4 BRITISH FLORAL DECORATION 



great and universal progress in our buildings, our 

 Art collections, and our general decorations. 

 The long strain of Puritanism is dying hard, but 

 surely dying. 



Once again, do we, as a nation, recognise the 

 glories of sunshine, flowers, and all the colour, 

 fulness, and fitness of life? The grey clouds of 

 our climate cease to depress if we surround our- 

 selves with a wealth of colouring in our homes and 

 bring Western ideas to bear upon the gorgeous mys- 

 teries of the East. To thoroughly contemplate Floral 

 Art and its growth in England one has to recall 

 the story of time and travel, to realise the various 

 sources from which knowledge is gathered, and to 

 associate with the cold science of Botany the artist's 

 conceptions of form and colour. Nature is ofttimes 

 fickle, varying with the weather and the wind, but 

 to criticise, much more to attempt to control, her 

 moods and methods is an impertinence; we can 

 but humbly imitate, and even then we may not 

 succeed. Indeed in Nature's fickleness lies her chief 

 charm. No one can be bored or tired by her pro- 

 cesses or limitations ; if sometimes she gives us all 

 too short a time with the flowers we love, we 

 welcome the more the plodding artist who gives 

 us roses and] lilacs and lilies throughout the year, 



