228 



THE FLORISTS MANUAL. 



lot scrupulously cared for and the next 

 one neglected. The man or woman who 

 would delight in their lot being mowed 

 and clipped and decorated, and contented 

 to see their neighbor s in weeds, would 

 be narrow-minded indeed. 



There are various ways of filling vases, 

 but where there are thousands in one 

 cemetery and perhaps as many as 200 

 or 300 on one section alone, there must 

 be a good deal of sameness. Some few 

 have one palm alone. Many are filled 

 with one color of geraniums with or with 

 out any drooping plant for an edge. A 

 few are filled with cannas or caladiums. 

 Some contain a mass of one variety of 

 coleus with a distinct edge, but more than 

 half of the whole are filled with a variety 

 of plants with some drooping plants to 

 hang over the edge. If in a windy place 

 the so-called vines, or droopers, have a 

 hard time of it, and are little ornament. 



Nearly every one wants his or her vase 

 to look just perfection the day it is put 

 out and expects it to continue to keep 

 looking so till October, the unreasonable 

 ness of which we have to strive with and 

 do our best to please. Watering- is not 

 the only thing a vase wants in summer. 

 Much can be done and must be done by 

 keeping off withered flowers, yellow 

 leaves and pinching out the stronger 

 growing plants, of which the coleus is 

 the worst to crowd out the rest. Clean 

 ing the vases, as we call it, should be 

 attended to at least once a week. 



In palms or that style of plant, a 

 Chamaerops humilis, any of the phoenix 

 or Dracaena indivisa can be used in the 



red; there is hardly a variety as good; 

 Ernest Lauth, fine for the purpose; Al- 

 phonse Eicard, orange scarlet; S. A. 

 Nutt, crimson ; Tower Eiffel, bright scar 

 let; Emile de Gerardin, pink, but now 

 superseded by F. Perkins, a pink un- 

 equaled; Beaute Poitevine, salmon; La 

 Favorite, double white. The silver-leaved 

 Mountain of Snow is most useful as an 

 edge, and so is the compact Mme. Sal- 

 leroi. Sometimes the geranium vases have 

 only one of the variegated geraniums for 

 an edging, and sometimes some drooper, 

 but when the latter only one kind should 

 be used. Vinca, glechoma or the ivy 

 geranium are very suitable. A favorite 

 vase with hundreds is of pink geraniums 

 with the pink ivy leaf for an edging. 



The mixed vases are in the majority 

 and are the least profitable to the florist 

 and the least satisfactory. In the center 

 we use a small phcenix or a dwarf canna, 

 but nearly all ask and expect us to use 

 a Dracaena indivisa. This wonderfully 

 useful plant not only thrives under the 

 worst kind of treatment, but actually im 

 proves every day till fall, and near the 

 end of summer is the redeeming feature 

 of many a vase. When using mixed 

 plants there is quite a variety. Dwarf 

 flowering cannas; Grevillea robusta, 

 which gives a light, feathery effect; all 

 the geraniums mentioned; coleus, in 

 great variety; three kinds of achy- 

 ranthes, Begonia Vernon, and some other 

 flowering kinds ; Abutilon Souv. de Bonn 

 (and we think Savitzii will be a great 

 addition to our vase plants), anthericum, 

 Centaurea gymnocarpa, aspidistra; fuch- 



cio), lysimachia, double sweet alyssum, 

 lobelia, nasturtium, Abutilon vexillarium, 

 lopospermum, Solanum jasminoides, Pilo- 

 gyne suavis, nierembergia, petunias, 

 Kenilworth ivy, etc. 



The prettiest vase in our cemetery this 

 entire summer is a vase of tuberous- 

 rooted begonias. It is grand, but it is 

 in the shade of trees. Where this is the 

 case it makes a splendid plant. Aspara 

 gus Sprengeri seed is yet a little ex 

 pensive; when as cheap as smilax seed 

 we believe this asparagus will be one of 

 our finest drooping vase plants, and par 

 ticularly for our veranda-boxes. In a 

 Avarmer section of the country the crotons 

 make splendid vase plants. Do not put 

 in plants that are showy, but that you 

 know will quickly go out of flower and 

 flower no more that season; use such 

 plants as our show pelargoniums and 

 pyrethrums. 



As the soil you use is to support as 

 many plants in a 2-foot vase as would 

 properly fill a 6-foot flower bed, you must 

 use the richest. In addition to one-third 

 of rotten manure added to your loam, 

 add a 6-inch pot of bone flour to every 

 barrow-load. Keep the plants pretty well 

 up on the surface, but see that the soil 

 is firmly packed around every plant. We 

 find workmen very guilty of neglecting 

 that part of it, and we find when 300 

 or perhaps 400 vases have been filled in 

 a week that there has to be some system 

 about it. 



First a list is given the boss of the 

 gang, of the names of the owners, which 

 reads like this: &quot;Mrs. Particular, one 



Continuous Top Ventilation With Alternating Side Sashes. 



broad sun. It is impossible to give water 

 enough to keep the latanias or kentias 

 from burning, but if in the shade of trees 

 then any of the handsome palms can be 

 used. Any of the foliage plants, such as 

 eoleus, achyranthes or acalypha, have a 

 good appearance if nicely pinched and in 

 order. 



It is undeniable that the geranium is 

 unequaled as a vase plant if flower and 

 color are wanted, but it should be in the 

 full sun. The varieties should be not 

 only good bloomers but strong, vigorous 

 kinds that will keep their foliage as well 

 as flower. The single kinds, for this pur 

 pose, are of little use. Of those we have 

 tried for the purpose the best are Prokop 

 Daubeck, a very robust, large, double 



sias, but these should only be used in 

 partial shade, and Black Prince and old 

 speciosa are the best two for the pur 

 pose; variegated euonymus; and per 

 haps a few more can be added to the list. 

 The coarse monster Caladium esculentum 

 should not be used with other plants, for 

 it entirely exhausts the soil. 



For droopers we have a variety to 

 choose from. r ihe weaker kinds get 

 crushed out, but look pretty for the first 

 month. We use first the variegated and 

 green trailing vincas. We consider this 

 the most important of all our vase droop 

 ers. Several varieties of the ivy gera 

 nium, English ivy, gramanthea (a small 

 creeping succulent), glechoma (varie 

 gated), the so-called German ivy (sene- 



iron vase. Fill good mixed, only light 

 colored geraniums.&quot; Or &quot;Mrs. Usual, 

 one iron vase. All pink geraniums and 

 pink ivy leaf.&quot; And every vase has the 

 name of the owner attached. With a 

 man to place the plants in, another to fill 

 in solid, another to moss and water and 

 another to keep the supply 01 plants on 

 hand, a great many vases can be filled in 

 a day. 



I had almost forgotten the important 

 item of moss. We cover the surface of 

 the soil, or at least four inches all 

 around from the edge, with green wood 

 moss. We used to load up wagons and 

 drive to the cemetery with plants and 

 soil, but find a much better plan is to 

 bring home the top or bowl of the vase, 



