Vintage 'B' is for........

Vintage 'B'ouquets.
We got excited when Etsy Cottage Style and Melody at Brown Gingham Creations were hosting this get-together. We have the original Vintage 'B', actually one of the oldest.  Now you're probably wondering what could be vintage in a floral bouquet other than the container or embellishments used. Well, the design itself. You see floral design is an ancient artform.
Our modern floral designs such as this........

has thier roots in Ancient Egypt. Archeologists have unearthed various flower containers , as well as seeds of vegetable and flowers, dating back to 1400 BC. In more of the richer tombs they unearthed remenants of floral arrangements,pictures showing  Pharoh's and Queen's carrying Sceptors made of seeds, gems, and flower petals, and in one Nefertiti is even shown wearing a cloak with layers and layers of hand-sewn flower petals and leaves.

Or, this design, which  was inspired by the Ancient Far East practice of Ikebana. Within Ikebana there are different styles such as Rikka, Momoyama, and Enshu to name just a few. The design on the right is of the Moribana style (meaning piled-up) from the turn-of-the-century.

The biblical Hanging Gardens of Babalon were the precursors of the Victorian Terrariums and  todays Dishgardens. The King of Babalon would bring home botanical specimens from diferrent areas of the know world and create miniature hanging bio-gardens as gifts to his Queen. See, even back then a man knew if he had to work odd hours or be gone for long periods, he'd better bring the wife flowers.

The floral garlands, wreaths, and headpieces originated during the 5th century in Rome. The Romans were the first society to give floral bouquets to ill people. You see, illness was brought on by evil spirits and certain botanicals would drive them away. Today, after over 30 years of research, scientisits have found that fresh flowers and botanicals do improve ones overall health and recuperation time. The flowers just make you feel better! Hand-tied bouquets that are popular today were brought to Europe in the 17th century by Dutch explorers from the Pacific Rim Islands. Tropicals flowers were woven together and bound by foliages creating free-standing forms.

Designs found in Colonial Willamsburg were translated from the Beidermier Floral Design (yes, created by the man who began the Beidermier interior design style)

that was created to express color, line, and texture rather than the flower itself.

Our modern centerpeices come to us from revolutionary France.

After the revolution skilled labor/upper class was the enemy of the unskilled/lower class and many saw the guillotine....including florists and the Mille-Fleur (millions of flowers) design was born out of necessity.  Unskilled designers or novices had no knowledge of how to re-create the splendid designs found in the castles of France, (there was no such thing as arranging foam. Designs were literally built) so they just jammed flowers and foliages into containers forming low mounds of botanicals. The bouquet was very popular in colonial America thanks to Thomas Jefferson bringing the design to our shores and in the early 1970's the Colonial Bouquet, as it was known, saw a resurgance in popularity during our bicentennial and has gained momentum even today.. Today in the floral industry they are know affectionately as roundy-moundy-huggable-humps.

Todays floral designers incorporate various styles and techniques from the past to create some of the most creative designs found.

Well, now you see, the next time you receive a beautiful floral design, you are also getting a bit of history with it. Thanks so much for stopping by and hope you come agian. If you'd like to see more of the Vintage Alphabet come with us. over to Etsy Cottage Style thru Here