Dear Lulu: Just for you!
" In Colonial times,
nosegays or tussie mussies as they were
called, were given as gifts. Here too, the
different herbs and flowers symbolized
different things. Imagine receiving a small
bouquet of violets and knowing that the
person giving them to you was pledging
their loyalty without uttering a word. It was
common practise at the beginning of a
courtship in the Victorian era for suitors to
give their intended a tussie mussie. The
types of flowers often changed as the
relationship grew allowing the gentleman to
say volumes without speaking a word!
Today's society is no different than those of
a few hundred years ago. Flowers still hold
significant a meaning. "

http://www.comfycountrycreations.com/flowergiving.htm