56 BRITISH FLORAL DECORATION 



London florists, as our season is practically over 

 before they are at their best. If it were not for this 

 fact they would be immensely popular and useful 

 for all kinds of decorative work. 



Border Carnations flower when the first crop of 

 roses is on the wane and when floral decorators are 

 looking for something to fill their place. Thus when 

 they arrive upon the scene they give just the welcome 

 change that is wanted. At their time of flowering 

 there is always a mass of flowers in the herbaceous 

 garden ; but beautiful as herbs are, there are few of 

 them which look as choice or elegant as Carnations 

 when used in large or small vases. 



They should always be arranged, if possible, with 

 a little of their own green, and it is not a bad plan 

 for those who can afford the space to devote a 

 corner in the kitchen garden to a little patch of the 

 common seedlings, which grow very freely and 

 have much stronger and better foliage than the 

 choice named varieties. They also produce a great 

 quantity of buds, which, judiciously used, add greatly 

 to the artistic and natural effect of vases or bouquets. 

 Many acres of these common seedlings are cultivated 

 by the market growers near London for the pur- 

 pose of mixing not only with Border Carnations, 

 but with Malmaisons and Perpetual-flowering ones. 



