A Section of One of the Benches at the Big Flower Show. 



A slight conception of the excellence of the floral exhibits at the big Fruit, Flower and Honey Show may be gained by this illu- 

 stration. One of the best features of the exhibit of flowers was the large number of new blooms that were shown for the first time. As 

 will be seen the various exhibits all bore cards giving their names, which added. greatly to the interest taken in the show by the general 

 public. (From a photograph taken specially for The Canadian Horticulturist.) 



BEST ANNUALS AND PERENNIALS FOR CUT FLOWERS* 



RODERICK CAMERON, NIAGARA FALLS SOUTH, ONT. 



WHEN we ask what is a good cut 

 flower for table decoration, etc., 

 there are two main points to be considered : 

 First, stem ; second, substance or durability. 

 For vases it is imperative that flowers have 

 a good stem. There are many excellent 

 flowers, but owing to the shortness of their 

 stems they are unfit for table decoration, ex- 

 cept perhaps to the commercial florist. 



Some of the most beautiful flowers in the 

 garden are ephemeral, and would be a total 

 disappointment as cut flowers ; others again 

 as the heliotrope, lack stamina, and would 

 not keep in water but for a very short time. 

 The hollyhock is an excellent example of 

 substance, but the whole plant has to be cut. 

 The salpiglossis has a good stem, but lacks 

 durability. 



Bearing the points of adaptabiUty in 

 mind, there are other secondary considera- 

 tions, including the one of color. As there 

 are no two persons whose tastes are exactly 

 alike, this is a most touchy subject; one per- 



son just revelling in a certain color, while 

 another thinks " it's just horrid." There is 

 a good deal of error and misconception re- 

 garding colors and the harmonizing of the 

 same, which ought to be dealt with from a 

 scientific as well as from the aesthetic point 

 of view. Then again there are plenty of 

 flowers with good stems, good substance and 

 good colors, such as the zinnia, that are so 

 stiflf and lacking grace they cannot be called 

 good cut flowers. Such flowers, except in 

 the hands of an artist, would only tend to- 

 wards the stiflf, formal and mathematically 

 exact bouquets of years ago, which look-^d 

 as if they were formed in a mould. We will 

 not err if we follow nature closely, whether 

 in the growing of our floral pets, the group- 

 ing together of our collections, or the mak- 

 ing up of a bouquet of nature's choicest 

 gems. 



It cannot be too widely made known tha*- 

 there is a wealth of decorative floral beauty 

 to be secured by utilizing a judicious selec- 



* Extract from a paper presented at the horticultural convention held in Toronto, November is and i6, in connection with The Pro- 

 vincial Fruit, Flower and Honey Show. The rest of this paper will be published in The Horticulturist at an early date. 



