Flowers & Folklore

Hello! Keeley takes us down lots of fragrant and delicious rabbit holes all about the violet. This small but mighty flower has deep roots in the floristry world, as well as being the OG red rose (it’ll make sense once you listen!) And yes, this gave Keeley another opportunity to complain about roses.
We take a trip down memory lane with films and books, take a quick stop at the Tate to admire some art and look up recipes for violet pudding.
Books

* The Hedgerow Apothecary by Christine Iverson
* Folklore and Symbolism of Flowers, Plants, and Trees by Ernst and Johanna Lehner
* Floriography by Jessica Roux
* Discovering the Folklore of Plants by Margaret Baker
* Flowers and Their Meanings by Karen Azoulay
Artwork

* Lady with a Bowl of Violets by Lila Cabot Perry (1910) at the National Museum of Women in the Arts
* A Bouquet of Violets by Édouard Manet (1872)
* Ophelia by John Everett Millais (1851-52) at the Tate
Head to our Instagram for visuals.
Also mentioned

* Betty May @bettymaywrote - features the character Violet the mouse in the Wildwood series
* The article by Felicity Hall from historyworkshop.org.uk about flower girls
Flowers & Folklore on Instagram
We’d love to hear from you!
Have your own floral stories or lore about violets? We’re accepting reader submissions, so if you have a flower story, (about any flower) please share it with us! Comment below or email us at [email protected]
Enjoy the episode!
Sarah & Keeley
Find Sarah online: Instagram | Substack | Pinterest
Find Keeley online: Instagram | Substack
More info and transcript on Flowers & Folklore you must access this via your desktop and not your phone.
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Get full access to Flowers & Folklore at flowersandfolklore.substack.com/subscribe

In this Garden Gossip episode of Flowers & Folklore, Sarah and Keeley spill all the recent flower goss. From seasonal quiet spells to the ideas and projects that have been quietly taking up all their daydreams.
From fairy lights and backyard vows to magnolias, amaranthus, unexpected thistle, and trusting your gut when plans unravel, this episode wanders through wedding flowers, winter studios, meaningful funeral work, and the power flowers hold in moments of joy and grief. Along the way, there’s talk of cake side-quests, Tolkien, hellebores on graves, creative play without pressure, and why fleeting beauty might be the whole point.
Enjoy!
Floristry & Flowers

Keeley:
Keeley did her first ever wedding as a florist! Yes siree Bob, that’s the secret project she mentioned in our previous Garden Gossip episode. It just also happens that this wedding was her own. Perhaps, one could argue, that it was a bit mad to attempt to do the flowers on her own wedding day (& in 38 degree heat!) but the madness made way for something magical.

Sarah:
Sarah recently put together a bold, joyful funeral arrangement for someone who loved colour. She went for fiery Icelandic poppies, wiggly ranunculus, pink spray roses, winter foliage, skimmia, and little pops of ilex berries. It was a riot of life in the middle of winter, and Sarah reflects on how flowers like these can offer a quiet bit of comfort, helping people pause, breathe, and remember the personality and passions of the person they’re celebrating. Even in sorrow, there’s a little magic in the way flowers can hold space for love.
Inspirations

Keeley:
* Sarah mentioned Keeley’s Cake decorating post
* This stunning tin snowdrop made by In Progress from Meg Fatharly. Meg’s instagram is also here.

Sarah:
* Secret Garden interactive book
* Sarah’s visit to Tolkien’s grave, with a little hellebore.
* Cyclamen by Karim Abu Shakra from the Palestine Museum

Coming up…

* Sarah’s DIY wedding course which will be out in February
* Mother’s Day workshops and vouchers
* Keeley’s substack

We’re nerdy & nosey
What flower-related things have you been inspired by recently? We’d love to hear your stories and connections about flowers. Our listenership is really spread across the world, so if you have some local folklore about a specific flower please write in and let us know.
Email us at [email protected] or message us on instagram.

Enjoy the episode!
Keeley & Sarah
Find Sarah online: Instagram | Substack | Pinterest
Find Keeley online: Instagram | Substack
More info and transcript on Flowers & Folklore you must access this via your desktop and not your phone.



Get full access to Flowers & Folklore at flowersandfolklore.substack.com/subscribe

Hello, hello! So lovely to be back and be sharing our first episode of 2026 in which Sarah takes us into the curious world of the Camellia.
Don’t be fooled by its beauty and abundance, this flower has a layered and more powerful past than you might expect.
In this episode we wander about gently through history, folklore, politics and fashion houses. Plus, it wouldn’t be an episode about a pretty flower with at least one reference to a noble death, right? In amongst that creepy revelation we talk about memory keeping, notebooks, perfumes that evoke images of ‘theatre and posh old ladies’ and the lengths humans go to, just to have flowers in their lives, no matter the era.
Grab a cup of tea, settle in, and maybe don’t pluck flowers from mysterious trees...
Books

* The Language of Flowers by Odessa Begay
* A Year in Flowers by Erin Benzakein
* Floriography by Jessica Roux
* The Complete Language of Flowers by S. Theresa Dietz
* The Language of Flowers by Margaret Pickston
* Two Japanese tales featured here. This is an illustrated database of Japanese folklore and worth noting they also have Patreon. The accompanying image below is by Matthew Meyer:
Impact on Women’s Sufforage in New Zealand

Speech: “So Women Can Get the Vote” by Meri Te Tai Mangakāhia.
Journal: The camellia – suffragist symbol of womanly excellence.
Battle of the Camellias.
A symbol for Suffrage 130 by Vanessa Smith.
Artworks & Literature

La dame aux camélias by Alexandre Dumas
Camellia artworks by British painter and botanical artist Clara Pope (c.1767 – 24 December 1838).
Camellia and Bird by Japanese ukiyo-e artist Utagawa Hiroshige (1797 – 12 October 1858).
Also mentioned

Camelia Oil by Niwaki
Camellias in The House of Chanel
Flowers & Folklore on Instagram
We’d love to hear from you!
Have your own floral stories or lore about Camellia? We’re accepting reader submissions, so if you have a flower story, (about any flower) please share it with us! Comment below or email us at [email protected]
Enjoy the episode!
Sarah & Keeley
Find Sarah online: Instagram | Substack | Pinterest
Find Keeley online: Instagram | Substack
More info and transcript on Flowers & Folklore you must access this via your desktop and not your phone.



Get full access to Flowers & Folklore at flowersandfolklore.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode of Flowers & Folklore: Garden Gossip, we chat about what’s been inspiring us lately and what flowers we’ve been working with recently.
Flowers & Floristry
A wreath someone made in Sarah’s wreath workshops
A sneak peak from the vampy photoshoot at The Marlborough
A flower crown Sarah made for my Christmas party, because she forgot to photograph any of the arrangements
What are Sarah and Keeley up to?
Listen to Keeley’s other podcast Creative Courage
The incredible Idea Catcher Spreadsheet that Keeley is offering podcast listener’s for free. This will be available soon.
Sarah is working on a DIY Wedding Flower course. Follow her Instagram for updates.
Christmas ornaments
From Keeley:
The Die Hard Christmas ornament I made for my son.
An heirloom nativity set gifted to me by Uncles & Aunty’s on my dad’s side of the family. This was in Nanna Betty’s home every Christmas and I was obssesed with it.
Little wooden angel - one of 3 wooden pieces given to me from my Amma & Grandad’s collection.
Anne of Green Gables ornament my Amma brought back from Canada for me.
A brass instrument to remind me of my Grandad and growing up in the Salvation Army with their gorgeous brass band.
And just because - our Christmas tree this year.

Christmas ornaments
From Sarah:
A snow globe with a dressage horse inside
One half of the set of turtle doves I share with my sister
The Grandma ornament my sister had made for me
Mary Queen of Scots because she’s amazing
Other inspriation
Eleanor Gander’s incredible tattoos
Floral lace over the buildings
Garden gnome headcrown guy AKA Jonathan Hiebert

We’d love to hear from you.
Have your own floral stories or lore? We’d love to hear from you! We’re accepting reader submissions, so if you have a flower story, (about any flower) please share it with us! Comment below or email us at [email protected]
Enjoy the episode!
Keeley & Sarah
Find Sarah online: Instagram | Substack | Pinterest
Find Keeley online: Instagram | Substack
More info and transcript on Flowers & Folklore you must access this via your desktop and not your phone.


Get full access to Flowers & Folklore at flowersandfolklore.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode of Flowers & Folklore, we step into the shadowy world of the hellebore: a flower with rich history and many contradictions - the light and the dark.
We explore how this moody bloom has been linked to Christianity and witchcraft in equal measure, how it was used to create some surprising “magical powers”, its role in some juicy ancient goss and also there’s some goats eating things they absolutely shouldn’t.
To fully explore this little flower’s backstory we fall down more than one rabbit hole, but all of them bring us to the same conclusion - you’ll never look at The Christmas Rose the same way again.
Books, Art & Poetry

* The Language of Flowers by Odessa Begay
* “How to do the flowers” by Constance Spry
* Floriography by Jessica Roux
* Discovering the Folklore of Plants by Margaret Baker
* Encyclopædia of Superstitions, Folklore, and the Occult Sciences of the World by Cora Linn Daniels
* The Complete Language of Flowers by S. Theresa Dietz
* Thanatos by Henry Kirke White
* Lyrics from Speyer service book from 1599
Artworks

‘Arts & Crafts Hellebore’ by Margaret Light
Click here to view the full article about Margaret’s gorgeous work.
Inspiration

* Hellebore and moth tattoo by Eleanor Gander (@eliluciitattoos)
* Winter arrangement by Constance Spry
* Hellebore arrangement by The Floral Coach
Have your own floral stories or lore about hellebore? We’d love to hear from you! We’re accepting reader submissions, so if you have a flower story, (about any flower) please share it with us! Comment below or email us at [email protected]
Enjoy the episode!
Keeley & Sarah
Find Sarah online: Instagram | Substack | Pinterest
Find Keeley online: Instagram | Substack
More info and transcript on Flowers & Folklore you must access this via your desktop and not your phone.



Get full access to Flowers & Folklore at flowersandfolklore.substack.com/subscribe