THE KNACK OF 



should be one of the things never to lose sight 

 of; in other words aim to make your arrange- 

 ments as natural as possible, and, in order to 

 do this, take object-lessons from Nature. Go 

 out into the garden and field, and make note 

 of what you see there. Here is a Wild Rose 

 bush. Study it carefully. There is no crowd- 

 ing, no formality, no torturing of its branches 

 into unnatural positions. Everything about 

 it is as simple, as natural, as Nature herself. 

 In fact, it is Nature. Here is a mass of the 

 white-flowering Elder. See how it curves 

 gracefully in all directions under the weight 

 of its lace-like clusters of bloom. There is not 

 a stiff stalk about it. It is all curves — all grace. 

 Straighten up one of its stalks and force it to 

 assume and maintain an upright position and 

 observe the result. The freedom, the grace, 

 of the bush is destroyed because you have 

 forced it to take on a shape that no Elder ever 

 grew in when left to follow out its own devices. 

 Therefore, before arranging any flowers in 

 vases or in bouquets be sure you know how 

 they appear when growing without any inter- 

 ference with their natural tendencies, and be 

 governed by that knowledge. This means 

 close observation and a willingness to learn 



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