558 



The Weekly Florists^ Review, 



OCTOBER 



Structure you can build. Another dis- 

 advantage is that it necessitates build- 

 ing benches against the front and 

 back wall, which is an abomination in 

 every respect and to be earnestly 

 avoided in houses where cut flowers 

 are grown. Then again some of your 

 benches must be raised by an elabo- 

 rate and expensive method; if not, 

 you have not the slightest pretext to 



build such a house. I say, and I sin- 

 cerely invite convincing contradiction, 

 that the equal span is the best house; 

 most simple to build, easiest to venti- 

 late, much the best to heat, and giving 

 the greatest diffusion of light to every 

 plant in the house. The equal span 

 can be 18 or 19 feet wide with two 

 benches, or 22 or 23 with three bench- 

 es. WM. SCOTT. 



This is the time for chrysanthe- 

 mums, they are plentiful everywhere 

 and it is a good flower from any point 

 of view. The small country florist 

 who grows his own stock finds it the 

 best of all flowers, for the time being, 

 because it is showy, keeps well, and 

 is easy to arrange. There has been so 

 much written and said about decora- 

 tions that the very word seems stale, 

 and yet the school of floriculture never 

 closes, and we must give continuous 

 examples. 



To the country florist we say that 

 with mums you can do any form of 

 decoration, but there are occasions 

 when experiments are disastrous, and 

 it would often pay you better to lay 

 your flowers loose in a box with some 

 greens and let your customers arrange 

 them themselves. This is not because 

 you are a country florist, for the same 

 rule applies to the best appointed city 

 establishment, but because many peo- 

 ple find pleasure in fixing flowers, and 

 then again there are colors which fight, 

 with one another and sometimes they 

 will get together you know. Now it 

 seems almost needless to tell you that 

 the woods can furnish you with an 

 abundance of grand decorative mater- 

 ial, but we cannot emphasize it too 

 much. There will be lots of time yet 

 for your smilax and asparagus, they 

 shine out best when snow is on the 

 ground; for the present. Autumn fol- 

 iage comes first. You must not imag- 

 ine that because this material is plen- 

 tiful and cheap that it is not appre- 

 ciated. It is in the arranging that 

 flowers and foliage gain or lose in val- 

 ue, and the best test for artistic abil- 

 ity is to produce a fine effect from poor 

 materials. 



But let us get at our orders — we 

 have a table to decorate for break- 



fast or luncheon, and we must bear in 

 mind that simple forms of arrange- 

 ments are most suitable for these oc- 

 casions; that is put your flowers in 

 vases loose and unconventional and 

 you can mix your colors. Just put one 

 or two nice sprays of colored leaves 

 on the vase, but none on the cloth. 

 Decorations for breakfast or luncheon 

 should never look nor be overdone. 

 A loose bunch of tall mums with one 

 or two of your finest flowers bent on . 

 the side of the ^vase is all that is re- 

 quired and if you have any pompons 

 you can put a spray alongside the 

 plates; the lady or gentleman may 

 want to wear one, if so let them fix it 

 themselves. 



For afternoon teas sometimes more 

 elaborate forms are called for, and the 

 poor artist must rack his brain over 

 some knick-knack creation to please 

 the ladies. It is safe to suggest, or talk 

 a lot about Japanese art for these af- 

 fairs, though you must know there is 

 very little in Japanese art suitable for 

 American taste, and if you were to 

 faithfully copy the Japanese, you 

 would be ridiculed. I don't mean to 

 insinuate that the Japs are not thor- 

 oughly artistic, but they have a semi- 

 religious way and meaning in fixing 

 flowers that would not be understood 

 here, and your labors would be lost. 

 Still you can Americanize, that is im- 

 prove these Japanese customs, and 

 they will rather increase in beauty. 



Now in most of the homes of the 

 wealthy they have Japanese rooms, 

 and in such rooms these afternoon 

 teas are usually given; therefore you 

 must carefully study the surroundings, 

 the colors, and most of all the vases. 

 You will flnd that red and blue are the 

 predominant colors in all .lapanese 

 decorations. Made-up baskets rnd 



stiff designs are all out of place here. 

 You must only put a few of your very 

 finest mums in each vase, and a spr.ay 

 of well colored ampelopsis or delicate 

 vine. 



Don't cover up valuable vases and 

 don't fix your flowers to stand up like 

 broomsticks; a graceful bend in them, 

 even if the bend must be artificially 

 made, will enhance the effect. Yellow, 

 white, crimson and bronze colors can 

 be used, and you may or may not 

 bring out the best features by keep- 

 ing your colors separate, it all depends 

 on the surroundings and the color of 

 the vase, but in all cases your flowers 

 must have long stems, and it is prefer- 

 able to have a vase or two of pom- 

 pons and anemones, just to bring out 

 the beauties of the big fellows — and 

 renjember one of your very largest 

 flowers for each lady. RilDbons are 

 out of place in a Japanese room just 

 as much as great masses of flowers 

 are, and if it is required to decorate 

 the room with greens be careful to use 

 light vine-like material and avoid 

 formal or set forms. 



Of course you will be called up to 

 furnish other forms of decorations for 

 five o'clock teas and when you are it 

 is safe to suggest the use of one color 

 such as all pink, or all yellow chry- 

 santhemums, and try and have your 

 flowers all one shade, if not all one 

 variety, and still use vases, if they are 

 common cover them with Autumn 

 leaves. If you use ribbon on the flow- 

 er or flowers intended for the guest 

 (and they should never be more than 

 3 or 4 fine flowers) then use very nar- 

 now ribbon. No. IV2 or No. 2, and make 

 a double or star bow of it half way 

 down the stems, the ribbon must eith- 

 er match the flower or the foliage. 



We will have more to say about 

 mums in next issue, let us attend to 

 other flowers now. Acalypha Sanderi 

 is shown in many New York windows 

 and attracts considerable attention. 

 ■^Tiat its future will be depends a good 

 deal on how it will be grown; it's a 

 good novelty and whilst it may be ex- 

 tensively used as specimens at Christ- 

 mas and Easter, it will be limited in 

 adaptability as a cut flower. 



Orchids form the main feature in the 

 window decoration of the principal 

 stores. In one we notices a very hand- 

 some suspended mass of Dendrobium 

 phalaenopsis arranged in muss. In an- 

 other a flat basket fixed llKe a swing 

 with broad white ribbon, the basket 

 filled with Cattleya labiata. In one 

 prominent window are two life size fig- 

 ures of colored gents grinning at an 

 arrangement of orchids on an old hat. 

 Some New York florists are fond of 

 colored gents and bells and brass. 



Orange blossoms are exceedingly 

 scarce, but we must have them. Some- 

 times you can't get them and jasmine 

 is used as the next best; if that fails 

 j'OU, then get some valley or Bouvardia 

 Humboldti — anything berore you dis- 

 appoint the lovely bride on her wed- 

 ding day. All your decorations amount 



