THE STORY The Floriography concept is inspired by one of the natural wonders of the world—the Cape Flowers, which bloom every year in a semi-desert region of South Africa called Namaqualand. This region stretches for over 600 miles on the west coast of southern Africa (including in Cederberg) and covers over 170,000 square miles. Over 3,900 seed species lie dormant in the soils of this region until the summer, when the area transforms into a floral wonderland.  Carpets of flowers, of all species and all colors, stretch for miles in all directions. The flowering that takes place each year in the region and paints the landscape in colors that defy even the most vivid imagination is one of the most spectacular phenomena a person will ever witness.

The term Floriography, or the “language of flowers,” was coined in the Victorian era and refers to the practice of communicating with others by sending secret messages coded in the arrangement of particular flowers. In this highly chaste and demure era of the western world—a time during which propriety and proper behavior were of the utmost importance—open expressions of ardor, passion and desire were taboo. Using flowers as symbols allowed individuals to express feelings that could not be spoken aloud.