin names. The facts and folklore were fun, but not in depth. I would have loved simple information like an icon showing garden suitability, size of plant, season of bloom, etc. but this is not that type of book. Still, it's a lovely one.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for the purpose of review.

This is a handy reference guide for flower. The illustrations are lovely and detailed. I enjoyed reading the book although more details for some of the plants would be helpful. The author has symbols by each plant based o note if it’s poisonous but for any plant with the skull and crossbones there are no details listed as to what parts of the plant is poisonous. Some of those plants are referred to as medicinal so to me I have to Oder is the symbol incorrectly used? Is it the seeds, roots I am unsure so if I were interested in any particular plant further research would be needed because only a few sentences is used for each plant. I think it’s a lovely introduction but not a complete reference as the title implies. Overall once I moved past my initial disappointment at the lack of information I found it wonderful to just read and look at the illustrations. If you need a complete guide on the use of various flowers this book may not have enough information. However, if you want a brief overview of flowers this book has a large variety of plants within. I think this is going to really fall under how much information your looking for. I received this book from NetGalley for an honest review.

This is a wonderful guide and resource to learn more about flowers and plants. Each flower lists symbolic meanings, possible powers, and fun folklore and facts. The illustrations are lovely.

What an amazing guide to know the flowers, plants and have useful information. I really liked the illustrations. They look so vintage and nostalgic, yet beautiful.

This book is an impressive undertaking! The images are beautiful and the facts accompanying them are educational. I would have liked a bit more information about where the plants were native and what local people utilized them (if any). As it stands, the books is quite entertaining albeit not the most educational. It might be a great tool to attract new enthusiasts to the world of botany.