68 



THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 



with the majority of florists began 

 about twenty years ago and has yearly 

 increased till it would be safe to say 

 that compared with twenty-five years 

 ago palms are bought up and sold or 

 used up at the rate of at least ten 

 thousand to one. 



The rather stringent times of the 

 past five or six years among many 

 wealthy people has cut down the price 

 of decorations and no great advance 

 in style has been made. And the pre- 

 vailing style is a very natural and sim- 

 ple one, but good amounts can be ob- 

 tained for good jobs. It is quality 

 more than quantity that is asked for. 



Wedding Decorations. 



At a wedding decoration there is^ 

 often some particular color that we 

 have to follow, and while in details we 

 must use our taste and skill, in the 

 general plan we must follow the wishes 

 of our patrons, if they command. At 

 a home wedding there is usually an 

 opportunity for the florist to show his 

 skill in arranging a fine bank of palms 

 as a background to the happy pair. 

 This should be high and broad and 

 light and graceful, not thick and 

 dense. If the chandeliers and mirrors 

 are ornamented with greenery, aspar- 

 agus should always be used and no at- 

 tempt be made to follow the out.in^s 

 of the chandelier, but thrown on very 

 loosely. Instead of clearing off all the 

 costly and beautiful ornaments from 

 the mantel piece, as we used to, and 

 putting on a slab of flowers, they are 

 now decorated with two or three vasas 

 of the finest long-stemmed flowers, 

 such as roses, carnations or chrysan- 

 themums. All flowers are wanted on 

 long stems, and all can be so supplied 

 with one important exception, i. e., 

 orchids; and orchids will be asked for 

 in increased quantities, depend upon 

 it, and if you can't supply them your 

 customers will go to some one who 

 can. 



Orchids are so desirable when cut, 

 and it being impossible to cut any 

 stem with some of them, cattleyas par- 

 ticularly, that wherever there is an 

 arrangement of them they are used in 

 baskets or some low arrangement, and 

 nothing accompanies them better than 

 maiden-hair ferns. 



Instead of banks of palms, except 

 when occasion demands such, the 

 plant decorations are made by stand- 

 ing singly in every available spot a 

 perfect specimen of palm or dracaena 

 or croton. No such thing as a flower 

 pot, however clean, should be exposed. 

 The florist should have on hand hand- 

 some jars in which the single speci- 

 mens should stand. And in the 

 groups, if the pots are not hidden by 

 the smaller plants, then small plants 

 of the Boston fern, or better still, As- 

 paragus Sprengeri, must finish the bot- 

 tom edge of the bank. 



In regard to the vases of flowers. 

 You are often asked to furnish vases, 

 and you should always be able to sup- 

 ply them. 



None will differ with me when I as- 



sert that nothing embellishes a flower 

 like its own foliage. Roses Should 

 have nothing more, nor lily of the val- 

 ley, tulips or any of the bulbous stuff, 

 or chrysanthemums. If your chrjsin- 

 themum foliage is not good cut some 

 that is. Anything else would be ridic- 

 ulous. But carnations are weak in 

 foliage and sprays of Asparagus 

 Sprengeri go well with them. 



Christinas Decorations. 



Christmas decorations are of many 

 kinds. Many good society people pre- 

 fer to rent a public hall or assembly 

 room when they are going to give a 

 dance to 500 people, rather than turn 

 their home upside down for a week. 

 Perhaps the "old man" kicks. I don't 

 blame him. If well heeled I should 

 say, "Go and have your fun; all you 

 want; but don't disturb my easy chair. 

 I will pay the bills, but be careful, my 

 dear wife and daughter." 



At these events the florist has a 

 great chance to display his skill arjd 

 taste, and his work shows to the great- 

 est advantage, as the halls are gener- 

 ally bare of any permanent decoration 

 and well repay the florist's work. 

 Here is where your wreathing of laurel 

 the best of all comes in. Pillows and 

 balconies are draped with wild smilax. 

 chandeliers and gas jets are adorned 

 with hol'y branches, the mistletoe 

 bough hangs in some convenient nook, 

 and the evening has all the features of 

 old England (except the accent of the 

 people) a hundred years ago. Christ- 

 mas, once so coolly kept in this coun- 

 try, is now the great festival of the 

 year with Jew and Gentile alike. We 

 often hear from our patrons when we 

 are taking an order: "We want it to 

 look and feel real Christmassy, you 

 know." They hardly know themselves 

 what that is, but the feeling runs in 

 song and legend, and that Christmas 

 is associated with holly and red ber- 

 ries. "The mistletoe hung in the cas- 

 tle hall, the holly branch hung on the 

 castle wall." 



Laurel and leucothoe are always 

 used in v wreathing and are very effec- 

 tive, looking much richer than wreath- 

 ing of ground pine. The magnol'a 

 sprays are fine on panels or walls and 

 should not be crowded, but should 

 show their fine outlines. 



Holly is prettiest in branches and 

 sprays, and there are lots of places to 

 use it. 



The wild smilax is the greatest ac- 

 quisition of all. Just wound around 

 pillars, covering' ceilings, or on the 

 outlines of arches, it is grand and be- 

 coming. 



There is usually a stage in the hall 

 and there is a place to make a palm 

 display of the finest kind. If flowering 

 plants are used they are usually col- 

 ored azaleas and poinsettias. The lat- 

 ter is now a standard decorative plant 

 in many cities, and always wanted in 

 decorations around the holidays. It is 

 associated with Christmas as much as 

 the holly berries, and with us is 

 known as the Christmas flower. 



Church Decorations. 



Church decorations are sometimes 

 very elaborate, palms being of the 

 greatest service, and many times the 

 flowers used must be only white. 

 There is where our Lilium Harrisii 

 and L. longiflorum are of so great a 

 value, and early white chrysanthe- 

 mums in the fall. In addition to the 

 palms, some perfectly fresh, clean, 

 handsome bay trees, both the standard 

 and pyramidal, can be used with great 

 effect, their formal shape, that might 

 look stiff and awkward in a drawing 

 room, is in keeping with the solemn 

 tone and architecture of a church. 



Easter decorations have undergone 

 a great change, and it has been largely 

 by the will of the pastors. In addition 

 to their sacred ideas they have also 

 secular notions, and among them is 

 one that it is a waste of money for the 

 congregation to donate a hundred dol- 

 lars, more or less, for flowers; they 

 believe it would be better added to 

 their salary or given to the poor, as if 

 the florist was not poor enough. So 

 many a church decoration no longer 

 exists among our regular orders, but 

 there are just as many plants sold 

 which are sent as offerings to the 

 church, and "the ladies of the congre- 

 gation, assisted by the deacons, ar- 

 range the donatiuas." and then tne 

 Monday morning paper says: "The in- 

 terior of beautiful St. William's was a 

 bower of beauty, blending its incense 

 with the heavenly music so ably ren- 

 dered by the efficient choir under the 

 direction of Prof. Flat." 



Some churches still give you a fixed 

 sum and ask you to make as good a 

 show as you can for the money. And 

 as no flowering plants should ever be 

 loaned they ask that the plants be 

 those that can be given to the poor 

 and sick of the parish after the festi- 

 val is over. A very beautiful practice. 

 You have given joy to the poor who re- 

 ceived them and helped the poor who 

 grew them. 



Designs as memorials to those who 

 have gone before are now entirely out 

 of fashion. Even the Easter cross, 

 once so universally used on this occa- 

 sion, is now not asked for, as the altar 

 is furnished with a gold or silver cross 

 presented by same wealthy member of 

 the congregation. With all this our 

 churches are beautiful with flowers 

 sent by members of the church, and 

 what is good and sensible about it is 

 that it is not confined to any one or 

 two denominations, but Episcopal and 

 Methodist, Presbyterian and Unita- 

 rian celebrate with flowers and music. 

 This is right. If it is a glad day for 

 one sect it must be for all. 



Other Decorations. 



I have made mention of the leading 

 events at which the florist and his 

 material is called for to make the 

 home, the hall or the church radiant 

 with flowers and foliage. Any little 

 social event, from a progressive euchre 

 party to a grand reception, wants 

 some little decoration, even if it is 



