History of Flower Arrangement - Flower Arranging Reaches Europe

Flower Arranging Reaches Europe

Flower arranging arrived in Europe around 1000 CE. This was particularly true in churches and monasteries where flowers and plants were used for food as well as for decoration. As crusaders came back from the Middle East, they brought new and interesting plants with them. As a result, European countries were able to begin experimenting with plants that were previously unknown to them.

MIDDLE AGES (AD 476-1400)

This is the era of the monks were they were know to have gardens of herbs and wildflowers. As in the manuscripts there is lots of wildflowers elegantly decorating the borders of the pages. In the later part of the Gothic period flowers became more of a dominant role . As the flowers began to blossom in altar pictures, manuscripts, and paintings. monks and medicine

An important aspect of the monastery plan was to include a medicinal herb garden, which would “furnish the physician with the pharmaceutical products needed for his cures.” “A dependence on the power of herbs. without reference to their Creator was regarded as improper for a Christian” . Because God “causes herbs to grow,” their medical utilityis fundamentally spiritual . In addition, many plants were used by monks and Christians in general in sacred rituals and ceremonies. They often had “well-known symbolic association” and appealed to spiritual bases, as well as physical effects in medical care RENAISSANCE(AD 1400-1600)

The flower design started in Italy and grew through Europe . Paintings of exaggerated floral arrangement in vases were popular. Stems were covered creating a massed symmetrically stiff arrangement. . They used a variety of bright colours and different kinds of flowers. Fruits blossoms and leaves were woven into garlands to decorate walls and vaulted ceilings. Petals were piled into baskets to strewn on the floors, streets or to float down from balconies. BAROQUE PERIOD (AD 1600-1775)

In start of the period floral designs were symmetrical and oval shaped but later in this time period asymmetrical was in and the s cure or a crescent was popular.

DUTCH-FLEMISH PERIOD (AD 1600-1750)

Unlike the baroque period the arrangements were more compact and proportioned. The major characteristic of this period is the variety of flowers within the bouquet.

FRENCH PERIOD (AD 1600-1814)

Feminine appeal became a major characteristic of the floral design. This was the French baroque period. French rococo this time was more formal These floral arrangements were asymmetrical using the c crescent or the s cure for form. In the empire period they used simple lines in triangle shape and strong colour contrast. The typical empire design would be arranged in an urn containing an abundance of large richly coloured flowers .

ENGLISH –GEROGIAN PERIOD (AD 1714 -1760)

The designs were formal and symmetrical and often tightly arranged with a variety of flowers. There were influences of oriental design because of active trading . This made the design symmetrical triangle shaped . At the end of the period the designs become informal due to the fact the fragrance of the flowers became more important. The fragrance of the flowers were said to rid the air of diseases. Because of this belief they created an arrangement called “nosegay”’. Which was a handheld arrangement to carry sweet scents. Nosegays also help mask the odors of society where bathing often believed to be unhealthy. The bouquets was called tussie- mussies often pronounced tuzzy-muzzy. VICTORIAN PERIOD (AD 1820-1901)

Flowers were considered fashionable in this period. The period was named after queen Victoria. Although in this era the flowers were poorly proportioned. Large mass flowers were placed tightly into a container to create compact arrangements. They were asymmetrical and massed tightly. There is no definite style. There was many different flowers and colours almost to make the arrangement look unplanned. The tuzzy- muzzy bouquets was still used to eliminate odors. At the end of the period there were attempts to make rules for floral arranging and that’s when it became an profession and art.

The Italian Renaissance helped give flower arranging extra spark in Europe. It was during this time period that a wide variety of arrangement styles began to develop. By the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, flower arrangements were commonplace and a wide variety of materials were used to make containers. These included marble, heavy Venetian glass, and bronze.

Flower arrangements made during this time introduced a whole new element - using tropical fruits. These arrangements also focused on creating contrast with color. Some of the popular flowers included the Lilium Candidum ( or Madonna lilu, used to symbolize fertility and chastity), narcissus, pinks, iris, jasmine, pansies, French marigolds, cornflowers, and rosemary.