TheWeekly Florists^ Review* 



247 



^ THE RETAIL 



FLORIST 



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Sununer Decorations. 



Summer decorations afford innumer- 

 able opportunities for displaying all the 

 ingenuity and artistic ability of the pro- 

 fessional decorator. There are many in- 

 .-tauces where individuals have become 

 wealthy and famous as society leaders 

 by their powers of absorption and appli- 

 cation of ideas. The great demand for 

 novelty is responsible for many fakes or 

 satires on good taste, yet withal it 

 l>rings forth much that is good, though 

 it frequently occurs that the sill}' and 

 ;tnd incongruous is preferred to that 

 u'hich is really good. 



Selection depends on the many little 

 uhims and fancies common to our 

 wealthy people. Very often some over- 

 rated and unctuous pet of society, whose 

 fountain of knowledge is supplied by oth- 

 ers' brains, is given charge of affairs, 

 with the result that not only is the ex- 

 perienced decorator liandicapped and ex- 

 asperated by a nuisance, but the credit 

 <if his work and ideas are deliberately 

 >tolen from him. Notwithstanding all 

 the present drawbacks, we believe there 

 is a bright future for the florist who 

 makes a careful study of decorative art, 

 and is equal to emergencies as they arise. 



The matter of summer decorations nas 

 been very much neglected. We feel as- 

 sured that if people knew how mxich de- 

 lightful beauty could be gotten up at 

 small cost, there would be vastly more 

 pleasure attached to summer festivities. 

 There is a general feeling of antipathy 

 toward pretention and studied formality 

 among a large class at certain times, and 

 a knowledge of moods and what is cor- 

 rect under all circumstances is very nec- 

 essary to success. There are, though, a 

 great many who seek show and glitter 

 for the most trivial occasion, and one 

 needs to study people almost as much as 

 art. 



In many American cities and in al- 

 most every American summer resort 

 there is an increasing demand for the 

 >ervices of those capable of designing 

 and executing decorative schemes for car- 

 nivals, garden fetes, banquets and all 

 manner of festivals. There is room for 

 much improvement and greater develop- 

 ment along these lines. To our mind the 

 florist, whose eye is color trained, is the 

 most competent person to take charge 

 of such matters. Mistakes are frequent- 

 ly made by an overprofuse use of one's 

 l>et material ; this is a common occur- 

 lence at most large affairs. It was ap- 

 ])arent to anyone except an electrician 

 that the inaugural ball decorations at 

 Washington last March were' spoiled by 

 the excessive use of electric lights. 



In cases where a flag decorator is per- 

 mitted full sway nothing else gets a 

 chance, and we must admit that some 

 florists spoil their work by shutting out 

 materials other than that commonly sold 

 f'n their own narrow market. Composite 

 decorations, where each element is used 

 in a way to bring out the full beautj- of 

 the other, and help to emphasize the ef- 

 fect of the who'e, are the only successful 



ones. In fact, the day is gone when one 

 sided decorations are capable of eliciting 

 even a small degree of commendation. 



There should be a vast difference in the 

 color scheme of winter and summer 

 decorations; all should be in accord with 

 dress, furnishings and the general spirit 

 of the season; what might be classed as 

 luridly out of place in winter, is most 

 appropriate in summer when gayety runs 

 riot among, and finds rest, too, in all 

 that is brightest. This is impressively 

 exemplified in the tones and hues of sum- 

 mer flora. The extreme severity of 

 Aiberican weather, and the continuous 

 demand for certain high grade flowers 

 requires an all year round greenhouse 

 cultivation of such, and whilst under ex- 

 isting circumstances all manner of flow- 

 ers are more or less of necessity consid- 

 ered appropriate, the day will come, and 

 come soon, when more attention and ap- 

 preciation will be given to the many 

 floral gems that belong strictly to the 

 American garden. 



July and August are the months when 

 flowers are scarcest in this country, not 

 because it is impossible to produce them, 

 but that there is a wrong idea prevalent 

 that it doesn't pay to grow them. 



Of course, in most all pretentious 

 decorations electricity plays a most im- 



bination, are most generally used with la- 

 mentable results. The most etfeetive 

 way is to get away from formal lines and 

 to group the colors. There should be a 

 dominant or prevailing color in every 

 decoration. Variety is desirable and can 

 be provided, but care should be taken 

 to have the whole harmonize. It doesn't 

 matter whether it be for a public city 

 carnival, a garden party or a house 

 dance, the same rule applies. It is much 

 better to have the lights put inside Jap- 

 anese lanterns, or covers easily made 

 from crepe paper or cloth, and where 

 grounds or roadways are to be illumi- 

 nated one-inch or one and one-half-inch 

 caliper trees can be cut from swamps and 

 stuck in the ground where desired, and 

 groups of lamps hung upon them. 



Almost every country house has its 

 veranda or piazza which can be made very 

 attractive. Screens can be made with 

 colored cheese cloth on a light wooden 

 frame; trim these with a few vines and 

 a cluster of ferns; where a blank space 

 has to be covered cheese cloth or bunting 

 may be used to advantage as a back- 

 groundi. Red, yellow and green are the 

 most suitable colors, but they should be 

 kept sufficiently apart and the same or 

 contrasting tones used with them, lliere 

 is an abundance of foliage procurable ev- 

 erywhere in summer and cool restiul ef- 

 fects can be produced by a plentiful use 

 of it, but stiff garlands or ropea are out 

 of place. 



I'antastie Porto Rican carnival hats 

 tied with bands or loops of bright ribbon 

 can be arfanged in groups and utilized 

 by guests or made to hold loose clusters 

 of flowers. Fans can be had in all shapes 

 and colors, and even the cheapest when 

 tied with a bit of bright ribbon is a 

 pretty and acceptable feature. Sus- 



The building in which the Buffalo Convention will be held. 



portant part, and the possibilities with 

 that element become greater every 

 year — even now it has become a nec- 

 essary adjunct — but whilst an elec- 

 trician may be necessary to attend to the 

 \viring, it "by no mean's follows that he 

 .should be permitted to dictate as to ulti- 

 mate results; he is prone to follow too 

 formal lines and to make a stew with 

 color. In the majority of cases where 

 lights are used for decorative effect, red, 

 white and blue, or attempts at that eom- 



pended baskets or pans of Boston fern 

 or Asparagus Sprengeri always look 

 well, and there is nothing finer than large 

 plants i>i rich co'ored caladiums. 



In many places it is possible to use 

 small fountains, the surroimdings of 

 which i iiM in- all green with a few 

 watii ! - III ilic basin. Seats arranged 

 in tri- 'I,- ta~lii"n can be placed so as 

 to eiial.:. giiotn to rest where th€>y can 

 see and enjoy some distinctive section of 

 your work. 



