February is a special month and the shortest on the calendar. The hours of daylight get a bit longer each day. Buds and other plants begin to quicken and suddenly send forth green or blooms. Romance is in the air as the birds’ chips become songs. Victorians always showed beautiful birds on their Valentine cards because legends said that this was the time birds sang and looked for a mate. If you listen carefully, one morning you will hear bird songs a sure signal that spring is near.  This is determined by the hours of light, so it happens the same time each year.

February can bring some very cold and stormy weather as well. As a longtime florist I have to admit that it is very, very scary when the roads are icy and the temps below freezing on Valentine’s Day. Deliveries of fresh flowers suddenly become a real problem.

On Valentine’s Day many folks give flowers. The custom of picking flowers for a loved one goes back to the early days when people gave a flower that conveyed a special meaning. Even today a red rose still speaks of love while a white rose symbolizes innocence. But many of the other meanings for herbs and flowers are lost to the old books in which we might find them. Lovers could send a message by their selections of posies that were arranged in a “tussie mussie.”

A tussie mussie is a little nosegay or bouquet of flowers and herbs. They have been made since ancient times but were especially popular during the medieval era. That was a period when there was little or no public sanitation and people thought carrying and sniffing the little nosegays would protect them from sickness and plague. Made of scented medicinal herbs, like rosemary, thyme, lavender, mint and rue, it was rather antiseptic and protected one from germs and bad odors. They also threw or strew these same strongly scented herbs and flowers on the floor of homes to freshen the air and protect against the plague.

Some blooms had meaning during the Middle Ages and Shakespeare often used herbs and flowers to convey an association in his prose and poetry. If he said, “Her tongue was like rue,” he implied that she spoke with bitterness. Later it was the Victorians who produced so many lists of flowers and meanings. Most young ladies knew the symbolism of flowers so they could send and receive bouquets with a message. Lavender, roses and sweet smelling violets were favorites as were Forget-me-nots for true love, and purple lilacs to say, “Falling in love with you.” Even today some people who grow and use herbs are familiar with the following meanings and make tussie mussies with a message.

Rosemary– for remembrance (pictured below)
Sage– immortality and good virtue
Lavender– love
Myrtle (Myrtus communis) – a symbol of love and fertility
Ivy– faithfulness and friendship
Globe amaranth– everlasting feeling and love
Mint– virtue and truth
Rose– love forever

Many times these plants and blooms are used in wedding bouquets and as wedding favors. Even the color of the rose has meaning: White roses signify simplicity or purity. White and Red roses together signify unity. Red alone means true love and passion.

If you want to make a romantic nose gay, you may use fresh or dried materials. Gather blooms in spring and summer to use fresh or dry them so you can always make a nosegay with a message. If you want to make one in winter, use what you can get fresh and the rest from what has been dried.

In summer, pick blooms when it is cool in evening or morning. If you buy blooms cut the stems on a slant with a sharp clipper. Remove leaves and thorns. Plunge the stems in clean, tepid water for at least two hours, or ideally, overnight. This conditions the flowers so they will not wilt. Sometimes it’s worth buying a few stems of baby’s breath and small roses in the off-season as they make the nosegay so pretty and romantic. Fill in with herbs or other flowers with meanings or fragrances that you like.

Soon winter pansies (featured above) and other blooms from bulbs will be found in the garden. They can be made into tiny tussie mussies. If you have sweet olive (pictured below) blooming all winter on the window sill, it will add delightful fragrance to the bouquet.

Tussie mussies are round, easy to design and very attractive. I like to use an oasis (this material holds water) round bouquet holder. Soak this for an hour or so and then place a rose bud in the middle and surround it with rosemary, salvia, lemon herbs, scented geranium leaves, lavender, mint, myrtle, thyme, roses, mint, myrtle, baby’s breath and a circle of fragrant leaves such as bay or scented geraniums. Small silver holders are also available and can be filled with oasis to keep flowers fresh longer.

Add streamers and a bow to enhance the romantic look. If the bouquet is used for a prom, shower or wedding you may want to root some of the ivy, myrtle, mint or rosemary used in it. It is fun to create your own special tussie mussie. You can personalize this by making it with flowers that convey your message to someone special.

In February, make one for Valentine’s Day. The bouquet might have a red tulip as a declaration of love, a piece of honeysuckle vine for bonds of love, red carnation for passion or pure love, rosemary for remembrance forever, larkspur for ardent attachment and the red rose being, of course, for love eternal. The rose and larkspur will have to be purchased, but the vine and herbs can often be found in the garden.

An engagement bouquet might include a bleeding heart for fidelity, a red and white rose for unity, a white azalea for romance, a Forget-me-not for true love and hosta bloom or leaf for devotion.

A Victorian desiring a secret meeting may have sent a bouquet with a tuberose to signify dangerous love, a red rose for passion, a leaf of nutmeg geranium for an expected meeting, and rosemary for remembrance. But if you only remember that a rose means love you can send one or a dozen to delight a special person this valentine’s day.

Triple Oaks Nursery, Herb Garden and Florist will be offering many spring garden courses. Check out calendar on web site www.tripleoaks.com a unique rose class will be held on Sunday Feb. 15. Learn all about growing herbs as well as their romantic history. Each participant will make real rose potpourri and a beautiful dried rose wreath to take home. Sign up now by calling 856-694-4272.