Background:

These lovely prints are from Rebecca Hey's Moral of Flowers, an early 1800s romantic flowerbook.  The illustrations are by Alexander Lydon, well-known British natural history and landscape artist.  Not much is known about Mrs. Hey, though her goal for this series is to provide "thoughts gathered from the field and the garden".  Each flower is accompanied by a narrative, authored by Mrs. Hey, providing background on each flower and poetical references, e.g. "Fair-handed Spring unbosoms every grace / Throws out the snowdrop and the crocus first".