After 35 years as a journalist, I learned that communication isn’t a straight line. So when I started a flower farm, I was righteously irked to find my beautiful blossoms held very limited meaning. A rose = Love. A daisy = Innocence.

After a little research, I uncovered a whole lost language of flowers. Not the codified Victorian “secret” version. Or the modern florist commodified version. Flowers, it seems, can say just about anything you want. Symbolize any and every emotion. You just have to find a proper translation.

It’s time to rewrite the flower dictionary. I’m here as your Rosetta Stone to the world of flower meanings.