A plants position in LGBTQ+ history
Rich in symbolism, several plants have served as tokens of identity, resistance and community for LGBTQ+ individuals. They are used in gardens across the country, from Royal Parks and Royal Horticultural Society gardens, whilst still being very much prevalent in today’s society.
As suggested by house plant stylist and membership, diversity and inclusion secretary at plants@work Ian Drummond and in celebration of LGBTQ+ History Month this February, here are the plants remembered for their flowering iconography.
Pansies
Pansies, a bright and colourful flower, is a cultivator of several different violet species, including Viola tricolor. It became a symbol for humanist and freethought movements from the 19th century because the name derives from the French word for thought – pensée.
The word pansy was also used throughout the 20th century as a somewhat derogatory term for a homosexual man, along with other flowery language such as buttercup and daisy, suggesting them to be typically non-masculine and delicate.
Flowering in March, April and May, they can be found in the Flower Garden in Greenwich Park, London.
Violets
Violets have been associated with lesbians since 600s BC when the Greek poet Sappho described herself and her female lover wearing garlands of violets, whilst very little of her work survives to the modern day.
Depending on the translation, wreaths, garlands or diadems of violets being placed on the “slender neck” of a girl.
Within the woodland areas of Richmond Park and Bushy Park in London, violets flower from April to June.
Lavender
During the 1930s and 40s, lavender became associated with gay men and lesbian women. From the term ‘lesbian boy’, which was used to describe a more feminine man, lesbians were also using lavender as a symbol of involvement with the women’s movement.
The Lavender Scare took place in the 1940s and 50s in the US, where homosexual people throughout American society were excluded from government jobs due to their perceived communist opinions. In result, the flower became a symbol of empowerment for the LGBTQ+ community.
In 1969, the president of the National Organization for Women in the US claimed lesbian membership within the group was a ‘lavender menace’ who would threaten the progress of the feminist movement. Pinks and lavender purples are still used and symbols of remembrance and resistance.
Lavender can be found in the Greenwich Park Herb Garden, flowering the spring whilst inviting pollinators such as bees and butterflies.
Green Carnation
In 1892, playwright and author Oscar Wilde popularised the green carnation as a subtle symbol of queer identity. He asked his friends to wear the flower on their lapels on his play Lady Windermere’s Fan. It then became a code for men who were attracted to other men.
A novel, published in 1894, titled The Green Carnation, detailed the flower’s meaning using characters loosely based on Wilde and his friends.
Blooming from late spring until the autumn, these perennial plants attract a range of bees, butterflies and bumblebees.
