Summer Meeting. I43 



yellow ones. JPlanted in a rich, loose mold, these bulbs live and blossom 

 for several years, but it hardly pays to put them in the sod, for, though 

 they look so bright in among the green, they are soon crowded out by 

 the aggressive, the vigorous, the immortal grass. Again the family 

 decorator will rejoice to add to the pleasure of the house by the brightness 

 of the charm of a new combinaton ; when in the shallow, clear bowl 

 of the high-stemmed glass she will put the yellow of the crocuses, 

 softened by the royal purple of the violets. One of my favorite poets, 

 Thomas Bailey Aldrich, voices thus the charm of the early flowers : 



When' first the crocus thrusts its point of gold 

 Up through the still snow-drifted garden mold. 

 And folded green things in dim woods unclose 

 Their crinkled spears, a sudden tremor goes 

 Into my veins and makes me kith and kin 

 To every wild-born thing that thrills and blows. 



In arranging flowers for the house it is usually best to have with 

 the blossoms some green foliage, as the slender lances of the crocus 

 leaves, or later the growing shield of the violet leaf. As to vases for 

 holding the flowers, clear glass is safest, as it has no color to clash with 

 that of the blossoms ; the dark green of pottery is often good since it 

 harmonizes with the leaves and stems, or white, as of a china bowl, will 

 not be objectionable; even a yellow jar will add to the eft"ect, as, for 

 an example that Candace Wheeler gives, of "a yellow cloud of wild 

 mustard in a yellow jar, making sunshine in the darkest room;" but it 

 is not well to be too particular, for any color of vase so it be in concord 

 with the flowers it holds will be an artistic whole, and it is better to 

 make a homely vari-colored vase beautiful with flowers than to leave it 

 empty. . 



Indeed, if you follow the Japanese methods of flower arrangement 

 you can hide a homely dish with the foliage belonging to the flowers 

 themselves or other trailing vine-like forms. It has been said, and from 

 observation I say justly so, that the Americans are too much in the 

 habit of arranging their flowers in bunches, crowding as many of one 

 kind into a vase as it will conveniently hold, forgetting that each indi- 

 vidual bloom has a beauty of its own well worth showing. With us a 

 bowl of roses is a soft mass of pink, a bowl of phlox is also a mass of 

 pink, only a trifle more severe in contour; poppies make a tall bunch of 

 redness, and geraniums a low bunch of similar hue. How often is the 

 grace of the sweet peas lost in the crowd of its fellows. The Japanese 

 set us a better pattern, for they remember each flower has an intrinsic 

 and peculiar loveliness that is a joy to the beholder; so the Japanese 

 florist or artist or home decorator takes three peonies perhaps instead 



