548 



The Weekly Florists' Review* 



OCTOBER n, 1900. 



SO fine, that a well arranged and suit- 

 able group of evergreens will not still 

 more beautify. In the winter, when 

 all is cold and bleak, the eye loves to 

 rest on nature's green; there is noth- 

 ing man can make that nature can- 

 not make more beautiful, and the full 

 force of this truth should be in the 

 eyes, tongue and finger tips of every 

 florist. When a plant appears ugly 

 it is only because it is misapplied or 

 ill-grown. [^ 



Group Planting. 



There are many occasions where we 

 are either called upon to or could sug- 

 gest the planting of groups of conifers 

 In front gardens or in the rear yards, 

 and in this case a variety of colors 

 will most often give the greater 

 satisfaction, and with the immense 

 variety of this stock obtainable at 

 present in almost all the principal 

 nurseries, the very finest grade of 

 work is made possible. Of course, 

 there is little room for the working 

 out of landscapers' dreams in the 

 average city yard, and you will surely 

 blunder if you attempt any such 

 schemes. Your work must of neces- 

 sity be of a formal nature, not neces- 

 sarily too stiff nor regular; the work, 

 in being compact, as it must be. need 

 not have the appearance of being 

 clipped into shape. Plant the same 

 as you would for the effect to be got 

 from summer plants. Aim for sym- 

 metry and beauty, let each variety 

 show its best in form and color. 



For beds or groups, it depends on 

 the size, of course, but the majority 

 of retinosporas, biotas, piceas, abies 

 and thuyas are suitable, and the sizes 

 can be got to furnish down to the 

 ground. For our part, when extensive 

 planting is to be done, we prefer 

 grouping each variety by itself, more 

 particularly in vase work. Wherever 

 it is possible to procure finely trained 

 specimens, it pays to buy them. It 

 is not always possible to get these, 

 though, and in that case made-up 

 plants can be made to look almost as 

 good. A fine-shaped hemlock, Picea 

 pungens, P. Nordmanniana or Abies 

 excelsa, A. Douglasii. A. excelsa con- 

 ica or Retinospora filifera, or, in fact. 

 any of the shapely evergreens, will 

 look much better in a vase than a mix- 

 ture and too apparent overcrowding of 

 others. 



Vas«s and Boxes. 



In very cold places pines or Norway 

 spruces are best to use. but where 

 there are several vases, have one kind 

 in each, the hardiest where the wind 

 blows fiercest. In the arrangement 

 of window boxes, remember that peo- 

 ple want to look out; though you had 

 better put thin pyramidal plants like 

 Irish juniper or Irish yews at each 

 end of the box. the plants in the cen- 

 ter should be low, no higher than 12 

 or 14 inches, and though the side 



facing the street should be best, the 

 back should also be well furnished. 



There is an endless variety of thuy- 

 as and retinosporas of every hue and 

 color suitable for box work, and the 

 smaller they are the better. Pot- 

 grown ivy or Euonymus radicans or 

 Vinca minor for vines will stand well 

 if properly planted. Ivy has been very 

 successful in the window boxes, etc., 

 in New York the past summer, and it 

 would be wise to disturb such as little 

 as possible when putting in ever- 

 greens. This work should be done 

 now or as soon as possible. If you 

 inform your regular customers that 

 conifers planted now will last better, 

 they will let the work be done, and 

 it will be better and easier for you 

 to have it done while the weather is 

 warm and trade is dull. 



Make a display yourself. 



Your own doorway or window front 

 will look all the better with an in- 

 expensive embellishment of ever- 

 greens in pots, boxes or vases. If 

 you display goods, the people can see 

 them and be encouraged to buy. If 

 a person will spend $10 or $20 to have 

 a box or vase filled with plants to 

 last three months in summer, they 

 may easily be induced to spend at 

 least half that much to have the same 

 things filled with plants that will 

 look pretty the usual five months of 

 winter. Let us encourage these per- 

 manent winter decorations, for they 

 do immense good; they encourage a 

 love of plants all the year around. 

 Don't imagine that the florist's busi- 

 ness is confined to indoor decoration 

 in winter and outdoor in summer. 



There should be a strong endeavor 

 to induce every wealthy person, every 

 municipal or governmental authority, 

 to use evergreen decorations in the 

 buildings and small parks, and par- 

 ticularly the schools, in winter. Sum- 

 mer's landscapes are made glorious 

 by nature, man often attempts to em- 

 phasize that wealth of beauty, whilst 

 in winter man's ambition seems to 

 shrink within him and dismal bleak- 

 ness is made more awful by silence 

 and inactivity. Encourage the use of 

 evergreens in the cities during winter 

 and thus furnish sources of pleasure 

 when most needed. IVERA. 



FERNS FOR FERN DISHES. 



At the last meeting of the Chicago 

 Florsts' Club. Mr. A. McAdams read 

 an interesting paper upon "Small ferns 

 for fern dishes." He said: "Judging 

 from the way trade is opening this fall 

 fern dishes will remain as popular as 

 ever. Whether they are as profitable 

 to the florist as cut flowers would be 

 for the same purpose I question. If 

 our customers would allow us to use 

 the more delicate and graceful varie- 

 ties they would be more profitable to 

 us. but they are not satisfied unless 



we guarantee their fernery to last for 

 from six months to a year. Then they 

 put them in a darkened dining room 

 and there are very few ferns that will 

 stand such treatment. 



"The pteris family is the most useful 

 for this purpose. There are many 

 sorts that can be kept in a dwarf con- 

 dition, such as is necessary, for a 

 longer time than other ferns. Besides 

 the pterises there are only four other 

 large fronded sorts which will stand 

 the dry atmosphere of the modern 

 home. First there is Asplenium fal- 

 catum; second. Lastrea Opaca; third, 

 Nephrodium hirtipes; fourth, Polypo- 

 dium carcaranium. These make a 

 variety, which is necessary to a well 

 filled dish. 



"It is well to have some light 

 colored foliage and there are four 

 variegated varieties of pteris to use. 

 The best one. P. cristata variegata, is 

 always scai-ce. Victoriae and Mayii 

 are rather dwarf in habit. P. argyraea 

 is too sensitive to a dry atmosphere. 

 One which I find is better adapted to 

 this purpose is Bierata argentea, which 

 is not so light in color as argyraea, 

 but is harder and more compact in 

 growth. 



"We use Cocos Weddelliana for the 

 centers when we can get the price. 

 The following also can be used for 

 centers: Small Kentias, Dracaena 

 Sanderiana and Pandanus Veitchii; 

 also small plants of Nephrolepis cor- 

 data compacta and N. Phillipinense. 

 Both varieties of asparagus are good, 

 in fact too good as they last too long. 

 .\ customer came into the sore a few 

 days ago with a fern dish which she 

 said we filled for her in October of 

 last year and it was looking fairly 

 well; it had grown taller. By filling 

 that fernery we lost the profit of 

 several fillings. It had been filled 

 eight times the year before. That 

 was one instance of where it was not 

 profitable to advocate asparagus for 

 this purpose. 



"The following are the varieties of 

 pteris which we use the most. There 

 are no doubt many other good ones 

 with which I am not familiar; 



"Pteris cretica Wimsetti. 



"Pteris cretica magnifica. 



"Pteris serrulata cristata. 



"Pteris serrulata lacerata. 



"Pteris serrulata nana. 



"Pteris Smithae (an improvement 

 on tremula). 



"Pteris Ouvrardii. 



"Pteris Palmata. 



"There is one adiantum which I 

 forgot but would like to mention, 

 namely, Adiantum capillus-veneris." 



In the discussion that followed Mr. 

 E. Wienhoeber spoke of Pteris tensi- 

 mense, which he found to last well. Mr. 

 McAdams said he had had it but that 

 with him it did not show good lasting 

 qualities. Apropos of this Mr. Wien- 

 hoeber said he had noted that some 

 sorts lasted well with some customers 



