Today we spent about half the day in Stillwater going on the Tussie Mussie Stroll.  Sophia, Olivia, and I went with Mary, Jordan, and Colton.  It was fun for the girls to spend the day with their cousins; and for me to spend it with my sister, daughters, and nephews.  We enjoyed lunch at Darla's, and then headed home to relax.

A bit about the Tussie Mussie Stroll

About 30 merchants in Stillwater each handed out a different flower, so by the end of the stroll I had a huge bouquet of beautiful, long-stem flowers. 

"Many of the Victorians had very little money to spend on extravagant decorations, so they turned to nature for inspiration and found fresh, rich greenery, flowers, pinecones, berries, and fruit, which were all used to create colorful displays.  A tussie mussie is an aromatic little nosegay of flowers and herbs. During the Victorian era, tussie mussies were exchanged as a token of affection between sweethearts or good friends." (From an Oct. 28, 2003, press release from the Kentucky History Center.)

A bit of history

The language of flowers spans the world of the ancients from Greece and Turkey to the Aztecs of South and Central America.  In England during Elizabethan times, judges carried tussie-mussies into their courtrooms to protect against "gaol fever."

Today judges at England's highest court, the Old Bailey, celebrate this tradition by carrying a tussie-mussie into court six times a year. During the Victorian era tussie-mussies were carried close to the nose to ward off the stench in the streets and the plague and were composed primarily of scented herbs such as rosemary, thyme, and rue.

The age-old custom of strewing pungent herbs on the floors of homes was thought to protect the gentlefolk from germs and provide herbal fragrances - early aromatherapy.

The Victorians also turned flower giving into an art. It was common practice at the beginning of a courtship for suitors to give their intended a tussie-musssie.

Floriography, the art of sending messages by flowers, brought a new dimension to tussie-mussies. Dozens of floral dictionaries were published listing the meanings of each flower and herb. T

he symbolic meanings were adapted from classical mythology, religious symbolism, ancient lore, and a bit of creativity on the part of the floral designer.

The study of botany and the discovery of new plants from all over the world brought new and exciting ideas to this language of flowers.

How to

Making a tussie-mussie involves the delightful task of arranging individual flowers and herbs together to compose a specific message to a friend or loved one.

You may approach this by either gathering plant materials from your garden, country road, florist or grocery store, or figure out what you what to convey and determine which flowers will carry your message.

Materials needed are a central flower, filler flowers and herbs such as lavender, baby's breath, artemesia, rosemary, ivy, mint, and violets. Large leaves for framing the outside of your bouquet might include lamb's ears, scented rose geranium leaves, hosta or violet leaves.

You will also need floral tape, scissors, a paper or lace doily, thin ribbon, and a small gift card to list the flowers and herbs and their meanings.

Strip the lower leaves from the stems and use a rubber band or floral tape to bind your bouquet together. The tussie-mussie should be no larger than six inches in diameter.

Wrap the nosegay in damp moss or a square of paper toweling covered with foil or floral tape. You may want to secure with small pins.

Place your bouquet in a paper doily - clipped with an "X" in the center - or lace collar cone and "lover's knot" and tie a card to the ribbon conveying the message.

Ideas for Tussie-Mussies

In addition to using tussie mussies at weddings, they are wonderful for nursing home tables and hospital trays, and for friends to express congratulations, get well wishes or birthday greetings.

Children can design tussie mussies for their parents, grandparents, or other special people in their lives.  

Tussie mussies make wonderful centerpieces placed in antique bottles or carafes with colorful ribbons dangling. You could add a tiny dried flower tussie mussie to curtain tiebacks for a fresh look.

Miniature tussie mussies make elegant Christmas ornaments and are easily made from dried rosebuds, statice, and little sprigs of other dried materials.

Meanings of Flowers and Herbs

Some plants have kept their symbolic meanings through the years. These include:

- rosemary, signifying Remembrance;

- ivy, Fidelity;

- lilies, Purity;

- laurel, Victory;

- parsley, Festivity; and

- rose, Love.

Additional meanings include:

- artemesia, Dignity;

- basil, Best Wishes;

- Calla lily, Panache;

- red geranium, Comfort, Health;

- hydrangea, Devotion;

- sage, Wisdom; and  

- pine, Loyalty, Longevity.

Sources: Tussie-Mussies: The Victorian Art of Expressing Yourself in the Language of Flowers, Geraldine Adamich Laufer; Flora's Dictionary, The Victorian Language of Herbs and Flowers, Kathleen Geps.