Decemeek 19, 1901. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



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THE RETAIL 



FLORIST 



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CHRISTMAS SUGGESTIONS. 



A very busy and a Merry Christmas 

 to all. Be good natured, cool, clear- 

 headed, active and face the rush like 

 men and women; it won't last long, and 

 do the best you can. The great depart- 

 ment stores have educated the American 

 people up to the mauling of goods and 

 the contemptuous treatment of salespeo- 

 ple; it is a condition we must recognize 

 and tolerate, so have patience or treat 

 with respect for your own sake the crank 

 and capture all the business you can. 



Get your grower to supply you with 

 some of his bright young men to care 

 for your plants or handle your flowers ; 

 the last day or night or two a good 

 plantsman is all important. This is go- 

 ing to be what is generally termed a 

 "plant Christmas." It is held unwise 

 by many of the leading retailers to push 

 liie sale of plants at Christmas. They 

 argue that it injures the Easter trade 

 ■ and that plants require too much wrap- 

 ping up and other care at Christmas. 

 We are of opinion that the Christmas 

 plant trade is only in its infancy; that 

 it will continue to grow enormously and 

 will increase, not decrease, the plant sales 

 at Easter. The growers are not yet 

 equal to the supplying of the Christmas 

 plant market. Of course there is con- 

 siderable trouble in the wrapping up of 

 plants and the work calls for experienced 

 liands. Nevertheless, there are advan- 

 tages which compel recognition. You 

 can get your stock in and make it up 

 weeks in advance; there is immense sat- 

 isfaction in the assurance — the certain- 

 ty — of being able to supply what you 

 sell, and beyond all there is more money 

 in the plant trade when properly han- 

 dled. It is going to be a very good 

 Christmas and we feel sure that all 

 branches of (he trade will do a good 

 business. 



We hope you have all made whatever 

 preparations you could. There's many 

 a little thing j'ou can do now. Have 

 plenty of cards, envelopes, tags, ribbons, 

 tassels, pins, boxes and all supplies nec- 

 essary for a big rush. A neat small or- 

 der pad always in the coat pocket is a 

 necessity. Don't wait till the last day 

 to get in your supply; get them at once 

 and plenty of them. There is nothing 

 more encouraging to a customer than to 

 see abundance and variety; you your- 

 self prefer to deal with a hou.se that car- 

 ries plenty of stock; it is the spirit of 

 the times. 



Let us chat over the things in the dif- 

 ferent sections. About green stock. Wni. 

 Scott covered the subject in last week's 

 issue and there remains little to be said. 

 There will be more wreaths u.sed this 

 year than ever before and the variety 

 will be more extensive. Holly wreaths 

 will be most jMipuIar. most appropriate, 

 and can be made the most be.autifiil. 

 The price is a matter of your class of 

 trade and your location. Thousands of 

 wreaths are sold in New York at from 

 one to two dollars each. A cheap, poorly 

 made wreath is a bad thing to have in 



evidence. One-side wreaths are offered 

 for sale by wholesalers, but the retailer 

 usually has to put two together before 

 he can dispose of them. Many of the 

 leading florists here have their wreaths 

 made up by contract, they supplying all 

 materials. The usual rate is from a 

 dollar to a dollar fifty per dozen for 

 wreaths that sell for a dollar or dollar 

 fifty each. Others buy their wreaths 

 from men who make a specialty of high- 

 grade ^^■ork and these cost all the way 

 from $3 to $9 per dozen, the retailer 

 doubling on the price, extra being charged 

 for ribbon. 



Boxwood wreaths and Princess pine 

 wreaths sell well and there are the in- 



tied at the bottom; this can only be 

 excused on the ground that there is 

 space to fill. A well made wreath sus- 

 pended by a loop and bow of narrow rib- 

 bon is a thing to be admired. Wreaths 

 hung in a finely curtained window 

 should be neat and compact and ribbons 

 if any should be subservient. 



Bunches of holly in dark green Porto 

 Eiean mats tied cornerwise with bow of 

 red ribbon go well; try a few. Have 

 lots of holly and mistletoe tied in 

 bunches at various prices ready for im- 

 mediate delivery; if they are artistically 

 fixed up with a bow of narrow ribbon 

 you can get good prices. Make a good 

 showing of greens outside your door; 

 you cannot make your outside display 

 too elaborate; florists ought to make a 

 specialty of the exterior decoration of 

 their stores at Christmas. The occu- 

 pants of many a passing car or carriage 

 might get out to patronize you or see 

 what you have if your window attracts 

 their eye. 



Holly and mistletoe are fairly good 

 this year; all sorts of prices are being 

 asked; you want the best. It's a mis- 

 take for any florist to imagine he can 



A Simple Wreath, 



numerable combinations of mi.xed greens 

 and berries that most of you know of, 

 such as stars, balls, bells and wreaths of 

 red immortelles, will go well in some 

 quarters, but they're troublesome and 

 are not as artistic as the wreath of 

 green. 



There is a good deal of doubt as to 

 the proper place for a bow on the Christ- 

 mas wreath. The right place to tie 

 the bow of ribbon on a suspended wreath 

 is on the top. The bow should be a 

 simple two-loop one and the streamers, 

 ditTercnt lengths, should not reach the 

 bottom of the wreath unless where they 

 are hung very high when the streamers 

 can be made long and heraldic. You will 

 notice that the majority of ribbons are 



ignore the importance of green stock; 

 it's a big nuisance to some but the pub- 

 lic will have it and expect the florist to 

 supply it. Nursery grown Norway 

 spruce in all sizes will be looked for 

 and those having them for sale should 

 show them. The average Christmas tree 

 buyer would prefer to pay a good rea- 

 sonable price for a well shaped Norway 

 spruce than take the rifi'raff offered by 

 the grocer and butcher were they shown 

 to better advantage. 



There will be many palms,, rubbers, 

 ferns, araucarias and such plants sold 

 if they are displayed in a proper man- 

 ner. In the case of araucarias very 

 narrow red ribbon streamers suspended 

 from the top whirl will attract many. 



