diminutive flower-based nicknames for women?

[joy_of_cooking]

I have a character named Lily and another who likes to kid around by referring to her by nicknames that refer to other flowers. E.g.,

"What's the story, morning glory?"
"One drink, buttercup."
"All yours, petunia."
"See, poppy, that's what I like about you."

Can you help me think of more? My goal is for him never to repeat one over the course of the story.

I'm not looking for actual names, like Rose or Lavender or Daisy. I want names of flowers that are used as nicknames for women not officially bearing those names.

 

[Ched21]

Petal

 

[lanceGibs]

Bud

 

[Kumquatqueen]

More you want something that can sound like a flowery nickname?

Rosy-posy, honeysuckle, honeybunch, my daisy, daisy-chain, my tulip, As you wish, Buttercup,

 

[JaxRhapsody]

Poppy's a new one for me.

 

[Altissimus]

Add some drama into the botany with, "don't be so prickly, thistle".

Bonus points if you can get pondweed in there.

 

[Omenainen]

If I was Lily I’d be royally pissed with all that.

 

[SimonDoom]

Hyacinth is a pretty flower name. Iris. Daffodil. Paintbrush. Snow flower. Skypilot. Crocus. Lupine. Columbine.

 

[Omenainen]

As a non-English person, I do not think of flowers when you say “paintbrush” or “sky pilot.” Or columbine for that matter.

 

[WyreBendr0417]

"Yes Marigold, I'm listening." or how about 'flower' itself.

"Good morning, Flower. Don't you look lovely?"

 

[Jackie.Hikaru]

My little milk thistle lol

 

[AchtungNight]

My favorite flower named FMC? Tulip from the Preacher comics. There are few FMCs as awesomely beautiful and badass.

 

[TheSpleen]

Snowdrop, larkspur, periwinkle, bluebell, linden, camellia, mayflower.

 

[holliday1960]

Sweetpea?

 

[MajorRewrite]

Sneezeweed, surely.

 

[joy_of_cooking]

If I was Lily I’d be royally pissed with all that.

Oh she hates it!

 

[lanceGibs]

Oh she hates it!

How about you

 

[MillieDynamite]

Narcissus, my darling beautiful flower, you're such a narcissist.

 

[Fatdog25]

 

[AnnieLit]

Since half of the ones that you already mentioned in your question are not commonly used when addressing a person, why not just pull up any list of flower names and pick those that you have at least heard about? Here is one:

https://www.all-my-favourite-flower-names.com/list-of-flower-names.html

 

[KeithD]

Pansy

 

[nice90sguy]

Pansy

Is it just in the UK that it has other connotations, or were you making a funny In which case I'll add a ha-ha emoji to your post

 

[joy_of_cooking]

Since half of the ones that you already mentioned in your question are not commonly used when addressing a person

That's really interesting.

Around here (NYC) there's definitely a class of older white men that use all of my examples in regular conversation. I might be writing dialect without realizing it.

 

[SimonDoom]

As a non-English person, I do not think of flowers when you say “paintbrush” or “sky pilot.” Or columbine for that matter.

You probably have to be a resident of the American West to make those associations. I'm a long-time hiker in the mountains so the associations are very strong with me.

But that's probably true in general. If one wants to go this route it makes sense to pick flower names that would be especially familiar to the people who living in the setting where the story takes place.

 

[MillieDynamite]

Pansy was a common woman's name in the 18th and 19th century. I remember reading it in some Victorian novel or another.

Pansy