In collaboration with the Stephen and Peter Sachs Museum, join the Mourning Society of St Louis for a special tour of the Missouri Botanical Garden focusing on 19th-century naturalism, sentimentalism and the art of floriography (communicating through flowers).
Tours depart from the Garden's Jack C. Taylor Visitor Center at 10 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.* and last approximately 45 minutes.
*ASL interpretation provided.
We'll be passing through the Linnean House and the Gladney Rose Garden as we make our way to the Garden’s historic Victorian District. Guides in period clothing will cover everything from the Wardian case to fern fever and instruct you on the perfect arrangement to send to your sweetheart or your rival. We'll also be pointing out the meaning of the flowers, plants and trees we encounter along the way from the Victorian "Language of Flowers." The Mourning Society of St Louis is a civilian reenacting group with an interest in mourning, death culture, spiritualism and the funeral customs of the mid-nineteenth century through the early twentieth century.
The Stephen and Peter Sachs Museum is one of the historic structures on the grounds of the Garden, and features the special exhibition Kernels of Culture: Maize Around the World, on view through March 2025.
Included with Garden admission. Free for members.