Tussie-Mussies: The Victorian Art of Expressing Yourself in the Language of Flowers

A great little reference book for all professional florists; there is always that customer who wants to know the history or meaning of a certin flower, this is a great book to have on hand. Magnolia Village Florist, Inc. Seattle, WA

Flowers can say all kinds of things: "I love you"; "How could you?!"; "Let's get married"; "Happy Birthday"; just about anything. I orginally got this book for some research on Victorian customs and realized it can still be used today. This book goes way past just pretty pictures, though there are dozens of ideas for Tussie Mussies to give to friends and family. There is a history of Tussie Mussies and a Step by Step guide to making a Tussie Mussie in the front, and -- my personal favourite -- TWO glossaries, a Vocabulary of Flowers and an Index of Sentiments. For research or fun, this is definitely the book to have.

I have used this delightful book for reference and inspiration countless times since buying it several years ago. It's paid for itself and then some! Tussie-mussies never fail to provide a gracious touch to the giving of flowers. Anyone can merely present flowers, but to customize the bouquet to the recipient or occasion? Truly impressive and touching! I once attended a luncheon honoring a well-known philanthropist. The hostess spent a fortune on catering for the event and decorated the banquet table with an enormous [$] floral arrangement of spring flowers. The well-traveled multimillionairess was cordial but a trifle bored (been there/done that)until I presented my tussie-mussie, assembled just for her, with a hand-lettered scroll listing the flowers and their definitions. She was astonished and fascinated. That's all she talked about afterwards--the table arrangement could have been dandilions and crab grass. Even if you don't actually make up a tussie-mussie from real flowers, Laufer's book has other terrific uses. I used it to design a bouquet in watercolors for my aunt's memorial service program. You will relish this book!

This book is chock full of photographs not only of the gorgeous tussies it teaches you how to make, but of the actual process of making them. Very clear and concise directions that are easy to follow for the beginner and give the experienced flower lover something to build on. I hope this book brings back a bit of the romance of tussies from bygone days - every man who has a woman in his life should surprise her with flowers with meaning and not more insipid scentless hothouse roses. This is a great guide.

My friend and I used this book as a source for a program for my garden club. We did this in January when our gardens were bare, or so we thought. After looking, we were able to find lots of things that were useful as well as meaningful. With a few dollars worth of flowers from the grocery store we made several examples from the book (with a few substitutions). We were delighted at how beautifully they turned out. I talked about the language of flowers and then showed everybody our samples. We had assembled a variety of ingredients and then each of our 15 members created her own Tussie Mussie. Each one turned out differently and each was charming. I cannot wait for a reason to make another one. We had a hoot of a time. My only complaint with the book was that there were not enough sources of materials such as holders, etc. Thank you for such a beautiful book.