Flower arrangements for the Victorian Period

 

It would be difficult to discuss Victorian flower arrangements without first some exploration of what flowers meant in the Victorian way of life.  Although America’s heritage of gardening and love of flowers had come from England, where gardening was a firmly established avocation, lack of time and interest in the esthetic, plus a puritanical denial of art and beauty for their own sake, had postponed the development of any widespread interest in flowers on the American continent.  The early settlers of America had little time for floriculture.  It is was not until the time of Queen Victoria that the first American publication of a periodical devoted expressly to horticulture was printed; but once this interest was established, it soon became widespread, and floriculture as a business became profitable.  Flowers and the use of them in any form for home decoration are almost synonymous with the Victorian era; they are its symbol.

 

Large, showy blossoms became popular, and the geranium and the dahlia were great favorites of the day. An American seedsman offered the zinnia in 1865, and it too, quickly became popular.  It suited the Victorians very well, for it was in that early version bright, large, and showy.

 

Every genteel lady learned flower painting, and seedsmen often depended upon the art of flower drawing for their sales.   Young ladies took course in flower painting, and the drawing masters of the day provided stencils so that the less talented pupils could be happy with the results of their efforts.

 

The hothouse rose was still a novelty, but the lace-trimmed, beribboned bouquet from the florist was the most gift a Victorian swain could send his inamorata.  When she dressed to go to a party, the Victorian lady wore a camellia in her hair and carried a bouquet.  There could not be too many flowers in the house, in the garden, or on the person.

 

This was the age, also, of the artificial flower.  Feathers, wax, shells, paper, silk- all were materials from which floral decorations for the home were made.  Some of these were beautiful, and many of them have survived to become museum pieces.  Fabrics were embroidered with flowers, and floral forms dominated the needlework of the period.  Everyone, including children, collected flowers and plants and pressed them.

 

Flowers covered every form of the decorative arts in the Victorian era.  Furniture was carved with garlands of ornate flowers.  Glass vases were often painted with flowers, and china-painting became a hobby that consumed the time and talent of Victorian ladies. 

 

Because of the Victorian interest in flowers and gardening, production of lawn furniture and ornamentation became a flourishing business.  Iron gates and fences in floral designs were popular, and everyone used ornate urns, garden seats, and statuary.  Everything became adorned with floral designs, and every conceivable material was used for them.  Flowers were modeled of leather; seeds fabric and cones were arranged in designs and framed for hanging in the parlor.  Flowers made from the hair of deceased relatives were arranged in frames, often surrounding a photograph of the departed.

 

The above ought to inspire any number of Victorian period arrangements.  Lots and lots of flowers in elaborate containers create a Victorian mood. 

 

 

*info found in Flower Arranging for Period Decoration.