The History of Posies
Updated: Sep 23, 2020
The posy, posey, poesy, tussie-mussie, or nosegay, whatever you call it this small bunch of flowers or herbs has gone by many different names and spellings over the years but its virtue remains as a gift to someone special.
Meander through the streets of medieval Britain and you would have seen women carrying nosegays (translation; make the nose happy) of fragrant flowers or herbs with men tucking them into their pockets or lapels, where they could easily turn their heads to take a deep sniff, and cover the unpleasant odours of the 'great outdoors'.
The Victorians of course were learned and connoisseurs of craft and became entranced with the idea of flowers having specific meanings, creating little tussie-mussies with great care to communicate a specific message to the recipient a trend was born. The Victorian art of flower language was born with the advent of floriography. A plethora of publications were distributed with the proposed meanings of the flowers, based on mythology, religious references, and local traditions.
Today the posy is a creative endeavour with the aim to select the perfect arrangement that achieves the seven principals of flower design; proportion, scale, harmony, rhythm, balance, unity and emphasis.
Arrangement is an established feature of the posy with the aim being to create the shortest stem in a small vessel whilst still achieving full bloom.
At www.ginghamflorals.com we understand these principals and look forward in the coming weeks to sharing how to create the perfect posy with your letterbox flowers.