FLORIOGRAPHY: Tussie-Mussies

The first place I ever heard of FLORIOGRAPHY was in the book Garden Witchery:Magick from the Ground Up by Ellen Dugan. I have talked about her book before.  I LOVE this book and I LOVE Ellen Dugan! I think she is a wonderful writer.

  And yes, this book is about magick and such, but it is also about gardening.  If you follow the pagan path or another, you can still get a lot from this book.
  The past few weeks I have put up a few different flowers. Along with their FLORIOGRAPHY, I also added some general knowledge, history and such.  This week I wanted to share different Tussie Mussies you can use.  Ideas to get you started.
  Ellen Dugan listed some great Tussie-Mussies and I thought I would share a couple of my favorites.  To see more please check out her book Garden Witchery: Magick from the Ground Up! (Pages 65-66, just to help out)

I DESIRE YOU: An orange rose, fern foliage, nigella (love-in-a-mist), bergamot blooms, and a tiger lily.  Tie with red ribbons for desire and orange for energy and stamina.... Floral meanings are: vitality and energy from the orange rose; passion from the ferns; "kiss me" from the nigella; "you are irresistible" from the bergamot; ... erotic love from the tiger lily.


GET WELL SOON: A yellow rose, golden yarrow, lemon balm leaves, daisies, and a spray of bachelor's buttons.  Coordinate the color of the ribbons with the flowers or with your own chosen color for healing magick.  Floral meanings are as follows: yellow rose for joy and happiness; yarrow blossoms for healing magick; lemon balm for freshness and health; daisies for cheerfulness; and bachelor's buttons for healing energies.


(The two Tussie-Mussie ideas are from Garden Witchery: Magick from the Ground Up by Ellen Dugan.  I do not take credit for their creations, I am only sharing.  The picture I found on google images .  I was not compensated for this post.)  

FLORIOGRAPHY: Larkspur

Floriography is The Language of Flowers. A discreet form of communication, particularly used in Victorian times, Floriography has been around for past generations with religious and symbolic meanings, continuing on to this day. A bunch of flowers wrapped in a lace doily and tied with ribbon, also called a Tussie-Mussie, reads like a poem and/or secret message.

My son's birthday is this coming week.  So in honor of him, I decided to do his Birthday Flower.  The Flower to represent all Birthdays in July is the LARKSPUR.

The LARKSPUR is the common name for the delphinium.  Delphinium got its name for the dolphin like blooms. LARKSPUR is native to all the Northern Hemisphere and the top of mountains in tropical Africa.

LARKSPUR is very common in cottage gardens.  LARKSPUR is a love of cool, wet summers

and not a huge fan of hot, dry weather.  Bloom time is late spring to early summer. LARKSPUR is an annual here in the Rocky Mountain Region that I call home.  Considered "Middle of the Pack", LARKSPUR can grow from 1-3 feet tall, great for middle of garden beds and borders.  Plant taller varieties in back of garden beds and dwarf varieties in the front.  With larger varieties, stake to prevent bowing over in high wind.  The LARKSPUR comes in blue, white, and shades of purple and pink.  Sow seeds directly into ground in sun to part shade area.  LARKSPUR is most happy in consistently moist soil. Once blooms have wilted, remove the dead flowers for longer bloom season.

A WORD OF WARNING!!!!

LARKSPUR IS POISONOUS!

Very young  plants and seeds 

are poisonous.  They can cause nausea, 

twitching muscles, paralysis, and even death, if 

ingested.

PLEASE DO NOT EAT OR LET YOUR CHILDREN OR PETS EAT

LARKSPUR makes great cut flowers.  If you cut them once the blooms open and bring inside, they will bloom again.  Add sugar to any arrangements of LARKSPUR. Also can be added to pot pourri mix for color. 

Pests to watch for are slugs, snails, and cyclamen mites.

Now to the FLORIOGRAPHY. Delphinium stands for boldness, big-hearted, and fun.

But LARKSPUR (being a type of delphinium) stands for fickleness, levity, an open heart, and lightness.

Which is really creepy because my son is all those things.  Sorry... thinking out loud.

LARKSPUR is sacred to Venus. For magickal purposes, LARKSPUR can be used for health and protection spells and charms.  

(All images were found on google images.)

FLORIOGRAPHY: Alyssum

Floriography is The Language of Flowers. A discreet form of communication, particularly used in Victorian times, Floriography has been around for past generations with religious and symbolic meanings, continuing on to this day. A bunch of flowers wrapped in a lace doily and tied with ribbon, also called a Tussie-Mussie, reads like a poem and/or secret message.

ALYSSUM are one of my favorite flowers to grow in the garden!  I love the color, their look, and they are pretty easy to grow.

 ALYSSUM has a great fragrance. They are favored in all sun loving gardens. Growing under 8 inches tall, ALYSSUM are considered part of the "short" group of flowers, fitting great in the front of beds, borders, spilling over containers, between stepping stone and filling in where the larger plants can't! 

ALYSSUM comes in pure white, rosy lavender, and multi colored.  Bloom season is from spring to frost and bloom best during the cooler weather.  ALYSSUM is an annual unless in a mild climate and in some favorable conditions, my reseed itself.  In the spring when the ground has  warmed up just a bit, you can sow the seeds directly into the ground or you can start seeds inside and transplant in May.  

ALYSSUM attract bees, birds and butterflies. Drought tolerant, ALYSSUM is a great addition to your xieroscape garden. ALYSSUM is somewhat resistant to insects and disease. NICE!

ALYSSUM is actually VERY hard to find a floriographic definition. I have found it in one place.  ALYSSUM means worth beyond beauty!  WOW!  NICE!

ALYSSUM is used in magick to expel charms and break manipulative spells.  Also added in faery gardens to attract faeries.

Ok so not as exciting as some, but ALYSSUM is beautiful in my eyes!

(All images were found on google images.)