Did you know that would-be brides used to run around holly trees to make their husbands magically appear? Or that the cowslip flower is said to have bloomed after St. Peter accidentally dropped the keys to heaven? What about the unexpectedly dark and twisted legend behind the delicate, starry blossoms of the forget-me-not? Floriography, authored and gorgeously illustrated by Jessica Roux, is one of those rare finds that's packaged as a light, novelty gift, but is secretly a one-of-a-kind read that's both enlightening and a bit coquettish. Each page introduces a different flower: its scientific and colloquial names, origin myth and historical uses, and what to pair it with to express everything from "newfound affection" to "displeasure at an outcome."
