Step by step
Background
During the 1700s in England people liked to send messages to their friends by means of small bunches of flowers and herbs called ‘tussie mussies’. This was called ‘floriography’. Different flowers and herbs stood for different feelings. By the nineteenth century, there were even floral dictionaries, and mothers taught their daughters the language of flowers. A tussie mussie became a way to say things that people were too shy to say out loud.
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Explain to the pupils how flowers have been used for hundreds of years to show love to one another.
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Look at the list of flowers and their meanings.
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Ask the children to design their own bouquet by choosing from the flowers and herbs.
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Gather about 5 stems of flowers and herbs together.
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Wrap a doily around the flowers and tie together with ribbon or raffia.
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Ask each other to guess the meaning of the posy.