GROWING PLANTS FOR 



the florist, the table can always have about it 

 the charm of " green things growing." 



One of the very best plants for this purpose 

 is the variety of Asparagus catalogued as 

 A. plumosus nanus. If the ends of its new 

 shoots are nipped off before the side branches 

 are developed, they form a broad frond which 

 spreads out from the centre of the plant, arch- 

 ing gracefully over the pot, so that a plant 

 becomes a symmetrical mass of filmy green 

 that has a cool, airy grace that makes it as de- 

 lightful to look at as a wildwood Fern. 

 Indeed, it is better adapted to table decora- 

 tion than most Ferns obtained from the 

 florist, because of its light, feathery char- 

 acter. It imparts the decorative effect 

 aimed at without hiding anything. A table 

 set with fine china whose only decoration 

 is a touch of gold and cut glass that 

 sparkles against a background of immaculate 

 napery, with the filmy fronds of this plant 

 showing like a green mist above all, is wonder- 

 fully attractive in its chaste, pure daintiness. 

 If a touch of bright color is desired, a very few 

 flowers thrust among the fronds of the plant 

 will give charming results, and the general 

 effect, from the artistic stand-point, will be 



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