AUBURN - The Victorian years have been recognized for having produced some of the world's finest treasures, including floral arrangements.

In conjunction with its 50-year anniversary as a museum, the William Seward House hosted a Victorian-era flowers and arrangement lecture, giving guests the chance to discover the gardens and floral delights that Frances Seward used in her own home and gardens.

"The flowers that we have today are totally different than what was produced back in the mid-1800s," said Carmen Cosentino, guest speaker and owner of Cosentino Florist. "Breeding has brought amazing changes. Today we have more varieties and in more colors than we have ever had before.

"If we were arranging the flowers that Frances Seward had to work with back in the 19th century, we would be bored. But she wasn't bored because that is what they had to work with back then."

Cosentino told guests that although there were greenhouses back in those days, they were not as accessible as they are today.

"Frances Seward couldn't just run down to Cosentino's and grab herself a handful of flowers," he joked. "She had to work with what was in her garden. Even with the Seward's stature in the community, she still didn't have a local flower shop to run to."

Demonstrating what a typical Victorian floral arrangement might have looked like, Cosentino described each flower and greenery he put into a vase.

"How fortunate we are today compared to the people of the Victorian age," he said. "They did not have the products that we have today that makes flower arranging so much easier. We have foam and wire; they did not have these then."

Taking a piece of twig and wrapping a thin string around the twig and the stem of a flower, Cosentino demonstrated an old technique to give strength to the stem for arranging.

"The flowers of that period lasted only three to four days in an arrangement," he said. "Any flower arrangements had to be made at the last minute. Today, a rose, for example, is expected to last an average of 12 days."

Because of the seasons and the limited flowers at the peak of each season, homes of that period often held greenery arrangements.

"In England - even today - it is somewhat the norm to have simple arrangements of greens in the home," he said.

"It is a nice way to bring a bit of the outdoors in."

According to historic journals, those living in the Victorian era having used fruits and vegetables in their decorations. Much of the Christmas decorations were made of dried greenery.

"Many varieties of plants have become extinct," Cosentino said. "We have to be careful with that and with the environment. If we lose a plant, it becomes extinct, we may very well lose important chemicals. Maybe even the chemical that will be the cure for

cancer."