50 



The Weekly Florists' Review* 



DECEMBER 15, 



pecially in the case of the tamarix, in- 

 deed in summer or winter it is almost 

 as easy to strike as a willow. 



While the hydrangea may be grown 

 from hard wood cuttings as above, we 

 handle it with far greater success 

 when WW talic cutting^ of young wood 

 in early summer and insert them in 

 a firn-" bed of sand in a close, cold 

 frame, shaded overhead with calico or 

 brush' on skeleton frame supports 

 about seven feet above ground. In 



large nurseries there is a big nest of 

 such frames for propagating all man- 

 ner of hardy shrubs, roses, etc., in, and 

 this summer propagation is regard- 

 ed as the easiest and most successful. 

 If you don't need many of the hy- 

 drangeas, layering them in summer 

 is the easiest way to handle them. The 

 same (layering) is true of magnolias, 

 Japanese maples, snowball shrubs, etc. 



F. 



CHRISTMAS ARRANGEMENTS. 



The following is from information 

 supplied by Mr. John Gormley, chief 

 decorator for E. Wienhoeber, the well 

 known Chicago florist: 



The call for red flowers seems more 

 marked than ever this season so far, 

 and Meteor and American Beauty roses 

 and red carnations are in particularly 

 strong demand. 



A pretty Christmas decoration is a 

 tall vase of red carnations set in the 

 center of a wreath of holly for the ta- 

 ble, the wreath about 16 inches in di- 

 ameter and made about 3 inches wide, 

 of selected holly, well berried. Holly 

 branches may be arched over the man- 

 tel and over the sideboard, the mantel 

 toanked with ferns and a vase of Me- 

 teor roses or red carnations at one 



«nd. 



An Inexpensive table centerpiece tor 

 a Christmas dinner that gave much 

 satisfaction was a sheaf of holly, of 

 selected branches, well berried, made 

 in much the same shape as a sheaf of 

 wheat, about 15 inches high, filled in 

 solid at the top, and tied at the center 

 with a sash of red ribbon to match the 

 holly berries. And sprays of holly were 

 laid on the table. The price charged 

 was only $4.50, and it made a satisfac- 

 tory decoration for a table with twelve 

 covers. 



Another popular table centerpiece 

 for Christmas is a fiat plateau of loose- 

 ly arranged holly, with some sprays of 

 mistletoe worked through the holly. A 

 fair sized plateau can be sold tor $5.00 

 and make a fair profit, 



But the best customers want holly, 

 •etc.. made a mere incident of a Christ- 

 jnas decoration, and prefer choice 



flowers and greenery to be the most 

 prominent, and there Is a continual 

 call for something new in the way of 

 arrangement. But even when novelty 

 is called for it is safest to get the ideas 

 of the customer before snaking recom- 

 mendations. And before making sug- 

 gestions it is essential that the deco- 

 rator visit the house and study the ar- 

 rangement of the rooms, color of the 

 furniture, "wood-work, hangings, etc. 

 He should be able to present his esti- 

 mate of the cost then and there if an 

 estimate is .called for, as he can ex- 

 plain any matters that seem unreason- 

 able to the customers or may cut out 

 some portions to reduce the cost if it 

 is found that the expense will be 

 greater than the customer had thought. 

 If an estimate is sent afterward by 

 mail his figures may lose him the job, 

 when nothing but the figures are be- 

 fore the people, who will probably 

 have lower figures from some other 

 florist who is not in a position to give 

 equally good flowers and arrangement, 

 A novel dinner table decoration or- 

 dered by a customer for next week is 

 as follows: The centerpiece is to sim- 

 ulate a bowl and will be a 12-inch ball 

 filled solid with Bridesmaid roses, no 

 foliage showing. It will be about six- 

 teen inches in diameter when filled. 

 Inserted in the center of the ball is a 

 vase three inches in diameter and 

 twelve inches deep. This will contain 

 a loosely arranged bunch of long- 

 stemmed Maid roses. It will be a bowl 

 formed of Bridesmaid roses holding a 

 bunch of the same roses. From this 

 centerpiece four garlands of the same 

 rose will radiate. Each of these gar- 

 lands will be three feet long and will 

 contain fifty roses, and at the end will 



be finished with a bow of pink ribbon. 

 The price for this decoration will be 

 $45. 



A reception decoration ordered for 

 the near future is to be almost wholly 

 of red carnations. For the best work 

 he likes Jubilee and Wellesley. The 

 color of the latter is very popular with 

 customers, though the grower says the 

 variety is not as profitable as he would 

 like. A decoration of red carnations 

 shows up finely under artificial light, 

 and it is practically universal now in 

 the case of an afternoon reception to 

 draw down the shades and turn on the 

 light, so the appearance under artifi- 

 cial light is very important. 



Where red carnations are ordered 

 for a reception he generally makes the 

 buffet table center piece a handle 

 basket of carnations, using a 15 to 18- 

 inch round or square basket. He uses 

 one containing the tin holder for 

 plants. This is filled with growing 

 terns — adiantums, pteris or Boston 

 fern, or a combination, sometimes with 

 a cocos at the side near the handle, 

 and sometimes a plant of Asparagus 

 plumosus. The long carnations are 

 stemmed with No. 21 wire, though oc- 

 casionally the stems are tough enough 

 to enable him to insert them in the 

 soil without the aid of the wire. A 

 loosely defined band of the carnations 

 is carried diagonally across the ferns, 

 and a graceful bunch of from 18 to 24 

 blooms is attached to the handle and 

 tied with ribbon of the same shade as 

 the flowers. This is the only decora- 

 tion for the buffet table which is usu- 

 ally six or seven feet in diameter. If 

 there is a mantel in the room it is dec- 

 orated with ferns and a vase of the 

 same carnations placed at one end. 

 The universally demanded screen of 

 palms for the musicians is supplied 

 and if the price warrants individual 

 palms are placed in effective positions. 

 Large banks of plants are rarely called 

 for now. 



A pretty center piece is a fish bask- 

 et 24 to 30 inches long filled with ferns 

 from pots and a broad band of loosely 

 arranged long-stemmed carnations car- 

 ried diagonally across under the han- 

 dle with a bow of red ribbon at each 

 end. Some sprays of Asparagus Spren- 

 gerii may be attached to the handle. 



A customer has a round cut glass 

 bowl about three inches deep and fif- 

 teen inches in diameter. He fills this 

 with moss which is then well soaked 

 and arranges therein from four to six 

 dozen Bridesmaid roses, making the 

 arrangement very loose and allowing 

 some of the roses to bend over and 

 touch the cloth. No extra foliage is 

 used and the arranging is always done 

 at the residence of the customer, 

 avoiding any possibility of injury 

 during delivery. This lady is continu- 

 ally trying to think of a change for 

 her table, but after discussing the mat- 

 ter always falls back on the old ar- 

 rangement which has proved so satis- 

 factory even if lacking in novelty. 



In plant arrangements for Christmas 

 he finds Ardisia crenulata very useful 

 and popular. He fills a zinc lined 



