JUNE 7, 1900. 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



35 



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...THE... 

 RETAIL FLORIST. 



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New York Windows. 



The florist's window is always a 

 matter of great interest to almost 

 everybody. Many florists look upon 

 the time and expense used in making 

 them presentable as so much thrown 

 away; they imagine the people will 

 come and buy flowers independent of 

 window displays. Perhaps it is so, 

 but the people were attracted first in 

 some way and that was by the win- 

 dow. Did you yourself ever go out 

 and study what attracts the eye of 

 the general public most? No matter 

 in what line of business it may be, 

 that which is artistically arranged not 

 only gives pleasure to the beholder 

 but induces a more substantial pat- 

 ronage, and this applies more to the 

 florist than any other, for when people 

 are tired of looking at the humdrum 

 of general commodities, their eyes 

 love to rest on beautiful flowers; that's 

 where they get a full interpretation of 

 "a thing of beauty is a joy forever." 



The florist's window is an expen- 

 sive luxury, but its proper mainte- 

 nance is not only desirable — it is nec- 

 essary, and no good business man or 

 woman can ignore its importance. The 

 methods employed are as variable as 

 other things requiring thought, each 

 no doulit having qualities measured 

 by individual taste or capacity of see- 

 ing. Florists' stores or shops in this 

 country differ very much from those 

 of Europe, and in no point more so 

 than in window displays. Here, of 

 course, owing to very hot weather, it 

 is necessary to keep many of our finest 

 flowers in ice-boxes, and many hy- 

 percritical people will not buy flowers 

 which are shown in windows, whereas 

 in Europe everything is put in the 

 window and the price, too, is usually 

 shown. This method has been and 

 still is occasionally tried here, and the 

 results are scarcely s.itisfactory. 

 Americans care not for price; if they 

 want a thing they buy it, and in many 

 cases to see and admire means to pur- 

 chase. By this we don't wish it un- 

 derstood that it is necessary to make 

 your window display merely an index 

 of the stock you may have, for the 

 average customer goes into your store 

 expecting to be able to get any kind 

 of flowers or plants there. A shabby 

 window will turn him away from your 

 door or cause her to doubt the qual- 

 ity of your flowers, both of which 

 should be avoided. 



There are many ways to look at 

 window decorations and much of it 

 depends on location and cii'cum- 



stance. The vast majority of florists 

 will remain satisfied with the same old 

 way of conducting affairs merely be- 

 cause they are making a living or try- 

 ing to, and ambition is dwarfed like a 

 Japanese shrub. This class are not 

 justified in judging the appreciat on 

 of others. But thei-e are a great num- 

 ber of progressive fiorists who3e am- 

 bition is boundless; they are always 

 on the watch for improvement. It 

 is they who have made the business 

 what it is and it is always a pleasure 

 to be with them. 



Now, it can in no wise be consid- 

 ered egotistical to assert that New 

 York will always be the art center of 

 this continent; it is safe to pred'ct 

 that she is destined to be to the 

 world in every other art what she 

 is even to-day in floriculture, and this 

 means no discredit anywhere, for we 

 know the very best of artists can be 

 found in obscure towns, but wealth 

 is continually concentrating and cen- 

 tralizing in New York; wealth in- 

 dulges in luxury and that usually de- 

 mands the best that is; consequently, 

 whilst just as good in everything may 

 be seen elsewhere, the eyes and ears 

 of the progressive will always be 

 turned to the metropolis. In this way 

 we endeavor to inform you of a few 

 important items, and this time it is 

 of window displa.vs. 



Whilst Broadway may boast of some 

 of the finest florists' stores in the 

 world. <ind there is no doubt that 

 many of the grandest products in flow- 

 ers are exclusively seen there and for 

 which very high prices are obtained, 

 yet it is a mistaken idea to imagine 

 that all the highest grade of trade or 

 stores in New York are located on this 

 thoroughfare. Fifth, Madison and Co- 

 lumbus avenues have many handsome 

 stores and much of the best family 

 trade is done by them. Visitors and 

 general out-of-town customers are of 

 course more quickly attracted by glit- 

 ter, and Broadway, between 14th and 

 47th streets, can safely be said to be 

 the most brilliantly illuminated street 

 to be seen anywhere; there is nothicg 

 to compare with it and most of the 

 florists' stores there keep open ti'.I 10 

 p, ni. New York windows are often 

 very attractive; there is so much rush- 

 ing life that it is necessary to make 

 them specially so, if notice is looked 

 for. Very little "made-up" work is 

 shown; the greater part of material 

 employed in recent window decoration 

 has been of the simplest kind and very 

 well it looks, if there is any degree 

 of skill shown in the arranging. For 



the past month some of the Broad- 

 way stores have made special displays 

 of branches of flowering trees and 

 shrubs, and whilst the primary object 

 may have been window embellish- 

 ment, these blossoms have no doubt 

 given birth to many a beautiful idea 

 and won many a wedding order, for 

 this kind of material has been and 

 will be used more this year than ever 

 before. 



One store has a water tank filled 

 with nymphaeas, another shows a 

 group of hydrangeas, and very well 

 it looks too, especially on hot days. 

 There is a remarkable absence of the 

 choicer varieties of herbaceous flow- 

 ers; scarcely any but the very com- 

 monest sorts are seen, for the reason 

 that growers still hang on to the stock 

 their fathers left behind them, or what 

 they themselves could get for almost 

 nothing. Not one per cent of the 

 New York retailers grow any part of 

 their own stock; all depend on the 

 market. Once in a while we notice a 

 special display of one kind of flower — 

 it is usually of orchids; a few weeks 

 back hundreds of Cattleya Mossiae 

 were thus used, principally in small 

 glasses. At present Cattleya Men- 

 delii fu'-nishes the greater part of 

 orchid displays and some very fine 

 blooms are seen. Most stores show 

 mixed windows, that is, a variety of 

 flowers in vases; in these sweet peas, 

 carnations, antirrhinums, pansies, etc., 

 form the greater part. To a small 

 florist perhaps this method of display- 

 ing goods is quite essential; they de- 

 pend on the customer choosing from 

 the window. The store with a reputa- 

 tion, and even the poorest, may often 

 l)e benefited by a simple showing of 

 one kind of fiower. In this way two 

 points are to be considered— artistic 

 arrangement or quality of fiowers. 



There has been quite a lot of mixed 

 colored cornflowers shown this sea- 

 son; they are very pretty, the yellow 

 ones being especially rich. As the 

 weather gets warmer this class of 

 flowers becomes more valuable be- 

 cause they have lasting qualities. 

 Paeonies have been and will continue 

 to be the most showy and cheap flower 

 to use, but rarely do we see any of 

 the flnest named varieties. P. offi- 

 cinalis rubra and one or two of the 

 commonest pink and white sorts are 

 nearly all we ever see on the market. 

 Chicago seems to be far ahead of all 

 other cities in the matter of paeony 

 culture. 



There is quite considerable rivalry 

 among some New York florists in the 

 matter of window displays. They try 

 to avoid similarity and the endeavor 

 often creates Ijeautiful results. Fine 

 lialms are usually used for a back- 

 .mound and it isn't always the quantity 

 of flowers, but the manner of arrange- 

 ment, which counts most. At this 

 time of the year, when flowers are 

 plentiful and of great variety, it is an 

 easy matter to keep up a creditable 

 show at small cost. The herbaceous 

 garden at present supplies an abund- 



