18 THE BEGINNER'S GARDEN BOOK 



some of the stems, so that the flowers appear at varying 

 heights. You can do better, of course, if you have certain 

 helps which you can buy cheaply. Such are perforated disks 

 of glass : the holes keep the stems upright, and the glass is 

 invisible in water. Such also are pieces of coarse wire net- 

 ting, galvanized, rounded to fit a bowl, and swelling upward 

 in the middle. These, too, help to keep the stems in place. 

 But you yourself can make similar devices. A long ribbon 

 of sheet lead, bent into a rosette, will help to hold tall flowers 

 upright. From a piece of netting you can make a wire frame 

 of your own. But the foliage, properly used, is almost enough 

 of itself. 



To arrange flowers well is an art which many neglect be- 

 cause they never even heard of it. Flowers, beautiful as 

 they are, show a little obstinacy when handled wrongly. 

 If merely thrust into a vase, they are likely to refuse to look 

 well. Both the eye and the fingers should be trained to the 

 work. The one who spends an extra minute thinking, and 

 another in arranging, will make her vase look the best. Two 

 watchwords should always be borne in mind during the work. 

 One is naturalness, the other (and it is almost the same) is 

 simplicity. 



Once arranged, the flowers should be placed wherever they 

 show best, on mantel, book-case, or table. Consider their 

 color and the color of the room, and do not put flowers where 

 they will not harmonize. Don't put them where other 

 things belong, as in the umbrella-stand or the fireplace. 



Flowers for the sick-room should be simple, quiet in tone, 

 and faint in odor. 



The ends of the stems of house flowers should be cut at 

 least every other day (every day is better) and fresh water 

 given. Flowers which are on the point of fading can some- 

 times be refreshed by putting them in water as hot as the 



