Nosegay Bouquets

Earth laughs in flowers. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Flowers have been associated with us since time immemorial to express our feelings, may be in the happiest or most emotional moments or simply to beautify our surroundings. Flowers can be used in various forms, as a single cut flower or a bunch of flowers arranged in a typical way, for example ikebana (Japanese art of floral arrangement). Also, a specific flower is used to symbolize a country.

A nosegay is one of the most important types of flower arrangement used to celebrate special occasions. Nosegay bouquets are a round arrangement of cut flowers in a creative way. They can be arranged using different flowers of varied colors. A white rose nosegay is often carried by a bride and used as a symbol of traditional bridal style and elegance. A nosegay is also called as a tussie-mussie or a posy.

This type of floral arrangement came into existence in the 14^th century, when people worn flowers around the head or body to mask their unpleasant smell. Hence, the name nosegay that means to keep the nose happy. However, they became more popular during the time of Queen Victoria, from mid-18^th century. Each of the flowers in a nosegay bouquet has a specific meaning such as lily stands for happiness and purity, roses signifies love and ivy represents fidelity. The original size of a nosegay is small, about 6-inch.

In general, a nosegay follows the usual shape of a round bouquet with densely filled flowers. It can be a small, medium or a large size bouquet. At present, the most widely used flowers for nosegay bouquets are roses, carnations, iris, stephanotis, and daisies. It can be made either with only one type of flower or a combination of flowers. Green fill-ups and borders are used to make the arrangement more attractive. Due to its variable size, a nosegay has been a popular choice for the bride, bridesmaid and the flower girls.

Nosegay bouquets are one of the most important bridal flower arrangements. Usually, a bride holds a larger nosegay, whereas a bridesmaid and a flower girl carry smaller nosegays. There are certain ways of decorating a bridal nosegay. Some brides would like to keep the flower stems as they are without any decoration, while others prefer to wrap the stems with ribbons or lace to be more stylish. In such a case, one can tie a bow of suitable size and color to the stem. Nosegay bouquets are also used in wedding flower decorations, for example, as wedding centerpieces.

One can try making a nosegay using a vase (narrow mouth) and flowers. Start putting flowers in the vase and reshuffle them according to the preferable color combination. One can add green leafy fillings to create a contrasting color. Now, lift up the flowers carefully by gathering them together with both hands. Wrap the stems with floral tape first and trim the stem as per the desirable length. One can also tie the stems with decorative cords or ribbons and an attractive bow to make it look more graceful.

Nosegays are also used in Christmas decorations. While creating a holiday nosegay, a collection of decorative natural and artificial items is used in the same way that has been used in a normal nosegay arrangement. One can add holiday nosegays of varied colors to add style to Christmas trees. In addition, beautiful nosegay bouquets can be used as Christmas centerpieces.