September 22, 1921 



The Florists^ Review 



25 



THE RETAIL STORE 



A PAGE OF HINTS AND HELPS 

 FOR THE RETAIL FLORIST 



HOW TO MAKE WKEATH. 



As Described by S. A. Frost. 



The operation of making up a wreath 

 is not one easily described in words. 

 So when S. A. Frost, of Toronto, at- 

 tempted to describe it in the course of 

 his lecture on "Art in Floral Arrange- 

 ment," at the convention of the Cana- 

 dian Florists' and Gardeners' Associa- 

 tion at Peterboro, he accompanied the 

 words with the deed. He put on paper, 

 however, enough of his talk to give 

 those seeking such information a num- 

 ber of quite important suggestions. 

 And this part of his lecture is given 

 here, together with his introductory 

 definition of his subject, one well worth 

 pondering. Mr. Frost said: 



"Art, as I understand it, means .a 

 system of rules and established methods 

 to facilitate the performance of cer- 

 tain action; familiarity with such 

 principles, and skill in applying them 

 to an end or purpose, such as making a 

 floral design. 



' ' The first matter of importance when 

 making up a design is that the re- 

 cipient may not discover some part un- 

 finished that would offset the beauty of 

 the flowers or the excellence of the 

 work. Namely, you don't want your 

 customer to see rusty wire, moss ex- 

 posed, unsightly toothpicks, a beautiful 

 design with the back uncovered, tin foil 

 showing, etc. The florist or designer 

 should at all times try to protect our 

 profession by attending to the little 

 points of detail that go towards making 

 what we call art in floral arrangement. 



"In figuring out the worth of a de 

 sign we calculate the moss, frame, time 

 and all other accessories necessary in 

 making up the design. In calculating 

 the flowers that are used we figure on 

 the value of what the flowers are made 

 to appear. Experience will teach you 

 almost at a glance what to do for the 

 money allowed. The idea I mean to 

 convey is, if you can make a No. 3 

 flower look equal to a No. 1, that is 

 the real value of the flower in the de- 

 sign. 



Foundation of Wreath. 



"I will relate what is my idea of how 

 a wreath should be made, that being 

 the most common of all the designs in 

 use in the trade. The first thing to bo 

 done is to moss the wreath, which is the 

 foundation of the design, and, like all 

 other foundations, it must be properly 

 laid. Sphagnum moss is the best known 

 to the trade. Next arrange green wax 

 paper in such a manner as to assist in 

 shaping up the moss, keeping streamers 

 from hanging unsightly in view. The 

 proper system in mossing a wreath is 

 to gather the moss up in your hands, 

 completing the section of frame accord- 

 ing to the amount of moss gathered up, 

 and roil it to and fro, working your 

 finger on the inside of the frame and 

 the thumb next to the outer edge till 

 j'ou get it to the proper firmness and 



shape, taking care that the moss con- 

 tains the proper moisture. As we all 

 know that the moss is not only to hold 

 the flowers in their place, but is the 

 means of conveying the necessary mois- 

 ture to the flowers to keep them fresh 

 as long as possible, be sure you insert 

 the stem well into the moss. This is 

 one of the most important points. 



Adding the Flowers. 



"When the frame is all ready for 

 the flowers, how are we to put them in? 

 First, arrange cedar evergreen, binding 

 the fronds with thread, completely cov- 

 ering the back of the wreath. Now we 

 are ready for the real work. The flow- 

 ers are prepared in this manner: The 

 longest flowers afe stemmed with a wire 

 six inches long; the next length is five 



inches; the next is four inches and the 

 shortest are on toothpicks. In other 

 words, the best flowers are stemmed up 

 tlie longest, the next grade shorter and 

 the poorest are worked in underneath. 

 "The longest flowers are arranged at 

 the same angle as the cedar fronds, the 

 second size used to fill in, then the third 

 length and finally the shortest flowers 

 on toothpicks, the object being to make 

 it appear as if the flowers were coming 

 from a given point and also to convey 

 the impression tliat two ghrlands of 

 flowers have been put togetlier coming 

 from the said given point. All designs 

 that wt' make are on the same prin- 

 ciple; that is, every flower l)ut what is 

 used in solid work is made to appear 

 as if it were coming from a certain in- 

 visible point. Last, hut not least, be 



»►>. *" 





Magnolia Vreath Decked with a Few Miscellaneous Flowers. 



