Dried Flowers

The Egyptian royals made extensive use of flowers in their lives. Roses, poppies, violets, lotus, water lilies and other plants were used both fresh and dried and made into arrangements with stem support. The lotus blossom was especially important as a mourning tribute as it was the sacred flower of Ra, the Sun god.

The Greeks, unlike the Egyptians, did not hold their flowers in vases. Instead they used their flowers to adorn themselves and as symbols of allegiance and dedications. Religious tributes as well as awards to military and athletic heroes were made of flowers. Flowers were worn in the hair as embellishment, and lovers exchanged small wreaths. The Cornucopia (the horn of plenty) was also an important design to represent abundance of harvest. It is still used today, but on its side, not upright like olden days.

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The Romans added to the Greek usage of flowers, and even imported the Egyptian method of arranging flowers in vases, but made no significant contribution to the art of floral design. This was an era of opulence and spilled over to excesses in floral arrangements.

After the fall of the Romans, the Byzantines added some value to floral arrangements. A stylized tree, known as the “espalus” had symmetrical conical foliage with fruits and flowers attached to it. But it was the monasteries that took up floral arrangement more regularly and began to incorporate new and varied plant materials for their designs.