546 



The Weekly Florists' Revie\v. 



APRIL 27, 



sprigs of Asparagus Sprengeri put 

 amongst the stems will make them 

 presentable. 



Here's a pretty luuch or tea table. 

 Get a lot of strawberry plants in 

 flower and fruit; plants grown in pots 

 have little- foliage and are what we 

 have in mind. Arrange them in a 

 large salad, fruit or cake dish, raising 

 one or two plants a little above the 

 rest; let the fruit show well around 

 the sides. Strawberries should be a 

 prominent feature on the menu and 

 they should be arranged in green des- 

 sert dishes with a few leaves and form 

 part of the decorations of the table. 

 Seasonable Flowers. 



Cinerarias, that is the white and 

 purple colors, are all right for funeral 

 work, though they scarcely pay to 

 grow for that, and they seem to jar 

 on the nerves when used in any other 

 way unless in private collections. 



Clematis paniculata; yes, wouldn't 

 it be grand if we could get it in bloom 

 in the winter! I wonder if any one 

 has tried it; even as greens in pots it 

 could be used to advantage on many 

 occasions. Bougainvillea makes the 

 finest picture imaginable hanging over 

 and down the side of a mirror; don't 

 spoil its gracefulness or beauty by 

 tying it up in formal lines, let it hang 

 as it growing there, and if you want 

 to heighten its color put a neutral col- 

 ored vase of pale yellow or white flow- 

 ers on the opposite side. 



That bunch of Jasminum gracilli- 

 mum looks all right at the side of that 

 bunch of Meteors or Jacques; a sprig 

 or two in that box of flowers will not 

 be out of place. Yes, let's have more 

 Jasmine; let a good big plant of it 

 run wild in your greenhouse. 



Imantophyllums, or any of the 

 amaryllis, are just what are needed 

 where large vases are used in house 

 decorations. Don't put roses or car- 

 nations or such flowers in a Japanese 

 room if you can get the kind of flow- 

 ers that are more identified with Jap- 

 anese art; there are a few kinds of 

 iris coming in already and they are 

 welcome to the kaleidoscopic scene the 

 flower market presents just now. 

 Don't despise the calla lily too much. 

 There was a time — but never mind^ 

 , they are O. K. yet if you fix them 

 right. Asparagus for greens and 

 gauze ribbon for a bow will make a 

 flat bunch of them compare favorably 

 with a good many other flowers. 



White double-flowered stocks are 

 good at present; they are fine for fu- 

 neral work though a great many peo- 

 ple like them amongst cut flowers. If 

 you have any good Daphne odora 

 you've got a good thing; there's noth- 

 ing finer for cut flowers; don't forget 

 to put it where your customer will get 

 the full benefit of it; it's the best of 

 all flowers just now where a spray Is 

 wanted for small vases or particular 

 favors. 



Lilium Harrisii Is very abundant at 

 present and if you are lucky enough 

 to catch a good wedding decoration 

 order, you can afford to spread out a 



good deal on lilies. Don't scatter your 

 flowers too much when arranging them 

 in either house or church; straggling 

 zigzag rows of flowers never produce 

 the effect that good clusters do. One 

 of the best things introduced for 

 years is the high vase design now 

 used for church weddings; this con- 

 sists of a wire stand about 7 or S ft. 

 high, the top shaped like a vase; they 

 can be put each side the altar, or as is 

 sometimes the case, put in rows about 

 25 ft. apart down the middle of the 

 center pews; they are first prettily 

 greened, then a mass of lilies or long 

 stemmed roses is put in the top; the 

 effect is very fine and is a great im- 

 provement on the arches, bells and 

 canopies. 



Violet cords with tassels have been 

 use'd for some time by a few florists in 

 New York instead of ribbon for vio- 

 let corsage bouquet. We cannot say 

 they are pretty. A good bunch of vio- 

 lets needs no millinery stuff attached 

 to it, and the present style of fancy 



lace vests scarcely agrees with many 

 florists' ideas of streamers of rope or 

 ribbon. Of course we are aware that 

 much is done to give impressions on 

 opi'ning the box, but unfortunately the 

 whole "get up" is worn by some. 



Most of you have either a vase, tub 

 or window-box in front of or around 

 your store. Clean it up and fill it 

 handsomely with fine large pansies; 

 it might induce many of your custo- 

 mers to do likewise. Try to get the 

 hotels, cluljs and prominent houses to 

 have patches of pansies about them 

 somewhere, and see that they are the 

 proper colors and are planted well. A 

 very large business can be done and 

 miich satisfaction given by carefully 

 attending this class of work. 



We shall treat upon "Decoration 

 Day" plants and designs in another 

 paper. In the meantime look to your 

 stock, particularly the roses in pots. 

 "Memorial Roses" will be in demand 

 more than ever for we have more he- 

 roes to remember. IVERA. 



Early Planting. 



Our customers are much inclined to 

 leave the planting of their garden to 

 the end of May, or till all danger of 

 frost is over, a good plan with tender 

 plants like Coleus and Cannas. or those 

 that are injured by frost, such as our 

 common geraniums, but a waste of 

 time and opportunity with several of 

 our favorite plants. Tea roses, carna- 

 tions, hollyhocks, pansies and all 

 plants which endure our heavy frosts 

 of winter should be planted out at 

 once. You can save several weeks in 

 time and the plants do much better 

 than when transferred to the open 

 ground in semi-tropical weather. There 

 is a growing indication among our pa- 

 trons who have any garden at all to 

 want some plants that they "can pick 

 from." So be prepared with carna- 

 tions, heliotrope, pyrethrum, lemon 

 verbena, mignonette, tea roses and the 

 popular annuals. 



Thousands of hybrid perpetual roses 

 are planted annually with very poor 

 results. Worn out gardens are the 

 worst places for roses, but if the soil 

 is fresh and there is light and air, 

 what can be more satisfactory than 

 many of the tea roses. A good plant 

 from a 4-inch pot will begin to flower 

 In July and get better and better as 

 the season advances, and the finest 

 buds are picked long after our first 



light frosts. If winter kills them, the 

 loss is not more than that of a gera- 

 nium. Mermet and its beautiful sports 

 are not free enough for outside culture, 

 but the older varieties were a great 

 success. On a spot now covered with 

 glass, in a heavy clay loam, we have 

 cut from a few hundred plants cords 

 of Safrano, Sprunt. Duchess de Bra- 

 bant and Bon Silene. These old roses 

 are worth growing for this purpose 

 alone. Carnot is a fine summer rose, 

 and many of the old teas, difficult to 

 find except in nurserymen's catalogues, 

 will give great results. Hybrid per- 

 petual roses are too often 'very disap- 

 pointing; they should be under the 

 care of a gardener, not the "hired 

 man." They flower but a week or two, 

 the Manetti stock outgrows the rose, 

 and "what shall I do for the bugs on 

 my roses?" is heard all over the land. 

 I recommend tea, hybrid tea and Bour- 

 bon roses to my customers, with the 

 assurance that they will get more sat- 

 isfaction from them. The tree peddler 

 sells the H. P. because it is a larger 

 price and a larger flower. The de- 

 partment store sells them because they 

 want the same treatment in handling 

 as dried fish. 



Hot-Beds. 

 Even with the help of hot - beds, 

 which are a relief, it will be a very 

 •crowded time with us till we begin our 



