Pansies represent the thoughts of lovers, shared before a word is spoken.
Named for the French word for “thought” (pensée), the pansy was said to be a charmed flower, possessing telepathic magic. Attending to the plucked bloom, you could hear your lover’s thoughts.
Familiarly called johnny-jump-ups, pansies were widely cultivated in the nineteenth century. A perfect pansy, it was thought, had deep clear color, a circular skirt, a variegated fringe, and a single, bright, central eye.