Bouquets, Posies and Nosegays

The early herbals gave almost as much prominence to the uplifting effects of herbs as to their medical or culinary virtues. Dioscorides, for example, recommends borage for its mood-altering effects, describing it as a herb that warms the heart and the spirit. The symbolism of plants was an important aspect of their use and by the time of the Elizabethans the association of certain plants with particular qualities or emotions was well established and widely known. Shakespeare makes frequent reference to the connotation of plants, ‘I’ll set a bank of rue, sour herb of grace’. (Richard II).