Chelsea’s restored Power station launches Victorian Floriography Guide for Chelsea Flower Show
Ahead of this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show and in partnership with House of Flowers, Chelsea Waterfront’s Powerhouse is bringing back a forgotten art of communication with the launch of its ‘Floriography guide to the Victorian Language of Flowers’. It is a beautifully curated exploration of the secret meanings once assigned to blooms, offering a poetic glimpse into how Victorians expressed unspoken emotions through flowers.
Rooted in the heritage of Powerhouse – Chelsea’s transformed Lots Road Power Station – the guide draws on the site’s Victorian past, reinterpreting traditional floral symbolism for modern audiences. Created in collaboration with Powerhouse’s first retail brand, luxury florist House of Flowers, the guide invites visitors to explore the language of flowers and craft their own ‘bouquets with message’.
The guide reveals what your bouquet may be saying. In the Victorian era, bouquets were composed like poems, with layers of nuance and intent, with particular flowers carrying particular meanings. For example:
- Red Rose – The unmistakable emblem of romantic and passionate love.
- Yellow Carnation – Rejection or disappointment; far from cheerful despite the flower’s sunny hue.
- Tulip – Though now a declaration of love, in Victorian times it carried a darker message of grief and jealousy.
- Lavender – While the flower’s scent is evocative, its presence in a bouquet communicated distrust.
- Forget-Me-Not – A timeless plea for remembrance and fidelity.
The House of Flowers was the first retailer to open in Powerhouse’s atrium and has a distinguished list of clients ranging from private addresses across Kensington and Chelsea to luxury brands such as Cartier and The Berkeley Hotel. The House of Flowers specialises in striking, Eastern European-style floristry featuring bold, large-scale arrangements bursting with colour.
