CHAPTER VI 

 PANSIES AND VIOLAS FOR TABLE DECORATION 



"Jove's own floweret where three colours meet." 



IF Pansies and Violas are to be grown specially for this 

 purpose, varieties should be selected which produce flowers 

 with long stems and are clear and distinct in colour. The 

 blooms should always be gathered in the early morning 

 and placed for an hour or two in jars of water in a cool, 

 shady position. This will cause them to become stiff and 

 firm and much more easily handled. Pansies and Violas 

 associate well with almost any light, green foliage, but 

 nothing is so suitable as their own foliage when that can be 

 procured bright and fresh and of good colour. A number 

 of strong-growing seedlings are often cultivated for their 

 foliage alone, and this practice is to be recommended, as 

 there is then no necessity to cut from choice varieties. 

 There are no receptacles so suitable for table adornment 

 as clear glass or crystal vases, and these should be rather 

 short and wide. A most appropriate centre-piece may be 

 formed with several small, rather wide, trumpet-shaped 



vases. The foliage sprays should be inserted first, and 



so 



