ArJtii- i:;. I'.m. 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



595 



Composed and Photographed by Mr W T i;ell, Frankhn, I'a. 



EASTER AND AFTER. 



Don't fret if you have a few plants 

 left over at Easter. Some things you 

 can cut and introduce into boxes of 

 cut flowers, and others will come in 

 handy for decorations. It will do you 

 no good, however, to have small rem- 

 nants or half-faded looking stock 

 hanging around your store. Don't 

 throw it away; send it to some chari- 

 table institution. Many sensitive and 

 conceited florists when they have lots 

 of stock left on an occasion like this 

 hide it and pretend they have .sold 

 out: it's foolish to do so, for many a 

 good sale can be made after the rush 

 is over. 



Monday morning early the window- 

 should be washed and store cleaned 

 thoroughly, all the unsalable plants 

 put where they will not be seen in the 

 back of the store, and whatever good 

 stock you have left should be semi- 

 carelessly arranged in the window or 

 about the store; no need for fancy dis- 

 plays, but there is for cleanliness and 

 the general appearance of having 

 everything neat and fresh. The best 

 of your customers are apt to visit yo\i 

 Raster Monday to arrange for some 

 ilfeeoration, and nothing will please 

 them better than fresh flowers and a 

 clean store. 



We forgot, in last week's notes, to 

 say a word for your help. See to it 

 that they get something to eat; if you 

 cannot afford to let them go out for 

 meals have it brought to them: don't 

 be inhuman and forget reason in your 

 mad chase after profits. Good, intelli- 

 gent help is getting scarce in the flower 

 business; if you have any respect it. 



There will be a plentiful crop of wed- 

 dings and other festivities from now 

 on, and it behooves you to do your best 

 on every occasion be it great or small. 

 You needn't be "up-to-date"; you can 

 be far ahead of it by leaving trashy 

 subterfuges alone, and giving the peo- 

 ple good and natural looking decora- 

 tions. We happen not lo be of that 

 species which can tell you how, but 

 not be able to do it ourselves. At the 

 recent exhibition of the American Rose 

 Society at New York we arranged the 

 mantel and the mirror decorations, 

 winning first prizes for both. We are 

 sorry it was impossible to give you 

 illustrations of either: our designs 

 were simple, but you are sure to win 

 anywhere with them if they are done 

 properly. 



Get a good, long climbing rose, with 

 plenty of foliage, have a stout wire 

 branched tree made (just a simple 

 long steel wire any length desired, 



with a few Irregular steel wires sold- 

 ered on to it), put the end In the pot, 

 fasten the top to the mirror or man- 

 tel and then tie the rose branches to 

 the wires and make it appear as if 

 growing there. Don't have it formal, 

 make a branch hang outwards, another 

 acro.ss the mirror, one long, and a little 

 from the bottom, and so on. The idea 

 is not to have a curtain or frame or 

 anything that appears the work of a 

 nicchanie; you must copy nature and 

 make this look like a naturally grow- 

 ing climbing rose. Get some of the 

 green glasses, such as Reed & Keller 

 or Kift offers for sale (those detached 

 and with holes to be hung by are the 

 only ones suitable for this work), fill 

 them with water and tie them at ir- 

 regular intervals on the tree: into 

 Fliese put your roses in a manner suit- 

 able to the occasion; wire a few bloom? 

 and attach them to the end of the 

 branches, and here and there between 

 the glasses. Onlv one colored rose 

 can be used: nothing mu.st be seen but 

 flower and foliage. 



A good vase of roses can be put at 

 one side of the mantel shelf, some of 

 the blooms falling over, but a spray of 

 growing foliage should also be across 

 the shelf, frepe papers, ribbons or 

 any tom-foolerv must not be put near 

 this work. Wash the pot clean, and 

 even if you cannot cover it with small 

 rose plants, it will not detract from 

 your work. It isn't necessary for you 

 to cover up every piece of woodwork 

 on the frame: pay attention to your 

 own design, use nft other kind of green. 



You must create the effect of a beau- 

 tiful climbing rose in full bloom. If 

 you have no Ramblers you can manu- 

 facture one out of small plants, or even 

 cut foliage, which must be well wat- 

 ered before using. This method of 

 decorating is suitable for all occasions 

 and is adaptable to all forms and 

 places— arches, wedding arbors, frieze 

 work, etc., etc. It is the style of the 

 future, it encourages a greater use of 

 plants and flowers, less artificial hum- 

 bug. You might think you can im- 

 prove on what you see in nature some- 

 times, but you only mistake. There Is 

 more beauty in her extreme simplicity 

 than in your far-fetched and nonde- 

 scrip works; recognize this and suc- 

 ceed. 



There is a woeful lack of the right 

 foliage in basket and in general work 

 wherf> roses predominate. If you have 

 hybrid roses in pots soak them well 

 and stick a few extra roses In them. 

 A design like this in a jardiniere or 

 pot basket can be made prettier than 

 a basket of ciit roses. There are many 

 times when it pays to cut pot grown 

 plants for use as foliage in vases of 

 roses. More pot grown roses should 

 be used in baskets and in general de- 

 sign work instead of smilax, aspara- 

 gus, or foreign greens. 



There will be a vast amount of flow- 

 •n-ing plants used in decorations this 

 spring, because there will be quite a 

 few, particularly lilies, left over from 

 Raster. When you go to decorate a 



