214 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



AUGUST 3, 1899. 



out subject. The best can always learn 

 something new. It is a matter which 

 depends on the capacity of intellect, 

 the evolving of ideas. There is noth- 

 ing to compare with the beauty result- 

 ing from proper application of thought 

 and material, and if it is now too late 

 to show anything at Detroit, let the 

 opportunity not be ignored next year. 



Seasonable Flowers. 



Extra fine flowers are scarce at pres- 

 ent. Roses are poor; there are few or 

 no Beauties; Maids and Brides are 

 small; Meteors are short; Victorias are 

 about the best rose obtainable, but 

 they are not suitable for everything. 

 Yes, it's fairly between crops on roses 

 and it's difficult to convince the aver- 

 age customer that good roses are very 

 scarce; still roses must be got and we 

 must make the best of what there is. 



If you send them loose, a little hard 

 grown Adiantum will add much to 

 them. If you make them up they must 

 be arranged closely to look like any- 

 thing, and if you can add a bunch of 

 valley at any time do so, for it hides 

 much of their poor quality. Good val- 

 ley can be had and it's about the choic- 

 est flower seen on the market. Valley, 

 Meteors and Adiantum is a combina- 

 tion that is very popular and it's the 

 proper thing for most occasions. 



Orchids, too, are scarce; here and 

 there some one may have a few cattle- 

 yas, but they're like the bird in the 

 bush when you want them most. Still, 

 they can be got and they are worth 

 from $9 to ?12 per dozen retail. Lap- 

 agerias are in this month, but they are 

 not grown as a commercial cut flower, 

 more's the pity. Dave Allan made 

 them famous in Boston. They are 

 grand flowers for decorative work and 

 they make the choicest bouquets. The 

 white one will go well with valley or 

 by itself for either corsage or bride's 

 bouquet or head spray. Of course their 

 own foliage cannot be used when in 

 bouquets, and the best green to go 

 with them is Adiantum Farleyense. 

 When arranging these flowers don't 

 have them flat; put them one above 

 the other. There are few things finer 

 than a good bouquet of pink lapager- 

 ias. if used in decoration put the 

 vines down and across the mirror, 

 where their waxy bell-shaped flowers 

 will show all their loveliness. 



Hydrangeas are at present the queen 

 of flowers at all our seaside resorts. 

 They are grand and finer and more 

 plentiful this year than ever. At New- 

 port they are the old standby of every- 

 thing floral; there one is always pre- 

 pared for any emergency if he has 

 hydrangeas or sweet peas, and the 

 same applies to every florist in the 

 country. The dinner tables of the 

 most exclusive set amongst the mil- 

 lionaires at Newport are very often 

 'i' i .rated with baskets of hydrangeas, 

 either pink or blue, or sweet peas. 



Tuberous begonias make a very ef- 

 fective table decoration. You ' can 

 either mix or keep the colors separate. 

 The best way is to use the plants; take 

 them out of the pots if necessary, and 



arrange them in some low dish or zinc 

 pan wherein you can keep them 

 soaked; no stakes should be seen and 

 a few fine blooms on the cloth will 

 finish off nicely. 



A few pretty flowers on the break- 

 fast or lunch table is all right provid- 

 ing they are not laboriously "fixed." 

 Just a low vase of nasturtiums or some 

 garden flower loosely arranged and 

 one or two that have fallen out, is all 

 that's needed. When flowers are put 

 in a sitting room, particularly at a 

 lady's desk, be very careful that their 

 odor is neither oppressive nor repug- 

 nant. Bright or sweet flowers are the 

 only ones you should use in such cases. 



Window Displays. 



There is not very much difference in 

 the window displays at present. In 

 Boston, Philadelphia and New York 

 aspidistras and vases or baskets are 

 the principal items used. Here and 

 there we noticed some fine displays of 

 gladiolus, and once in a while we see 

 a picturesque old vase filled with aur- 

 atums. At Saratoga we saw a fine 

 vase of lotus. At Newport sweet peas 

 form the principal window flowers. On 

 Broadway, New York, Thorley, Small 

 and Fleischmann keep very neat win- 

 dows. It isn't the quality of material 

 they use, it's the artistic way they ar- 

 range it. Very few flowers are needed 

 to make Small's windows pretty, be- 

 cause the bottom is of green tiling, 

 which we recommend to every florist. 

 In one window on Broadway a 

 feature is a water dish filled with 

 Venus fly trap (Dionea musci- 

 pula). Small's window this week 

 is very ai tistic though made up 

 of the commonest flowers. One fea- 

 ture is a mound of wild carrot flow- 

 ers (Seseli osseum), topped and 

 fringed with palms and a cluster of red 

 gladiolus at one side; it's an example 

 of what can be done with the simplest 

 materials. 



Wild Flowers. 



And whilst we are on wild flowers 

 we wish to emphasize the importance 

 of a closer acquaintance with many 

 of our native flowers. Many of them 

 are very beautiful and should be cul- 

 tivated for commercial use. No florist 

 need be short of material if he is in, 

 or within easy reach, of the country. 

 Wild carrot is good for "ground work." 

 the tall Meadow Rue (Thalietrum pol- 

 vganum) is splendid for vases with 

 other flowers, or good for "base work." 

 Eryngium planum, or E. coeruleum, 

 makes elegant foliage for blue corn 

 flowers. Carex stricta is a grass we 

 could often use to advantage with 

 gladiolus and such flowers. The grey- 

 headed cone flower (Ratibida pinnata) 

 is a lovely yellow flower fine for vases. 

 Nearly all the rudbeckias are useful. 

 Brauneria purpurea is the most showy 

 flower out at present; they are good 

 for vases; its orange and' lavender 

 flowers are very odd. Penstemon bar- 

 batus i> very beautiful and useful for 

 table, vases or baskets. 



Ascelepias tuberosa is the grandest 



orange colored flower to be had; it 

 ought to be forced for winter use along 

 with Asclepias pulchra. There is not a 

 finer little white flower than Euphor- 

 bia corrallata; it's grand, and lasts a 

 long time; fine for funeral work. These 

 flowers are valuable now because oth- 

 ers are either monotonous or scarce, 

 and it's our desire to see more variety 

 grown. Nowadays if one wishes any- 

 thing novel or choice the market is 

 not the place to search for it; visit 

 some old-fashioned garden, herbace- 

 ous grounds or wild meadows; you 

 are sure to find something interesting, 

 and when you see a good thing don't 

 forget it, but have some grown for an- 

 other season. Pancratiums are extra 

 good for funeral work, and if arranged 

 judiciously will pass for white orchids. 



Plants. 



It's a good time to figure on how 

 you will have your plants fixed for next 

 season. There will not be much that's 

 new in the way of decorative plants, 

 but growers are anxious to find out 

 what will go best. The American pub- 

 lic is becoming more critical in the 

 matter of house plants; the days of 

 cheap hurry-up-grown stock are fast 

 declining. The man who grows good 

 hardy palms will get a good price for 

 them. Every fall you will notice that 

 a lot of rushed-up-stock is dumped on 

 the market through the auction marts; 

 there are what may be called "con- 

 sumptives." Retailers should be care- 

 ful to avoid much of this class of 

 stock; some of it is O. K. if you have 

 glass under which to nurse it, but be- 

 ware of it for the store. 



In the way of palms, kentias will al- 

 ways lead here because they stand 

 the dust and other difficulties in house 

 culture. The best large kentias are 

 scarce and they will bring good prices. 

 Try a few made-up plants; this style 

 of having your plants furnished well 

 to the pot is becoming very popular. 

 Don't mix the varieties and don't wait 

 till the last day to fix them; have them 

 specially grown and ready. There will 

 always be a demand for Areca lutes- 

 cens, because it is the most beautiful 

 of all palms, especially when in large 

 specimens. The trouble with this palm, 

 however, is that it is not grown cold 

 enough. There is one firm near Phil- 

 adelphia that makes a specialty of are- ■ 

 cas, and it's a pleasure to look at the 

 stock grown there. Cocos Weddeliana. 

 unless intended for ferneries, should 

 be grouped 3 or 4 in a pot; they sell 

 better that way. There is an abun- 

 dance of small Cycas revoluta on the 

 market; these are useful where they 

 can be cut up for funeral work. Liv- 

 istona rotundifolia will be in demand; 

 last year it was very scarce; it is a 

 splendid little palm, suitable for table 

 work or where low effects are wanted, 

 and will stand well if cool grown; if 

 'tis not, it's precarious stock to han- 

 dle. 



Branched ficus will be good to have 

 on hand; the long, spindly ones are 

 seldom wanted nowadays. Phoenix 



