The Language of Flowers

The dahlia didn't arrive with a meaning. It accumulated one. In our titular episode, we trace how a sacred Aztec crop became a smuggled treasure, a botanist's legacy, and eventually a word in the Victorian language of flowers.Executive Producer, Writer & Host: Nina OzierCo-host and Episode Cover Artist: Jake KaplanAudio Producer & Sound Mixer: Elliot TerzianTheme Music: Paul OliphantEpisode References:Seaton, Beverly. The Language of Flowers: A History. University of Virginia Press.Greenaway, Kate. The Language of Flowers. London, 1884.Cavanilles, Antonio José. Icones et Descriptiones Plantarum (1791–1801).Sahagún, Bernardino de. Florentine Codex (Aztec botanical traditions).Smithsonian Gardens. “The History of the Dahlia.”Royal Horticultural Society. “Dahlia: History and Origins.”

Some symbols, however small, earn their weight through the specific, irreplaceable moments in which they were held. In our first episode we trace how a wildflower that grew at the margins of cultivated fields became a vessel for grief, resistance, and national memory.Executive Producer, Writer & Host: Nina OzierCo-host and Episode Cover Artist: Jake KaplanAudio Producer & Sound Mixer: Elliot TerzianTheme Music: Paul OliphantEpisode References:Christopher Clark, Iron Kingdom: The Rise and Downfall of Prussia, 1600–1947Monika Wienfort, Monarchy and Modernity in PrussiaPaul Fussell, The Great War and Modern MemoryJay Winter, Sites of Memory, Sites of Mourning: The Great War in European Cultural HistoryGeorge L. Mosse, Fallen Soldiers: Reshaping the Memory of the World WarsBeverly Seaton, The Language of Flowers: A History