248 THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



FLOWERS FOE CHUECH DECOEATION. 



BY CAMILLE BONDEATT. 



IRAT do not allow any of the vexed questions of tbe day 

 to interfere with your perusal of my humble paper. I 

 will not tell you whether I belong to High Church, 

 Low Church, Broad Church, or no church, for it cannot 

 matter. It is, however, a fact that I supply, according 

 to my means, a few flowers occasionally for the decoration of our 

 parish church. It happens that all the festivals for which flowers 

 are required occur at times when they are scarce : hence the interest 

 that attaches to providing them. 



For Christmas there are, of course, evergreens, and such like. 

 I have for many years grown a large patch of Sellehorus niger, 

 which I have covered with common frames in November, and by this 

 means I am enabled to supply our church with an abundance of 

 Christmas roses. In the greenhouse I grow a lot of Chinese 

 primulas, which are generally in flower at Christmas ; but I find I 

 cannot thoroughly depend on cutting freely from them. A ieyf 

 camellias and azaleas I can always secure, but never so many as I 

 would wish ; for I cannot afi'ord to force, in the proper sense of the 

 word. 



For the Easter dressings I have a plant that is equal in value to 

 the Christmas rose. It is the old trumpet-lily, or Calla uS^thiojnca. 

 Of this I have about thirty pots, and I have cut as many as sixty 

 flowers at one time for Easter dressings. A few of the large, hand- 

 some leaves must be cut with the flowers, to back them up. Another 

 method of providing cheap flowers for this season is to plant out in 

 a sheltered spot all the tulips and hyacinths that have done duty as 

 pot-plauts ; but it is well also to buy a few cheap bulbs, and plant 

 them close in boxes, so as to ensure some flowers of fine quality to 

 spice up the smaller spikes that come from the old bulbs. Easter, 

 being a moveable feast, must be thought of in good time in respect 

 of flowers grown expressly for it. 



For the harvest festival I have also a leading, cheap, and useful 

 plant. It is the old ribbon-grass, Phalaris arundinacea, the leaves 

 of which are elegantly striped with creamy white. I have been 

 asked by many how I managed to supply such lovely bunches, which 

 have pioved so eminently efl'ective in our church decorations. 

 Generally speaking, the plant is quite worn-out and shabby at the 

 time of harvest. Well, to reply. I have a long line of this grass 

 in the kitchen garden, and it has a splendid appearance in the early 

 summer, but becomes coarse when it runs up to flower. I allow it 

 to flower, but do not allow the seed to swell ; for as soon as the 

 bloom is nearly perfect, I have it all cut over close to the ground. 

 Very soon a new and delicate growth appears, and I have a grand 

 supply by the time it is wanted for the harvest dressings. I also 

 find Sedum fabanum (or spectalilis). Asters, DaMias, and Gladioli, 

 extremely useful, unless the season is unkind ; and as to that in 

 the shortening days, we must take our chance. 



