Over hundreds of years the styles of English flower arrangements have evolved and changed shapes. The golden era of English flower arrangements reached its peak in the Victorian era in the middle of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, not only the houses of the Aristocracy and Royalty developed the styles and enjoyed flowers. Everyone who had a cottage & a garden cultivated it, hence the broad spectrum and heritage of English flower styles.
I will briefly refer to two styles: the Traditional & Rustic English style, and the Urban style in which we live today
I will start with the Rustic style that developed at the same time as the flower arrangements of the aristocracy and royalty. It can be said that the rustic flower arrangement broke the rigidity of the classical arrangement to a certain extent and for this there are several factors, the first is the status and financial means, the aristocracy and royalty did not have and do not have financial struggles, therefore the flower arrangements were among the most expensive and rich flowers , not so with the rest of the people, since man has a natural connection to beauty, aesthetics, colour and fragrance that activate the senses, a rustic style developed who used flowers that grew in the garden and yard and with which they beautified the house, and which were given as gifts, etc.
With the development of the middle class, this style was also perfected over time. In contrast, classic flower arrangements that reflect the heritage of the aristocracy are based on precise and strict rules in structures and the demand for a balance between colour, shape, movement, depth , height, width and more, and any deviation from those rigid parameters are accepted even today. The use of colours is also defined, and depends on the season and the flowers that grow at that time
When a comparison is made between the styles of flower arrangements in other cultures, for example the Japanese style called Ikebana, its characteristic is a minimalist arrangement, that is, a limited amount of flowers that are arranged in a structural way that stems from a spiritual worldview of the ancient Shinto religion combined with Eastern religions. In which every hand movement has a meaning and every angle of a flower arranged in which there is religious and spiritual importance. The Japanese garden basically copies nature and the flower arrangements were adapted to the Japanese mindset and worldview. The English style, on the other hand, is rich in flowers and foliage and takes the concept of the garden and puts it into the flower arrangement. There are other differences between the styles, but I will not expand on them in this short article.
The Modern and Ultra-Modern style of flower arramgements developed with urban development and as a result the round and curved European architecture also changed, from an eye that notices small and precise details to an eye that observes straight lines. The square buildings we live in today do not require the eye to adapt to the details. The development did not happen all at once, but took years and generations and various transitional styles emerged in them such as Art Nouveau, Art Deco, Bauhaus, etc. that reflected the mindset between the world wars at the beginning of the last century until the middle of it.The technological development contributed and contributes to the changes in the way of life and the design concept. Flower arrangements are a reflection of the times, and they were also affected by the changes, and design approaches that are suitable for the changing and developing period were introduced, as well as new work techniques. Although today the trend is to return to ancient techniques that do not harm and preserve on the quality of the environment. Therefore, the modern style is characterized by a combination of clean elements, smooth lines that are almost bare, which combine with monochromatic shades, i.e. a uniform colour Even though flowers are fundamentally coloured with hybridization and genetic engineering changing varieties according to commercial approaches, and of course this has consequences. Today when you buy flowers in any store or supermarket you can buy flowers in unnatural colours that were not dyed by hand but as mentioned in genetic engineering they grow in unnatural colours, today's intensity different from the old slow or ancient mindset. In every period the human soul continues to consume beauty, aesthetics, pleasantness, health for the mind, body, and spirit through flower arrangements
So what is the difference between the Victorian era and our current lifestyle? I will try with a short pictorial example to explain the differences between the periods, imagine for a moment that a messenger appears at the door of your elegantly decorated Victorian house and delivers a small bouquet wrapped in ribbon. As a person of the 21st century, the natural tendency is to be charmed and happy with the gift/gesture, and to look for a suitable vase. As a respectable person of the 19th century, the procedure was a little different: the recipient of the flowers, instead of immediately putting them in the vase, hurried to look for the dictionary that explains theLanguage of Flowers And this is in order to decipher the secret and hidden meaning of the flowers, which flowers are in question, who is the sender and what is the meaning, and above all, what is the message that the sender of the flowers meant & what was expected of me to feel and how should I react, sounds a bit illogical in the speed of our lives, where every second and minute is predetermined. In the Language of Colours, every colour has a meaning, if someone sent a bunch of pink flowers tied with a ribbon, the meaning was a request for courtship before a dance, if yellow flowers were sent back, the meaning there was a refusal. For another example, dried flowers in blue shades meant that the sender was traveling for a long time and separates. White flowers symbolized and symbolize a new beginning, completeness and purity. However, the language of flowers was not the only language,who spoke at that time, also conveyed messages through jewelry and gems combined with flowers. In our time, we also convey messages through flowers, roses in a Spanish red shade on Valentine's Day transmit romantic investment, courtship, love, passion, longing. A deep red shade represents maturity and wisdom and is suitable for a bouquet of flowers for a more mature person, pink shades symbolize a smile and joy and are always given for a birthday, it can be said that the Victorian language of flowers was the pre-digital version of the emoji
So what do we do at FlowerArt Lux Custom Flower Arrangements? We combine the periods, use in our flower designs elements from the intergenerational English tradition and interweave modern and contemporary elements, thus adapting the nature of the flower arrangements and flower bouquets to the customer's requests. For us, each flower is a work of art, just like our name and we use all the techniques., attentive to our customers requests, we are interested every time for what purpose the flowers are sent. And we use the freshest flowers that are purchased with each new order, to keep the flowers fresh. Therefore, we accept orders in advance
Once you discover the elegance and beauty of the English style, you too will fall in love
Send with Flower Art selected flowers and an abundance of love, for every meeting and event
Greetings Danielle
All rights reserved to Danielle Levy 9/23/2022
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