So when did Dried Flowers come to existence anyways?
Ā
Some say that dried flowers were found in a Roman tomb in Egypt some 2000 years ago. Apparently it was placed in tombs and used for making fragrances back then.
Dried flowers were used as medicine in the Middle Ages and Japan, they apparently made it into an Art Form. So looking at China, they made flower arrangements even back as far as 207BCE. That's the Han Dynasty era. The Han Dynasty era was known to be the second dynasty in China's history and it looks like they were the ones who made inventions like Paper according to the history channel. More on Han Dynasty some other day.
Ā
So dried flowers in China ... in general dried flowers being dried will definitely look like it's lost a bit of it's beauty. So in China, most of the examples I've found are based on flowers being used for consumption/medicinal purposes. Example are Chrysantemum, dried and used for tea. Same with Rose ... dried and consumed. So here are some dried flowers being used for medicinal purposes.
Ā
Lonicera/Honey Suckle Flower aka Jin Yin Hua
Ā
Tastes sweet(really?), clears heat and resolves fire toxicity... so in essence cools the body down. Something you'll know of if you've ever lived in hot humid countries like in South East Asia. Added here the before and after images. To get it to a dried flower stage, you use gradually dry it at 30-35 degrees C for 2 hours then go on till 45-50 degrees C for 10 hours. That's a lot of drying.
Ā
|
Ā Before drying |
After drying |
Ā
Other flowers include Viola Flower Zi Hua Di Ding,Ā Pagoda Flower Huai Hua, just to name a few of those exotic flowers that have been turned into medicine by the Chinese history.
Ā
Moving on to Japan, dried flowers existed in an artistic form called Oshibana which literally means pressed flowers. By pressing the flower petals, you'll end up excluding the moisture content and thus becomes usable to form art. Traced back to the 16th century Japan and it's now a world wide thing ... according to wikipedia. So 16th Century japan would be called the Sengoku period where civil war prevailed in much of the country. Here's an example of dried flower Oshibana style.
Ā
Ā 
Ā
Coming back to Western culture, Dried Flowers became a hobby and preservation method in Victorian England back in the 16th century. Flowers were used to decorate fans, gloves, jewelleryĀ much like what we have nowadays. Other than that, dried flowers were being used to repel bad odourĀ and disease. Not sure how effective they were though.
Ā
So what I found was that dried flowers mean or symbolize beauty, everlasting representing longevity and immortality. True that flowers hold messages. For example, Red Tulips are delectation of love, sunflowers signal adoration. Personally, I think of dried flowers or flowers in general as more of a feature in the home. That splash of colourĀ and texture laid out in the right place say in your door way, attracts the eye every time you pass it. So instead of just using flowers, why not go for dried flowers or a mixture of preserved flowers and dried.Ā
Ā
Here are two examples from Fleuri.
Ā
You see, the beauty of being dried / preserved flowers is the fact that the colours or subtle, not too loud and yes, it blends in to the background to a certain aspect. Much like you don't want a loud speakers blasting when you come home, you don't want something which burns your eyes with colours. I think this blend is pretty nice.
Ā
Ā TEMARI means ball - hand sized ball. Played by kids back in the olden days. So inspired by that, this little one sits nicely across your dinner table. Having a nice touch of greenery with delicate details with other interesting dried flowers.
Ā
Some fun facts were covered here about dried flowers and preserved flowers.Ā
Ā
Next time we'll cover some more interesting facts and ways you can enjoy these flowers.
