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JOUBKAL OF HOETUIULTUEE AND COTTAGE GAKDENEB. 



[ Juno 34, 1369. 



flowering than Telepbium, and do not grow so tall, scarcely 

 ever exceediug 1 foot in height. The best way to treat them 

 is to plant them out in the garden, and take them up and pot 

 them just ae they are coming into bloom, which will be about 

 October. They will be very useful when flowers are becoming 

 scarce. 



THE ARRANGEMENT OF CUT FLO^VERS. 



To arrange a bouquet, or to drese a vase with tkiU and taste, 

 is DO mean accomplishment, requiring, as it does, a thorough 

 knowledge of the relative value of colours, much taste in pro- 

 ducing harmonious blending or skilful contrast, a judicious use 

 of spray and greeneiy to tone down the brightness, and, above 

 aU, a natural aptitude and liking for the work. 



The composition of every bouquet, the arrangement of every 

 vase, should form a sepamte study ; all formality and stiffness 

 must be avoided, and as close an approach as possible to 

 " Nature's sweet simplicity," ought to be aimed at. Over- 

 crowding, too, is an error but too often met with. I have seen 

 bouquets, so called, which were a compact mass of Roses, and 

 whose entire surface bristled with buds, the only aim of the 

 maker appealing to be the crowding togelber of as many flowers 

 as possible in a ccitiin space. 



The advantage of being able to throw a few flowirs together 

 quickly and effectively can hardly be overrated ; for instance, 

 ^ lady, accompanying her visitors about her grounds, wishes to 

 offer them a bouquet, and in passing the gardener the request 

 jsmade. He starts at once with keif a and bast, forming his 

 bouquet as he goes from plant to plant, and meets those for 

 whom it is re.iuiied, with the flowers skilfully arranged and 

 neatly tied. In such cases, and they ore by no means uncom- 

 mon, the bouquet-maker has to dcciJe promptly upon his 

 flowers and colours, to combine them in pleasing and graceful 

 order, and to do this so quickly and well ihst his emplojer may 

 not be detaiued, but may likewise feel pleasure in offering such 

 a bouquet to her friends. 



In selecting flowers for this purpose, too great variety is to 

 be avoided ; a few fine Llossoms, whose colours are complement- 

 ary to each other, if well arranged, will invariably afford 

 greater satisfaction than the most complicated piece of com- 

 position. It should always be remembered that when two 

 cohmred surfaces are in juxtaposition, they mutually influence 

 each other : hence the importance of placing side by side those 

 flowers whose form and colour are best adapted to harmonise 

 or contrast favourably ; and although it is not intended here to 

 enter into a disquisition on the relative value of colours, yet it 

 may be useful to remark, that when a person is thoroughly 

 conversant with the relative value of the primitive colours, 

 and their complementaries, it becomes an easy matter to effect 

 harmonious combinations of their various shades. 



Form, size, colour, and lightness are the leading features to 

 be studied in the formation of a bouquet. A circular and con- 

 Tei form is, I think, the most pleasing, and is more generally 

 appreciated than a decidedly flat surface. But it is in the size 

 «l a bouquet that bad taste is too often visible ; a bouquet for 

 the hand which is 9 inches in diameter, would appear to be 

 qaite large enough, but the tyrant Fashion demands bouquets 

 of at least 12 inches; and as this is a decision from which 

 there is no appeal, the maker has to use as much wire as 

 possible, so that although the bouquet is of a large size, yet its 

 weight may nst be burdensome to the wearer, nor the handle too 

 bulky to fit into the bouquet holder. Wire, in addition to its 

 uaefulnets in reducing the bulk and weight of a bouquet, is 

 yery serviceable when the stalk of a blossom is short, as in the 

 case of some rare stove plants, many Orchids, and, indeed, any 

 plant whose appearance is Ukely to be affected by hard cutting ; 

 bat as no plant can be very materially injured by retaining an 

 inch or two of stem to its blossoms when cut, so the use of 

 wire must allow of a greater number of the more rare and 

 choice kinds of flowers being employed than would otherwise 

 be possible. 



As regards the arrangement of the flowers, while avoiding 

 the formal appearance of regular circles, two methods of equal 

 excellence may be pursued. The first of these consists in 

 blending together a number of flowers, with a due proportion 

 of their buds and foliage, whose forms and colours best tend 

 t9 produce a pleasing whole. The second consists in arranging 

 Hido by side masses of colour, each mass containing three or 

 more flowers of the same kind, and these masses are inter- 

 flpersed with the frouds of Ferns or other suitable foliage. By 

 this method a much bolder effect is secured, wiiila too much 

 formality is avoided. 



But although bouquets for the hand undoubtedly demand skill 

 on the part of the maker, yet their formation, I think, ranka 

 second in importance to the bouquet for the vase, flower table, 

 or basket, which, when once dressed and placed in the elegant 

 boudoir or stately drawing-room, has to pass through the 

 ordeal of a daily criticism till the flowers fade. In an arrange- 

 ment of flowers for this purpose, due regard must be paid to 

 the form of the vessel to be decorated, as well as the place it 

 is to occupy when the arrangement is completed. A large, tall 

 vase for a centre table should contain larger flowers and a 

 bolder mass of colour than one which is to occupy a position 

 of less importance ; but in using strong colours, all tendency 

 to glare or heaviness has to be particularly guarded against ; 

 the flowers should not be crowded, but should be gracefully re- 

 lieved by their buds or foliage. I have frequently, after dress- 

 ing a vase, found it desirable to remove a flower or two at parts 

 which have become so crowded as to appear heavy ; for in 

 arranging flowers in vases, water only can be used, and as the 

 flowers have no support for their stems, it is at times a difficult 

 matter to arrange tl em satisfactorily. 



TVith flower tables or baskets this difiicnlty is avoided, as, 

 generally, sand can be used. Few more beautiful objects can 

 be seen in a drawing-room than a well-arranged flower stand, or 

 table with a circular top about 2 feet in diameter. I can re- 

 member seeing two such stands about the same in size, but 

 with no other resemblance whatever. One, a mass of gUt and 

 glitter, had its gaudy flower tray curiously upborne on the 

 head of a Oupid ; the tray was not filled with cut flowers, but 

 with four or five tall plants, altogether presenting a singular 

 and ungraceful appearance. What were the accessories of the 

 other table I am unable to say, as I saw nothing but its ex- 

 quisite arrangement, the materials emj loyed being a few choice 

 flowers of bedding Pelargoniums, Roses, and Liliums. These 

 floners were thus arranged : — Around the edge of the tray was 

 a broad fringe of preen leaves, next these came a circle of 

 Pelargoniums, then a circle of medium-sized Roses not fully 

 e.xpanded, and the top or centre was occupied by a few blossoms 

 of Lilium lancifolium rubrum, interspersed with fronds of 

 Maiden-hair Fern. None of the flowers touched its neighbour, 

 for although each flower contributed to the appearance of the 

 whole, yet each was a perfect gem in itself, whose glowing 

 brightness was agreeably softened by its setting of living green. 

 The Pelargonium trusses rested on a bed of moss, a few sprays 

 of which were visible between and around the flowers, while 



] the Roses nestled in their own beautiful foliage. And here I 

 would observe that most flowers appear to the best advantage 

 when accompanied by their own foliage. What can be more 

 exquisitely beautiful than a vase of the blossoms of Lily of 

 the Valley, interspersed with, or springing out of its own 



; foliage? or a bouquet of Sweet Pea, with its graceful shoots 

 and tendrils ? The pure white blossoms of Eucharis amazo- 

 nica always seem most pure and lovely when seen in company 

 with the plant's own deep preen leaves, and a truss of sprightly 

 Oncidium always more fairy-like when seen springing out of 

 its own somewhat stiff foliage. 



Of the forms of vases, I may observe that almost any form 

 may be rendered pretty if its design be natural. 



My concluding example shall be a soup plate filled with 

 choice Hollyhock blooms. Form a raised mound of damp sand 

 in the centre of the plate, fringe its edge with well-matched 

 Hollyhock leaves, conceal the sand vvith a thin layer of moss, 

 and cover the whole of the mound with flowers, with their 

 lower sides resting close on the moss. In this way a pretty 

 effect is gained. — Edwaed Lockhokst, Egcrton Iluuse Gardens, 

 Kent. 



ORCHARD-HOUSE FAILURES. 



I HAVE many inquiries this season as to how my orchard house 

 is getting on this year, or rather orchard houses, for I hay 

 several of them. Well, they are nearly a total failure. The^^ is 

 apretty admission foraman to make who has for years thought, 

 and I am afraid said, those who could not insu>~ a crop of 

 Peaches under glass must be muffs. Havi-ng had only one 

 partial failure in about twenty years, ap<3 tlia' supposed to be 

 from bad management, the cause of which was known, all idea 

 of a total failure seemed out of the question. 



My Peaches and Apricots set very thickly, and I told all 

 who asked about them, I had a better crop than U3ual,_ par- 

 ticularly of Apricots, and was astonished to hear all my friends 

 say they had no fruit at all in cold houses. On my return 

 home a"fter a week's journey, what was my surprise to find 

 nearly all the fruit had fallen off. The trees were in perfect 



