Re: Symbolism of Flowers

[Bonnie Fulmer <GBF1@MARISTB.MARIST.EDU>]

Dear Mark,
     There's a great book I have entitled _Tussie-Mussies: The
Victorian Art of Expressing Yourself in the Language of Flowers_
by Geraldine Adamich Laufer (Workman Publishing, ISBN 1-56305-106-0,
$22.95) that you really should take a look at.  (A tussie-mussie
is what you might call a nosegay, or a small bouquet.)  It has
chapters entitled, "The Language of Flowers," "Floral Lore Through
the Ages," "Victorian Floramania," "making a Tussie-Mussie,"
"Sixty Theme Tussie-Mussies," and two indices in the back.
The "Sixty" chapter is neat: it's full-color photos of bouquets
for occasions, and a list of the flowers used and their meanings.
For example, the "Happy Birthday to my Beloved" tussie mussie
is made of basil (best wishes), peach (longevity), chrysanthemum
leaf (long life, joy, optimism), rose (congratulations, love),
lavendar (success, luck, happiness), ivy (friendship), pussy-toes
(never-ceasing remembrance), and plum (longevity).  There's also a
diagram for each bouquet so you can identify which leaves/flowers
are which in the picture.  There are bouquets illustrated for
baptism, confirmation, thank you, belated birthday, sweet sixteen,
bar/bat mitzvah, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Christmas, Sweetest
Day, Valentine's Day, Sadie Hawkin's Day, congratulations on a
successful diet, to your health, get well, consolation for a
hangover (!), convalescence after surgery, recovery from addiction,
sympathy, comfort for a terminal illness, recovering from
depression, puppy love, infatuation, secret tryst, engagement,
flirtation, wedding, anniversary, support during difficult divorce,
platonic friendship, consolation for a broken heart, conceiving a
child, welcome to a special guest, honoring a mentor, rising star,
admiring a creative talent, welcome back soldier, new baby,
promotion, new home, good luck, college graduation, and tons more
(I'm getting tired of typing!)
     What I REALLY like about this book is the two indexes in
the back.  One is by flower; you look up rose, red, and find that
it stands for: I love you, passion, desire, beauty, victory, harmony,
joy, charm, luck, pride, and martyrdom.  (But red and white is for
creative force or unity!).  And the second index is REALLY wonderful;
you look up a characteristic, and it tells you what flower represents
it.  For example, falsehood is a yellow lily.  Drunk and blowsy is
valerian ( :} ).  I think of you! is blue salvia, but I think of you
constantly! is variegated dahlia.  (? Beats me!)  What is so neat
about this is that I've used this index a couple of times to
create special gifts for people.  For example, my best friend
recently renewed her wedding vows, and although I'd been maid of
honor at her wedding, I could not be there for this ceremony 10
years later.  I overnight mailed her a surprise bouquet to carry
at the church.  I went through the list of traits in the index and
wrote down every one that made me think of her and this occasion, and
created a list of flowers/leaves I needed to create the bouquet:
   azalea--romance
   basil--best wishes
   calendula--joy
   cinnamon--love
   clover---good luck
   comfrey--home sweet home
   double pinks--"Our love will never die"
   feverfew-- "You light up my life"
   garlic--good luck
   geranium--conjugal affection
   goldenrod--good fortune
   grape--prosperity
   holly--domestic happiness
   honeysuckle--generous and devoted affection
   hosta--devotion
   iris--ardor
   ivy--constancy, wedded love, fidelity
   lavendar--happiness, devotion
   lemon--fidelity
   lemon balm--love
   linden--marital values
   mint--warmth of feeling
   myrtle--love, marriage, married bliss, passion
   oak--prosperity
   orange--marriage
   pansy--loving thoughts
   pea--happy marriage
   periwinkle--love
   phlox--"Our souls are united."
   pine--longevity
   raspberry--fulfillment
   rose, red--"I love you"
         champagne--devotion
         coral--longevity, beauty
   rosemary--devotion
   rue--beginning anew
   sage--domestic virtue
   stephanotis--wedding
   sweet marjoram--happiness
   sweet woodruff--rejoicing
   tulip--happy years, consuming love
   verbena--marriage
   violet, blue--happy years, faithfulness
   virginia creeper--"I cling to you in sunshine and shade."
   wisteria--"I cling to thee."
   zinnia--thoughts of absent friends

Then I typed up this list and put out an APB to all my gardener
friends to bring me a flower, leaf, sprig of any and all of these
they could rustle up.  I got about 90% of this wish list, and from
these sprigs, I created a tussie-mussie in a lace posy-holder and
tied lace ribbons to it.  Then I wrote out the list of flowers used
and their meanings with a calligraphy pen on Victorian flower-
bordered stationery and enclosed it in the package.  I set the
stems in a plastic cup with water, and then rubber-banded a cut-off
surgical glove to the cup and the base of the posy to keep the water
in.  The posy "stood" in the cup, and I set the whole thing in a box,
packed it in tissue, and labeled the box "THIS END UP!" and "KEEP
COOL."  The US Mail delivered it overnight and before noon on a
Sunday for under $15.  She was thrilled, and it was quite a
conversation piece for her party.  She's trying to dry it as a
keepsake now.
     I've also used this index to create a list of traits that
made me think of a colleague and created a bouquet for her
birthday.  She cried when she received it because she was so
touched.
     Sometimes I dream about quitting my job, planting a garden
full of flowers used in this book, and setting up my own full-time
tussie-mussie business!  I'd give customers a list of the traits
from the index and have them check off the ones that were appropriate
and then create a custom bouquet and calligraphy definitions card
for them to give.  But I still love my job, so this will have to
be a retirement possibility!
     Please share your findings with the list; I'd love to build a
personal library of flower symbolism books.  Thanks!

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