By Lorraine Kiefer On Valentine's Day many folks give flowers. The custom of picking flowers for a loved one goes back to the early days when people gave a flower that conveyed a special meaning. Even today a red rose still speaks of love and a white of innocence. But many of the other old meanings for herbs and...
By Lorraine Kiefer
On Valentine's Day many folks give flowers. The custom of picking flowers for a loved one goes back to the early days when people gave a flower that conveyed a special meaning. Even today a red rose still speaks of love and a white of innocence. But many of the other old meanings for herbs and flowers are lost to the old books in which we might find them. Lovers could send a message by their selections of posies that went in a tussie mussie.
A tussie mussie is a little nosegay or bouquet of flowers and herbs. They have been made since medieval times. That was an era when there was little or no public sanitation and people thought by carrying and sniffing the little nosegay it would protect them from sickness and plague. Made of scented medicinal herbs, like rosemary, thyme, lavender, mint and rue it was rather antiseptic and protected one from germs and bad odors. They also threw or strew these same strongly scented herbs and flowers on the floor of homes to freshen the air and protect against the plague.
Some blooms had meaning during the Middle Ages and Shakespeare often used herbs and flowers to convey an association in his prose and poetry. When he said her tongue was like rue he implied that she spoke with bitterness. Later it was the Victorians who produced so many lists of flowers and meanings. Most young ladies knew the symbolism of flowers so they could send and receive bouquets with a message. Lavender, roses and sweet smelling violets were favorites as were forget-me-nots for true love, and purple lilacs to say falling in love with you. Even today some people who grow and use herbs are familiar with the following meanings and make tussie mussies with a message. If the fresh herbs or blooms are not available then dried can be used.
- Rosemary - for remembrance
- Sage - immortality and good virtue
- Lavender - love
- Myrtle (Myrtus communis) - a symbol of love
- Ivy - faithfulness and friendship
- Globe amaranth - everlasting love
- Mint - virtue and truth
- Rose - love forever
Many times these plants and blooms are used in wedding bouquets and as wedding favors. Even the color of the rose has meaning:
- White roses signify simplicity or purity
- White and Red roses together - unity
- Red -true love and passion
If you want to make a romantic nose gay you may use fresh or dried materials. Gather blooms in spring and summer to use fresh or dry them so you can always make a nosegay with a message. Just put a rubber band around the stems and make little bundels to hang upside down to dry. If you want to make one in winter use what you can get fresh and the rest from what has been dried. Sometimes it is worth buying a few stems of baby's breath and small roses in the off-season as they make the nosegay so pretty and romantic and will dry naturally. Fill in with herbs or other flowers with meanings or fragrances that you like.
Tussie mussies are round, easy to design and very attractive. I like to use an oasis (this material holds water) round bouquet holder if I am working with fresh. Soak this for an hour or so and then place a rose bud in the middle and surround it with rosemary, salvia, lemon herbs, scented geranium leaves, lavender, mint, myrtle, thyme, roses, mint, myrtle, baby's breath and a circle of fragrant leaves. Add streamers and a bow to enhance the romantic look. If the bouquet is used for a prom, shower or wedding you may want to root some of the ivy, myrtle, mint or rosemary for a keep sake plant. Small silver holders are also available and can be filled with oasis to keep flowers fresh longer.
Dry oaisis is also good to use for a dried flower bouquet since it is easy to stick the stems in and will hold them. I like to stick in some fresh baby's breath and then add fresh or dried roses, some dried lavender, mint and salvia. There are many dried herbs and flowers to choose from if you take the time to dry some in summer. The ceiling in the shop work room is filled with bunches of dried flowers.
It is fun to create your own special tussie mussie. In February make one for Valentine's Day. The bouquet might have a red tulip as a declaration of love, a piece of honeysuckle vine for bonds of love, red carnation for passion or pure love, rosemary for remembrance forever, larkspur for ardent attachment and the red rose being of course for love eternal. The rose and larkspur will have to be purchased but the vine and herbs can often be found in the garden. Baby's breath is for innocence or pure of heart a and a lily meant beauty.
An engagement bouquet might include a bleeding heart for fidelity, a red and white rose for unity, a white azalea for romance, and a forget-me-not for true love.
A Victorian desiring a secret meeting may send a bouquet with a tuberose to signify dangerous love, a red rose for passion, a leaf of nutmeg geranium for an expected meeting, and rosemary for remembrance. But if you only remember that a rose means love you can send one or a dozen to delight a special person this valentine's day.
Lorraine Kiefer is the owner and operator of Triple Oaks Nursery in Franklinville. She can also be reached by e-mail at Lorraine@tripleoaks.