Living flowers have been used to decorate homes and human habitats since times immemorial. For example, one of the Seven Wonders of the World was the Hanging Gardens of Semiramis, which Babylon was famous for in the 600–500s BC.

Flowers were used to decorate houses and palaces by ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans. Numerous archaeological finds of plant stands made of ceramics, animal horns, mollusk shells and other materials belong to Classical Antiquity. In the East, pots with flowers were placed on low tables, wooden shelves or on the floor.

Later, wrought iron flower stands came into use in various countries. They were known for their durability and stability. They were placed on the floor or on a table, fixed on walls, balcony railings, staircase steps and platforms. Each such stand was a work of art, as its construction consisted of the finest interweaving of forged branches, vines and leaves. Both single pots with houseplants and entire flower compositions were placed on wrought iron stands.

The fashion for flower stands, or flower holders, in Europe gained a strong foothold in the late 18th century. The artists of that time designed them in the Empire style, which combined the rigor of Classical culture and the aristocratic nature of the new time. A new jardinières type of flower stands appeared. They were miniature tables — stands for flowers.

Jardinières were also popular in Russia. In the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, they were used to decorate noble estates and merchant houses. They were mostly made of wood: pine, birch, beech, oak and other species.

Various models of flower stands were craftwork. They were made in almost every major settlement of the Russian Empire. For example, in Astrakhan at the end of the 19th century there were several carpentry workshops, where one could make to order various pieces of furniture. The largest was the furniture shop of merchant Erentraut on Ekaterininskaya Street, which carried out carpentry and wallpapering work. By the early 20th century there were already five large furniture and wallpaper workshops.