BOUQUET MAKING. 



Arranging flowers loosely and prettily and naturally in vases and other ornamental receptacles 

 for flowers, is a very easy work, requiring only good taste and some knowledge of the harmony 

 of colors. As a rule ladies do this work well, and need no suggestions from us. The filling of 

 baskets is a little more difficult, because more 

 formal or artificial. First, line the basket with 

 tin foil, or scatter a little Lycopodium or other 

 green material, to form a kind of green lining, 

 and over this put a lining of strong paper. If 

 the basket is not so open as to show the lining, 

 a simple lining of paper will be enough. Then fill the 

 basket with damp saw-dust, rounding it off at the top and 

 covering with damp moss, inserting the stems of the flow- 

 ers in the moss. If the natural stems are not suitable for 

 this work the flowers can be " stemmed," that is, fastened to sticks, as 

 recommended for floral designs. It is well to give an edging or border 

 mainly of green. Very few flowers have stems suitable for nice bouquet 

 work, so it is the custom to " stem" all flowers, that is, give them artificial 

 stems, and the material used for this purpose is broom brush or wire, to 

 which the flowers are attached with spool cotton or fine wire. These stiff 

 stems can be made to hold the flowers in any position desired. To keep 

 the flowers from crowding each other, and also to supply moisture, it is 

 usual to wind damp moss around the stem of the flower at its connection with the 

 artificial stem. The central flower, which is usually the largest, must have a stiff, straight stem, 

 as seen in the engraving, for this really forms the back bone of the bouquet, as well as the handle. 

 Fasten the steins of all flowers around this central flower, as in the small engraving of a bouquet, 



as it would appear divided near the middle, showing the 

 way the flowers are fastened to the main stem, as well as 

 the manner in which they are kept from crowding each 

 other. After the flowers are all properly attached, and 

 the bouquet formed, cut off the handle to the desired 

 length and 

 cover this with 

 tinfoil, or wind 

 with ribbon, 

 leaving a loop, 

 so that the 

 bouquet may be 



suspended if desired. Ornamental papers, prepared for the purpose, are very pretty, and can lie 

 obtained at a small price of most florists. These cover the handle and bottom of the bouquet, 

 and also usually make a quite ornamental border. Our remarks are, of course, designed for 

 hand bouquets, but larger bouquets are made in the same manner, except that they are more 

 pyramidal in form. 



BOUQUET AND TRIMMING GREEN. 



In this section of the country, and in many others, the Cedars and Hemlocks are the most 

 easily obtained, and are generally used to furnish the green foi decorative purposes in the winter. 



There are, however, two 

 little plants {Lycopoditti>i*\ 

 one known as the Ground 

 Pine, and the other the 

 Running Pine, and they are 

 the prettiest things we know anything about for winter trimming, excepting, of course, Smilax, 

 which is not to be had in large quantities. These Lycopodiums grow in partially shaded woods, 

 in hilly places, and usually on a poor, sandy soil. The Ground Pine is used in winter for bou- 



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