History of Floral Design

Throughout recorded history, people have used flowers to express their feelings, enhance their surroundings, and to commemorate important rituals and observances. The knowledge of how our ancestors used flowers comes to us in numerous ways. All forms of art, depict the use of flowers: music, books, paintings, sculpture, ceramics and tapestries are only examples of some of the sources of information regardinge the use of flowers in past times. Some of the most opulent examples of source material for us are the flower pictures produced by artists during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, which so accurately dipict flowers in their incredible beauty.

EGYPTIAN PERIOD (2800 BC TO 28 B.C.)
The use of flowers was traditional in ancient Egyptian culture. Flowers were used for temple offerings and banquet table decorations, and at times for garlands, and wreaths for guests.
Lotus, Acacia, roses, water lilies, violets, madonna lilies, narcissus, jasmine, poppies, and especially the sacred lotus blossom were among the flowers used. Use of fruit and foliage also was popular.

Characteristics of Egyptian design were clarity ordered simplicity, using repetition of a particular pattern. A typical design consisted of a single flower with a single bud or leaf on either side, repeated as a unit. Other types of segments might have consisted of alternating short and long stems, or blue and green colors. Numerous types of containers were used to hold flowers.

GREEK PERIOD (600-150 B.C.)
Instead of using most flowers in containers as did the Egyptians, the ancient Greeks used flowers more for adornment. Herbs were frequently used with the flowers. In addition to the continued use of garlands and wreaths, flowers were often just strewn on the ground.

Although the classical Greeks used fewer flowers in containers than Egyptians, they did introduce the Horn of Plenty or Cornucopia. Most arrangements ere triangular and symmetrical, usually of one or a limited number of colors. White as common, since it as a sign of purity. Roses, hyacinths, lilies, iris, narcissus, violets, as well as grape leaves, herbs, and seed pods were used.

ROMAN PERIOD (28 B.C. - 325 A.D.)
The Romans continued with the customs of the Greeks. Garlands, wreaths and crowns were more elaborate than those of the Greeks. Crowns and garlands were tapered. Flowers were sometimes arranged in baskets and cornucopias, but the design was not as graceful as that of the Greeks. Use as made of the fragrance of flowers.

BYZANTINE PERIOD (320-600 A.D.)
This period saw a continuance of the Greek and Roman styles, but fruit was used with the flowers in garlands in a twisted effect. Stylized trees in containers were made symmetrically with foliage and flowers in large baskets, goblets, or low containers. These were highly stylized, and used neighboring hues, such as green, blue-green, blue, and violet, with complementary accents of red, red-orange, orange, and yellow.

MEDIEVAL PERIOD, THE MIDDLE AGES (476-1400 A.D.)
Little is known of the floral art of this period, but whatever information there is has been gathered from the Persian paintings, rugs and tapestries of the fourteenth century. Oriental influence is clear, and numerous types of containers were used. Flowers were used for religious functions.

RENAISSANCE PERIOD (1400-1600 A.D.)
The Renaissance period saw a continuance of some of the characteristics of Greek and Roman styles. Massive, symmetrical, loose, airy arrangements using bright hues were made, to contrast with drab backgrounds. Fruit and cones, and foliage such as olive, ivy, and laurel were often arranged with the flowers. Flowers used were those such as dianthus, daisies, lily of the valley, lilies, violets, roses, primroses, iris, and anemone. Containers were varied. Christmas wreaths were introduced during this period. Greater use of flowers was made in nonreligious ceremonies than previously. Designs were naturalistic at the beginning of the period especially in Italy, but they became more ornate during the later Renaissance.

THE BAROQUE (FLEMISH) PERIOD (1600-1775 A.D.)
The Baroque period directly followed the Renaissance. Styles were evoked by the works of Michelangelo in Italy, but these were adopted by designers in Holland and Belgium. Early Baroque styles were symmetrical, but later Baroque arrangements became more assymetrical. During the Baroque period, the English painter, William Hogarth introduced the so-called Hogarth curve, or S-curve, which is still popular today. Large containers held flamboyant arrangements containing many different kinds of flowers, such as iris, marigold, lily, peony, canna, narcissus, hollyhock, and roses, as seen in the works of artists of this period. Accessories -ere often incorporated in these arrangements.

THE FRENCH PERIODS:

1. FRENCH BAROQUE (17th CENTURY)
The topiary was introduced during this period. Symmetrical designs with no focal point. Unlike clothing styles of the period, floral designs were informal, fragile, and delicate.
2. FRENCH ROCOCO (18th CENTURY)
Designs more formal than those of the Baroque period, predominantly arc and crescent-shaped, delicate and airy.
3. LOUIS XVI (LATE 18th CENTURY)
Delicate, cool colors before the French revolution, and the revival of the Classical Period following the French revolution.
4. EMPIRE PERIOD (1804-1814)
Influenced by Napoleon, designs were large, but more compact than those of the earlier French periods. Military symbolism was often used in arrangements, using emblems and figures associated with the emperor. Most of the designs were simple and triangular in shape.

ENGLISH GEORGIAN PERIOD (1714-1760)
The 15th and 16th Century collective fortresses of England gave way to smaller houses, into which flowers were brought, more for their fragrance than their beauty, since it was a period during which pestilence prevailed. Arrangements during the first half of this period consisted of flowers simply crammed into sturdy containers, with little or no concern for design. But during the later portion of the century, arrangements with a greater sense of design became more evident. Some of the containers of the period were made specifically to hold flowers, with holes or openings to maintain the stems at particular angles. This period is also one which introduced the nosegay, or as it was called in England, the Tussy Mussy. The favorite flower in Great Britain was the rose, and so roses were used in abundance for floral arrangements.

VICTORIAN PERIOD (1920-1901)
During this period, Great Britain and its great empire had an important influence on all art forms, including architecture, clothing, and home furnishings. There was also a tendency to disassociate from classicism, with movement toward romanticism and comfortable individualism. Like the ornate gingerbread of the houses, floral designs became more lavish, to the point of overflowing. Containers used were often flared vases or urns of alabaster, porcelain, silver, or pewter. Triangular or circular arrangements, almost always using roses, were common during this time. Flowers such as tulips, lilies, anemonies, dahlias, fuchsias, asters, bleeding hearts, and other common garden flowers were used in containers with the roses. Flowers often stood very low in the containers, since the stems were generally short. Foliage and grasses were used for contrast and texture. During this time, an attempt to establish the first simplistic rules for arranging flowers was made.

EARLY AMERICAN (COLONIAL) PERIOD (1620-1720)
The early colonists generally produced plants for food or for their medicinal properties. What little time they had for arranging flowers was spent making simple arrangements to adorn their very modest homes. It would appear that flowers were used more in the Central and Southern Colonial areas. Although not known for sure, it seems probable that the use of flowers for personal or home adornment was not in keeping with the puritanical attitude of the New England early settlers. As this austere outlook diminished, early pioneers started to gather natural flowers, foliage and grasses to help brighten their surroundings. Most of the arrangements they made were copied from the English Georgian and French Empire periods, using any of the containers which they had on hand. When sailing ships first started to bring in more luxurious containers made of silver, pewter, and glass. These were used by the more prosperous colonists, but use of simple garden and field materials still continued. Arrangements were made in simple mass forms using numerous colors.

COLONIAL WILLIAMSBURG (1740-1780)
Once the colonists became firmly established in communities, and trade developed with distant lands, a cultural evolution developed in the areas of Virginia and Maryland which introduced the art and architecture of distant lands. Styles of the classic period began to be seen and the Oriental influence was evident in home furnishings and furniture styles. Mixed bouquets of the Williamsburg tradition predominated, using garden flowers such as anemones, lilies, roses, Dutch bulbs of all kinds, hollyhocks, phlox, sunflowers, violets, bachelor buttons, marigolds, strawflowers, daisies, dianthus, and snapdragons. Field grasses and foliage were mixed with these flowers, in fan-shaped arrangements, using fine, feathery material on the outside to contrast with the solid masses of blooms in the center. Much use was also made of dried materials such as cockscoub, lunaria, strawflowers, and ornamental grasses during the fall and winter, when fresh flowers were sparse.

AMERICAN FEDERAL PERIOD (1780-1820)
The Neoclassic and Empire styles which had been evolving in Europe, especially the delicate French style, had a great influence on the styles used in late colonial America at this time. In these types of arrangements, masses of mixed bouquets were used less often, and the charm of individual flowers was emphasized. Fewer flowers were used in containers.

AMERICAN VICTORIAN PERIOD (1800-1920)
Styles of the Victorian period in England began to spill over to the newly-declared United States. Ornate containers of many different kinds of materials were filled to overflowing, using cool colors and an abundance of white. Arrangements tended to be made in rich purples, magentas, and dark blues. As in England, the Tussy-Mussy was popular, especially in the 'deep South'.

MODERN PERIOD (CONTEMPORARY) (1910-PRESENT)
The appearance of the twentieth century brought period in America in which the stuffy, overcrowded ornamentation of the Victorian was rapidly replaced by a transitional style of flower design called the 'New Art'. Containers were designed just to hold flowers in which small bouquets were placed. It was at this time that the Western world became aware of the Japanese art of 'line arrangements' in which branches were placed in low dishes and Oriental bowls. This 'new' style spread through the United States rapidly after the First World War ended, and an increased interest in flower arranging developed, propelled by newly formed garden clubs. Horticulture became a fashionable leisure past-time, and flower shows were popular. Formal techniques for judging the standard elements and principles of floral design were developed, and design contests became an integral part of the flower shows. Designers of this time developed a style which combined the characteristics of Oriental line arrangements with the mass arrangements originating from Europe.

The 1950's and 60's brought a significant increase in interest in the use of flowers to decorate the home in the 'States', and Home and Garden publications fired this interest even more. Following the Second World War, international transportation improved sufficiently, so that flowers began to be imported to the United States from distant countries. With this, new species were introduced for arrangements, and the 'New Style' of America grew to new heights. The center of flower production and distribution in The Netherlands became a source of a new style, in addition to being a source of floral materials. Today the new 'Dutch Style' is one which is becoming increasingly popular throughout this country. It is exemplified by naturalistic garden style arrangements, using groupings of similar flowers, and parallel lines. The use of hand tied bouquets is also returning. The use of many new tropical materials and perennials is also increasing. Following Holland as center of floral production was South America, specifically Columbia, where great areas of flower production exist at present.