SeI'IKMBKI! '22, l'J21 



The Florists^ Review 



25 



THE RETAIL STORE 



A PAGE OF HINTS AND HELPS 

 FOR THE RETAIL FLORIST 



HOW TO MAKE WREATH. 



As Described by S. A. Frost. 



Tlu' oj)eratioii of luakiufi; up a wreath 

 iw not one easily descril)ed in words. 

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

 tempted to describe it in tlie course of 

 his lecture on "Art in Floral ArraiiHO- 

 ment," at the convention of the Cana- 

 dian Florists' and Gardeners' Associa- 

 tion at Peterboro, he accompanied the 

 words with the deed. He ])ut on paper, 

 liowcver, enough of his talk to give 

 tiiose seeking such information a num- 

 lier of quite important suggestions. 

 Am] this part of his lecture is given 

 licrc, together with his introductory 



■ lefinilioii of liis subject, one well worth 

 pondering. Mr. Frost said: 



''Art, as I iiiiderstaiid it, iiuMii^ ;i 

 system of rules and estahlislied lnl■Ill((li^ 

 to facilitate the ])erforniance of cfr 

 tain action; familiarity with sucii 

 principles, and skill in .'ipplying them 

 to an end or j)iiri>os(\ such as miikitig ,i 

 lloral design. 



•'The first m;itter of im})ortance when 

 m.iking up .1 (lesigii is that the ic 

 (■i|iient may not discover soiik^ ])art uii 

 finished that would otTset the beauty of 

 the flowers or the excellence of the 

 work. Xamely, you don't want your 

 rustomer to see rusty wire, moss ex- 

 |>os(>(l, unsightly toothpicks, a beautiful 

 ilesign with the l);ick uncovered, tin foil 

 showing, etc. The llorist or designer 

 should at ;ili times try to protect o)ir 

 profession by attending to the little 

 points of detail that go towards making 

 what we call art in tloral arr.iiigement. 



"In figuring out the worth of a de 

 sign we calculate the moss, fr;mie, time 

 .111(1 all other .accessories necessary in 

 making up the design. In calciilatiii;: 

 the flowers that are used we figure on 

 the value of what the flowi'rs are made 

 to ajipear. Experience will tea(di you 

 ilmost .'if a glance what to <lo for the 

 money allowed. The idea 1 mean to 

 convey is, if you can make a Xo. .'. 

 liower look e<]ual to a Xo. 1, that is 

 the re;il v;ilue of the flower in tlie .je 



MJill. 



Foundation of Wreath. 



"I will relate wliat is my ide:i of Imu 



■ I wreath should be made, tli.at being 

 'lie most <;ommoiL of all the designs in 

 use in the trade. The first thiii^ to be 

 'lone is to moss the wreatli. which is the 

 I'onndation of the design, and, like all 

 iitlier foundations, it must lie properly 

 laid. .Sphagnum moss is tlie best known 

 to the trade. Xext arrange green wax 

 p.'iper in such a manner as to assist in 

 -lia])ing up the moss, keejiing streamers 

 irom Iiniiyin;^ unsightly in view. The 

 proper system in mossing ;i \\reath is 

 to eat her the moss U]i in xoiir li.ands, 

 cDiiijiJet iiig the sei-tion of fr:ime accord- 

 ing to the :iiii()iint of moss gathered up. 

 and roil it to and fro, working xnur 

 finger on the inside of the frame and 

 the thumb next to the outer edge till 

 yrm cpt \f fn the proper firmness ;nid 



shape, taking care that the moss con- inches; the in \i i- luin- nieiie- and the 

 tains the proper moisture. As we all shurtest ace nn iw..i lipiil^s. In other 



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 kee]) them fresh 

 as long as jiossible, lie sure you insert 

 the stem well into the moss. This is 

 one of the most imjiortaiit points. 



Adding the Flowers. 



''When tlie frame is all ready for 

 the flowers, how ;ire we to ])ut tlii'in in.' 

 First, arrange cedar evergreen, binding 

 the fronds with thre.id, conijiletely co\' 

 ering the liack of the wreath. Now we 

 are ready for the real work. The flow- 

 ers are juepared in this manner: I'he 

 longest flowers ai'e slemiiied with a wire 

 six inches long; the next leni-tli is fi\e 



wenls, llie li(^! ll(n\er^ a I'e ^temmeil n]> 

 I lie liiii;;est, the iieNt ^laile ,|iiirte|- ;uiii 

 the piKirest ale Wdikeij III ilideine.atll. 

 ''The loiiocsi iliiwriv are arrannfd at 

 the same allele as 'In- e.lai Irmids, the 

 ^ecoini si/c used In lill n. then ihe third 

 li'lieth .ami liiiaily the -hurte^l liiiwers 

 ell teet hpick--. the 'il.jei-t l)eiiie Id make 

 it .appear as it' the linwer- were coming 

 treiii a ei\|.ii piiiiii aii'l iImi to lainvex- 

 the impie-Nioji ihat ' \\ 1 ■ ^ariaiiijs ot 

 iliiWel's ha\e lieeii |>i|t '(iL^i'tlier cdlilillg 

 I'niiii the saiil ei\ei! piiint. \ll desiou^ 

 tli.at we make are en 'lie >,aihe prin- 

 i-iple: that is, e\r|-\ ildWir mit what is 

 iisi'il ill -,ii|i(l work i- niaile to appear 

 as it' it were roiiiiiii; iiom a certain in- 

 \isili|i- point. I.a-t, leu tea--t, be 



Magnolia Wreath Decked with a Few Miscellaneous Flowers. 



