34 



The Florists^ Review 



December 9, 1020 



By the Arrangement of the Stock He Has to Sell, the Florist Can Give His Store the Christmas Atmosphere. 



mas tree in the center of tlie store or in 

 some other conspicuous open space and 

 decorate with florists' materials. About 

 this lie should place a few plants and 

 baskets of cut flowers to show off these 

 wares of his. Of course, it goes witli- 

 out saying that the placing of wreaths, 

 holly branches an<l mistletoe about the 

 store goes a long way towards giving it 

 a Yuletidc spirit. The artistic eye of 

 the decorator will enable splendid effect 

 to be made of these materials from the 

 florists' own stoek. 



Often the retailer has a nook in his 

 store which he uses for a quiet corner 

 for customers.- It is somewhat aside 

 from the store 's bustle on a crowded 

 heliday, though quite visible to all 

 visitors. Siich a nook may be employed 

 in a striking fashion, by putting in it 

 Christmas plants or some other sort of 

 decoration and throwing on the exhibit 

 a special colored light, or a changing 

 series of colored lights. Elaborate 

 vases and cut flowers can be made into 

 artistic pictures of still life. 



Tlie Christmas Touch. 



On some baskets florists will put a 

 huge red bow, on otliers none; some 

 arrangements contain much in the way 

 of Christmas greens; others will have 

 none. It should be the practice, on all 

 orders that are holiday purchases, to 

 include some touch that is essentially 

 "Christmasy," such as a sprig of liolly 

 in a plant arrangement or a little mis- 

 tletoe in a corsage bouquet. Tliese 

 small additions to orders really give 

 the holiday business of the florist the 

 distinctiveness that makes the recii)i- 

 cnts remember and connect the florist 's 

 products with the holiday. Large as is 

 the trade done at the close of Decem- 

 ber, it is little compared witli tlint which 

 may some day be developed for this 

 occasion. 



Special wrapping paper will not be 

 generally employed this season, but 



colored string can be used. If nothing 

 fjtncier is employed, red string is al- 

 ways to be iiad. In former years some 

 florists have tied a bit of holly to every 

 ]iarcel which left their stores. The 

 liiglier cost of these added bits of fin- 

 ish to orders is causing them to be 

 ;il)!indoned frequently, but there are 

 still those in the trade who maintain 

 that the few cents these things add to 

 tlic cost of an order is well spent. The 

 irionev is as well spent as that jiaid for 

 advertising space in the local news- 

 jiajjcrs. 



After all, it is every bit of it adver- 

 tising, and it's a profitable and pleas- 

 ;int way to advertise, for it makes 

 l)oth the florist and patrons feel a little 

 more keenly the gladsome spirit of the 

 '^'ulotide season. 



Drawing Power Needed. 



Such advertising power as has the 

 ("liristmas spirit which a flower store 

 may possess will, it seems likely, bp 

 needed this Christmas. No, that is not 

 pessimistic presaging. Everybody an- 

 ticipates an excellent Christmas; all will 

 do good business. But that clean sweep, 

 that sale of everything in sight, which 

 so gladdens the heart, will not occur 

 without effort on the part of the trade 

 to promote ('hristmas sales. 



Though the department stores in the 

 big cities are doing splendid business, 

 they are not crowded in a fashion the 

 jiublic is accustomed to this close tf> 

 ('hristmas. Instead of marking sales 

 tickets uj) to take advantage of the holi- 

 iJMv rush, these stores are marking them 

 down. There is the disposition, quite 

 opposite to that of a year ago, to hang 

 on to one 's money instead of flinging it 

 away. The same situation seems to be 

 prevalent in most retail lines. 



In this situation there is no cause for 

 jicssimism, no reason for gloomy fore- 

 l)oding. There is, instead, need for ener- 

 getic efforts to encourage purchases of 



flowers for Chistmas. The pul)lic is go- 

 ing to buy Christmas gifts, about as 

 many as usual and in a liberal spirit, 

 when the time comes. And they'll buy 

 flowers, if we urge them to. The time 

 calls for activity and energy, more of 

 it than ever, and forceful advertising — 

 one means of which is to make your 

 store reflect the Yuletide spirit. 



FEASTS' FEATXJEE F. T. D. 



One of the most ardent workers in be- 

 half of the F. T. D. in Baltimore is the 

 firm of Samuel Feast & Sons. An in- 

 stance of their efforts in this direction 

 was their recent window disjjlay giving 

 publicity to telegraph delivery. In it 

 the F. T. D. emblem was used as the 

 central figure. Mercury speeding on his 

 winged sandals, on top a globe on which 

 the continents were florally outlined. 

 Along the front of the window ran tele- 

 graph wires on miniature poles. At 

 either side were huge reproductions of 

 blanks of the two telegraph companies. 

 In the foreground were posters in re- 

 gard to wire service. Palms, blooming 

 plants and baskets of cut flowers 

 brought forcibly to mind that the sub- 

 ject was not merely telegraph delivery, 

 but the telegraph delivery of flowers. 

 The window was deserving of all the 

 notice and comment it received from 

 those who stopped at 331 North Charles 

 street to view it. 



SHIPPING PAPER WHITES. 



What is the best method of cutting 

 and packing Paper White narcissi for 

 sliiiiment to market? E. B. E, — Mich. 



Cut and tie in bunches of twenty-five 

 spikes with some foliage at back. Make 

 the bunches flat at back. Use some 

 white paper to separate each bunch. 

 Rather shallow shipping boxes, holding 

 single layers, are preferred. C. W. 



