﻿98 



The Florists^ Review 



Afbil 15, 1920 



'■'«^ 



Pacific Coast Department 



BAISING CINEEABIA8. 



At Howard & Smith's Nursery. 



For over ten years Fred H. Howard, 

 president of Howard & Smith, Los 

 Angeles, Cal., has been working to im- 

 prove various strains of flower seeds. 

 Probably at first it was done more as 

 a labor of love than with a view to 

 aommercial production, but the work 

 had already become so big before the 

 war that his firm was selling large 

 quantities of the now famous H. & S. 

 strains. During the period of war-time 

 scarcity the demand could not be met, 

 and every year the stock has been in- 

 creased, new acreage devoted to the 

 outdoor varieties and new glass to the 

 indoor kinds. 



Working for Broad Petals. 



The cineraria, always a favorite here, 

 has been improved out of all compari- 

 son with even the choicest European 

 and American strains of a few years 

 ago and it may be said without fear 

 of contradiction that there is nothing 

 in cultivation today better than the 

 Howard & Smith strain. A recent in- 

 spection of the selected seed plants 

 for the coming year's sales showed them 

 to be truly wonderful. Among other 

 things which Mr. Howard has been 

 working for is a broad petal and in 

 the select stock these are one-half inch 

 and upward in width, many of the in- 

 dividual flowers measuring from three 

 and one-half to four inches in diameter. 

 The splendid effect made by the hun- 

 dreds of plants bearing such flowers as 

 these in every color and tint can be 

 better imagined than described. The 

 blues alone are worth a long journey to 

 see. Big plants, each one given a yard 

 or so of space, and dwarfs, with im- 

 mense flower heads and great healthy 

 leaves, are there. Louis Dupuy, of 

 Whitestone, N. Y., was visiting the 

 nursery at the same time as the writer 

 and, good plantsman as he is, was sur- 

 prised. "These plants attract you and 

 seem almost to speak to you," was the 

 way Mr. Dupuy explained his feelings. 

 And they certainly do. They are a 

 fit climax to many years of selection 

 and hybrid raising, a climax which must 

 be distinstly satisfying to such an en- 

 thusiastic plant lover as Fred Howard. 



"While the cinerarias were the chief 

 object of our visit, fine things appeared 

 at every turn in the nursery. The 

 stretches of lemon and orange calendu- 

 las were past their best and the seed 

 was forming, but enough were left to 

 make a grand show. 



To See Amaryllis and Iris. 



A few miles away from the home 

 nursery, at Rivera, is the principal 

 proving ground for florists' flowers, 

 bulbs and other specialties and, al- 

 though it is off in the country, the same 

 good order and cleanliness, system and 

 careful cultivation prevail here as in 

 all the other departments. Pansies are 

 fine now, but the great show will be in 

 May, when the magnificent collection 

 of amaryllis, or hippeastrums, will 

 be in bloom. To see these gorgeous 

 flowers by the acre is a treat in store 



for anyone who can visit them, for Mr. 

 Howard and all his staff always have 

 the latchstring out. Acres of iris in all 

 the best varieties will be in their full 

 beauty about the same time and these 

 alone would make the trip profitable. 

 H. R. Richards. 



PASADENA, CAL. 



Flower Show. 



The fifteenth annual spring flower 

 show of the Pasadena Horticultural 

 Society opened April 8 in a large tent 

 in Library park under excellent condi- 

 tions. President W. Rapp and his offi- 

 cers are to be congratulated on the cul- 

 mination of their efforts in a most 

 beautiful show. The tent was decorated 

 with cypress boughs , eucalyptus and 

 other greens and, while apparently the 

 show was not so large as usual, owing to 

 the absence of the large trade groups, 

 yet the even quality of the exhibits, the 

 excellent arrangement and the delight- 

 ful setting of green turf underfoot and 

 fine shrubs and trees in the park made 

 it one of the most attractive shows 

 ever held in Pasadena. 



In the center of the tent William Hert- 

 rich, gardener at the Huntington es- 

 tate, put up a group of palms, including 

 the rare and beautiful Pinanga macu- 

 lata, with its showy varicolored seeds, 

 and P. Kuhlii, also in fruit. Some tall 

 caryotas and specimen kentias were 

 also included. The only trade groups 

 noted were one of shrubs from Robert 

 Peff, of the Mentor Nursery, and one 

 from Campbell's Seed Store, both at- 

 tractive. 



Some splendid pots of tulips were 

 shown and, in one exhibit, single bulbs 

 in 6-inch pots had wonderful flowers 

 of the Darwin tulips. Poppies, anemones, 

 ranunculuses and hybrid watsonias were 

 superb and the showy Antholyza caffra 

 was shown in grand shapes by one ex- 

 hibitor. 



The classes for collections of cut flow- 

 ers are always good at Pasadena and 

 thty were exceptionally good this time. 



The judges must have had a hard time 

 making their decisions. Among ihe 

 better shrubs shown were fine varioties 

 of Erica persoluta, E. persoluta rosea 

 and E. codonodes, the glorious Fre- 

 montia californica and Carpenloria 

 californica, Dendromecon rigida, various 

 ceanothuses, rhus, raphiolepis and 

 others. Large bunches of Bletia liya- 

 cinthina were attractive, this orchid 

 thriving well outside in California, and 

 the best types of aquilegia, antirrhinum 

 and pentstemons. 



The show, in fact, was an education 

 and a joy to the outdoor plant lover 

 and shows what can be done in this 

 favored clime. A word should be pven 

 to the wild flower and vegetable classes 

 from the school children, which were 

 extremely well filled, and that veteran 

 vegetable grower, W. W. Felgate, had 

 some choice offerings. The judges were 

 Roderick MacKenzie, Arthur Wilson, C. 

 Shoebridge, J. Albrecht, James ^[ac- 

 Gillivray and R. G. Gunther. 



H, R. Richards. 



LOS ANGELES, OAL. 



Easter Business. 



Another successful Easter can be re- 

 corded. Up to a couple of days before 

 shipping time, the wholesalers' orders 

 did not look big, but, as is frequently 

 the case, they piled in later and every- 

 one reports a clean-up. Retailers, as 

 usual, prepared for a big trade and were 

 not disappointed, the reports every- 

 where being good. 



A moderate supply of Easter lilies 

 was cleaned out at excellent prices, the 

 maximum being $1 per bud and bloom. 

 Even the flower stands made good 

 prices. The season proved profitable to 

 growers and retailers alike. In most 

 cases cut stock sold at the same price 

 as the potted, there being no surplus. 

 Roses were fairly plentiful. Bulbous 

 stock, such as tulips and Spanish irises, 

 was cleaned up early at good prices. 

 At the close of business Sunday morn- 



We will give you SATISFACTION 



Not only in PRICE BUT EVERY OTHER WAY. 



Keep in touch with us for everything in the trade. 



IT WILL PAY YOU ALL THE TIME. 



YELLOW DAISIES— Extra strong rooted cut- 

 tings, from soil, $2.50 per 100; $20.00 per 1000 



L. A. FLORAL CO. 



236 EAST FOURTH ST., LOS ANGELES, CALIF. 



THE HOUSE OF QUALITY AND SERVICE 



