On this blog, we're going back thousands of years to see how floral customs got their start. One of the first sites where "florist" developed a profession was Ancient Egypt, when florists established themselves in the marketplace, storefronts, and the Royal Palace. Every significant event in life, every celebration, and even gods who are modeled after flowers watching over tombs from the walls of time are shown in bas-relief sculptures. During the Egyptian Period (2800 BCE – 28 BCE), they arranged and even cultivated narcissus, acacia, poppies, violets, jasmine, and Madonna lilies, but one flower was revered beyond all others. The Lotus Blossom was revered in ancient Egyptian culture because people thought it's white petals and yellow center represented Ra, the Sun God. The Lotus Blossom was mostly seen in elaborate floral funeral offerings as well as in paintings and other works of art from the era.
Flowers played an important role in daily life, and the creations of ancient Egyptian florists were necessary during festive and religious occasions. Sweet-smelling flowers in vases and flower bowls decorated Egyptian homes, and large lotus flowers were used for dining tables. Egyptian floral art was characterized by the use of repetition, simplicity, and order in a particular pattern. They would use containers like spouted vases and baskets and make extensive use of flowers, fruits, and foliage. They rarely displayed a flower's stem because every blossom was surrounded by extra leaves or buds. A common pattern featured a single flower with a bud or leaf on either side, arranged in orderly rows and repeated as a whole. Without any material bunching or overlapping, the overall appearance was composed and proper. Even in their containers, they used stem supports, just like we do today. The most common flowers used by the ancient Egyptians were narcissus, roses, acacia, poppies, violets, jasmine, and poppies. They chose the flowers according to the symbolic meanings they assigned to each one.
After the Egyptian Period, traces of floriculture can be found in later civilizations. In the Greek Period (600 BCE – 46 BCE) across all tiers of their civilization, flowers and floral design were used in a completely different way. The garland, wreath, and horn of plenty, or cornucopia, are three key floral designs from the Classical Greek Period. Lovers exchanged tiny, fragrant wreaths, and flowers were frequently and liberally worn in women's hair. On festival days, everyone received a wreath, but special garlands and wreaths were also presented as significant religious tributes to Olympians and military heroes. Many floral customs from the Greek Period still exist today because of their passion for preserving the beauty and history of their floristry.
Traces of floristry are also seen in Roman civilization (28 BCE – 325 AD). The free-spirited and abundant characteristics of Greek floristry were adopted by the ancient Romans when they arrived on the scene, and they infused them with their own regal, elaborate design elements, which are best exemplified by the tapered olive crowns of the Roman emperors. The Ancient Romans used flowers—lots of them—instead of the fruits and arrangements that the Greeks and Egyptians put in their baskets. Additionally, they retained the Greeks' garlands, wreaths, and crowns but slightly altered the design. The addition of new and exotic flowers like the crocus, oleander, myrtle, amaranth, ivy, narcissi, and laurel made wreaths, crowns, and garlands more impressive due to the extreme rise in trade. The Egyptian method of using vases in floral arrangements was brought about by the rise of trade, and the Romans naturally adopted it. The Classical Roman Period saw little advancement in floristry because the ancient Romans were more focused on excess and opulence.
The tradition of flower arranging continues later in the Byzantine Period (320 AD – 600 AD), the Middle Ages (476 AD – 1400 AD), the Renaissance Period (1400 AD – 1600 AD), the Baroque and Flemish Periods (1600 AD – 1775 AD), the Georgian Period (1714 AD – 1837 AD), the Victorian Era (1837 AD – 1901 AD), the French Baroque Period (1600 AD – 1750 AD), and so on.
Today, floristry is a mass sector, accepted as an occupation, and studying in many schools. There is a wide scope of practice in the industry. It seems to have maintained its continuity throughout the operation.
