A Brief History
In the 18th century the debate over the significance and language of flowers was re-prompted by Jean-Jacques Rousseau in his La Nouvelle Héloise (The New Eloise). Rousseau had argued for the ability of plants to evoke morality and emotion in people while calling for the elevation of nature over civilization (Heilmeyer, 7). What Rousseau brought back into the consciousness was the long established symbolism that flowers carried in Western civilization from the ancient Greeks to the Dutch florists. In the 1809 Phillipp Otto Runge typified the symbolism of flowers with his piece titled “Morning”. In it, flowers are painted along children, with angels hovering above. Flowers became representative of the transient nature of human life and even associated with the divine (Heilmeyer, 15)
By the time Lilla Cabot Perry was painting the portraits of her children in the late 19th century, European artists’ treatment of flowers had changed significantly. Renoir once stated: “I paint flowers and simply call them flowers; they do not have to tell a story” (Heilmeyer, 15). The “language of flowers” was no longer as important to artists as close study of the plants’ features and colors. In this sense, the connection Perry makes between women and flowers is a conservative and traditional approach.
Below is a brief exposition on the symbolism of some flowers used by Perry:
Roses: As the universal and timeless symbol of love, joy, and beauty, the rose has been cherished by Romans, dedicated to the Virgin Mary and named the national emblem of England (Heilmeyer 74). Perry utilized them in her Roses piece for its primary designation, as a representation of love. 
Cherry Blossoms (Sakuras): A flower that originated from the Far East, Perry was exposed to the flower earlier (as shown by her poem of the same name) but also on her journey to Japan. Due to the Sakura’s extraordinarily short blossom, Chinese and Japanese cultures have come to see it as a symbol for the transience of life and beauty, especially with women. Perry appropriately depicted it along with young girls.
Pansies: Perry’s Lady with a Bowl of Violets is actually misnamed and the flower misrepresented, for Perry once stated that the painting actually depicts a bowl of pansies, the favorite flower of both Perry and her husband. Perry especially loved the contrasting purple of the flowers and would later write in The Jar of Dreams: “Pansies, white pansies and purple ones/Deep as the love I gave to you, my flower” (qtd. Martindale 154). In a broader context, the flower had come to especially symbolize loyalty in Europe, and ironically used to often accompany gifts of poetry books.
Images:
Runge, Philipp Otto. Morning.1809-10. Kunsthalle, Hamburg.