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By Root 135 0

in a nosegay, and thought to be a remedy against the plague. The Victorians kept it in their kitchen gardens, often leaving it to grow rampant because of its tender associations. It was common practice at funerals for each mourner to carry a sprig, which would then be thrown into the grave. And there was another reason to carry rosemary: as an evergreen it symbolizes the immortality of the soul. In France it was customary to put a branch of it in the hands of the dead, and stories were told of when coffins were opened after several years and the rosemary had flourished so much that it covered the corpse.

THE ROSEMARIE BRANCH

Grow for two ends; it matters not at all,

Be’t for my bridall or my buriall.

ROBERT HERRICK

Although the practice was on the wane, it was not unknown at some Victorian weddings for a bride to wear a sprig of rosemary to signify that she carried to her new home loving memories of the old. And sluggish minds might remember any number of important facts if the hair was washed with rosemary hair tonic, or with rosemary oil. General vitality could be restored with Hungary water, a famous preparation made with the plant, to be rubbed on the skin. This ancient concoction, said to have been made for the Queen of Hungary in the seventeenth century, was famous throughout Europe as a cure-all remedy, a tonic and a rejuvenator.

SNOWDROP

Consolation Hope

The snowdrop is one of the first flowers of the year, appearing in the depths of winter. ‘I am come to calm your fears; to console you in the absence of bright days and to reassure you of their return.’

The flower originates from Turkey, Greece and the Caucasus and is thought to have been introduced to Britain early in the reign of Elizabeth I. The Victorians considered it unlucky to bring snowdrops into the house and so this was a flower that stayed in the garden. There developed a mania for the snowdrop, and many famous ‘snowdrop walks’ on country estates have their origins in the nineteenth century, when large numbers were planted to create impressive woodland garden displays, often to show off the rare varieties introduced by Victorian plant collectors. Some varieties were also brought back by soldiers returning from the Crimean War, such as the snowdrops on the Isle of Skye, said to have been first planted by Highland soldiers newly returned from the Crimea battlefields.

A brooch in the shape of a snowdrop might be given to a friend who has suffered a loss. A small vase of the blooms lifts the spirits, signifying that happier times will soon return. And a basket of snowdrops on a New Year’s card sends hopeful thoughts: ‘Every blessing attend thee through the coming year.’

In John Everett Millais’s painting Mariana, based on the character from Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure, a woman has stood up from her embroidery to ease her aching back. She leads a solitary life, waiting for her lover to return. ‘ “My life is dreary – He cometh not!” she said. “I am aweary, aweary – I would that I were dead!” ’ Her only hope and consolation is the small snowdrop depicted in the room’s stained-glass window.

THE SNOWDROP

Many, many welcomes,

February fair-maid

Ever as of old time,

Solitary firstling,

Coming in the cold time,

Prophet of the gay time,

Prophet of the May time,

Prophet of the roses,

Many, many welcomes,

February fair-maid!

ALFRED LORD TENNYSON

SUNFLOWER

False Riches

The radiant sunflower takes its name from the resemblance of its broad golden disc and surrounding petals to the sun. It was held in high esteem by Inca priests, and dazzling sunflower jewellery made from gold was worn by those who officiated at the Temple of the Sun. The first Spaniards who arrived in Peru in the sixteenth century were amazed at this profusion of gold, but they were still more astonished when they came across whole fields covered with these flowers, which they thought at first sight to be composed of the same precious metal. And so, for their bitter disappointment, the sunflower has been given the emblem of ‘false riches’.

When the