Flower Symbolism Question

[volcaniclastic]

Does anyone know of any symbolism related to either the forget-me-not or the thistle? I have a tattoo idea (I've had it for a long time, really) - and those are my two favourite flowers. I was just wondering if there's any symbolism for either of the two (it's cool if there's not - I just can't find anything on the thistle beyond "Scotland, rawr&quot

Thanks!

[Simon Slade]

Re: Flower Symbolism Question

The thistle could symbolize hard to obtain beauty (the flower surrounded by prickles), or any hard to achieve goal. It could also symbolize something that has mounted defenses around its inner portion.

[Ophidia]

Re: Flower Symbolism Question

If I remember correctly, the thistle is the emblem for Scotland.

[Celest]

Re: Flower Symbolism Question

A legend about the origin of the name forget-me-not is as follows. Once a medieval knight and his lady-love were walking beside a river. The knight held a bouquet in his hands. Because of the weight of the armor, he fell into the water. According to the legend, he threw the bouquet at her shouting forget-me-not.

and



from "theflowerexpert.com"

[thalassa]

Re: Flower Symbolism Question

As per the Victorian-era floriography--the "codified" "language of flowers" put forth in period sources such as The Language of Flowers by Henrietta Dumont (1852) and The Language of Flowers by Frederic Shoberl (1839) , the forget-me-not's symbolism is pretty self evident by the name, and the thistle represents surliness and/or misanthropy.