By Amy Weiss

Mar 27 2019

Weddings, funerals, festivals, and ceremonies — people have always had the impulse to mark significant events with flowers. It was in the Middle Ages that tussie-mussies, little bunches of herbs and flowers, began to be carried everywhere in Europe. Their fragrance helped cover up smells and were thought to prevent the spread of disease.

These bouquets would go on to serve a decorative purpose for both men and women, and by the dawn of the nineteenth century, the tussie-mussie was an essential part of a woman’s outfit. Armed with floral dictionaries, and using the language of flowers, Victorians began to send coded messages through bouquets; allowing the sender to express their feelings discreetly.

Here are some saucier bouquet ideas from Poetry of the Flowers [external link] by C. M. Kirtland:

• "You are fickle, indiscreet, and affected. Therefore you are hated." — Abatia (fickle), Almond blossom (indiscreet), Cockscomb (affected), Basil (hated).
• "Meet me tonight; do not forget." — Everlasting pea (meet me), Night Convolvulus (tonight), Forget-me-not (do not forget).
• "I weep for your indifference, and am malancholy on account of your coldness." — Purple Verbena (I weep for you), Mustard seed (indifference), Dead leaves (melancholy), Agnus castus [chasteberry] (coldness).