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. The Florists^ Review 



29 



rades of the Civil war should iicvor fade 

 from the memory of the American peo- 

 ple iust so determined are the veterans 

 of the Spanish-American war and the 

 members of the American Legion and 

 the War Mothers of America that the 

 valor of the men who died in this cause 

 should be ])erpetuated, not in flowery- 

 speeches, not in shafts of marble alone, 

 but in tiie fleshy tablets of the hearts 

 of the American people. This is the 

 reason why May 30, 1921, was the 

 largest flower day in the history of the 

 business for that occasion. 



Our nation is not yet 150 years old, 

 and yet today we are decorating the 

 graves of the heroes of six wars. Who 

 would dare to prophesy what another 

 century will bring forth? 



Florists ' Service. 



Now this article is not written from 

 .•I patriotic standpoint, but with the 

 idea of arousing the florists of this 

 country to one of the greatest oppor- 

 tunities that ever knocked at their door. 

 Memorial day wilLias.t as long as the 

 nation. Whiit is the florists' duty in 

 the matter? In these days we hear 

 much about the florist's commercializ- 

 ing such occasions as Mothers' day and 

 Memorial day. Flowers must be had for 

 both of these occasions; is there any- 

 thing wrong in the florist telling the 

 public he has flowers and that he is in 

 business to provide flowers for just such 

 occasions? Commercialism is not an 

 epithet to be ashamed of. Could any- 

 one take oflfense at the florist for mak- 

 ing suggestions for the use of flowers on 

 these occasions? There is not a retail 

 industry in this country that does not 

 advertise its wares at Christmas, and 

 nothing is thought of it. Is there any 

 more disrespect in the florist advertis- 

 ing Mothers ' day or Memorial day than 

 the birth of our Savior, or Good Friday, 

 or Easter, the anniversary of His death 

 and resurrection? It is the plain duty 

 of the florist to pay no attention to this 

 petty carping, but by intelligent and 

 systematic publicity make Memorial 

 day one of the greatest flower days of 

 the year. Push the day; devise new 

 ways to use flowers on this day, and 

 you will be doing the nation a service 

 by kee])ing the memory of its fallen 

 heroes fresh in the minds of the people. 



Tate. 



WREATHS FOR EVERY PURSE. 



A Prevailing Appeal. 



Sometimes — Memorial day is one of 

 the times — the American public acts for 

 purely sentimental reasons, but not 

 often. Generally the practical sense, 

 which is innate, appeals. And when- 

 ever the sentimental can be combined 

 with the practical to a common end the 

 result is magical. This explains in part 

 the success and popularity of the wreath 

 for Memorial day purposes. 



The wreath is neat; it is emblematic; 

 it is dignified; it is easily portable, and 

 it is convenient to arrange on a grave 

 in a cemetery where the water hydrants 

 are at a distance, the pails are leaky 

 and all the people about, it seems, are 

 at that hydrant at the same time in a 

 fine pool of mud. And wreaths are sub- 

 stantial. This is the public's point of 

 view and it insures demand. 



And the supply is as flexible as you 

 want to make it, while every wreath 

 can be given its own individuality. 

 This is a powerful selling point. The 



MEMORIAL FLOWERS 



7 ^K. ^^ 



Memorial Wreaths with Clustets of 

 Favorite Flowers to deck the graves of 

 our loved ones. 



We are ofYering specially Magnolia, 

 and Galax Wreaths fashioned with a 

 cluster of roses, also Wreaths of Cape 

 Flowers in manv varieties from $v3.00 to 

 $25.00 each; 



Beautiful Patriotic Bouquets and 

 every variety of fine fresh cut flowers. 



Roses in many colors and lengths of 

 stems, $1.50 per dozen and up. 



Peonies and Carnations $1.50 per doz. 



Boxes of mixer] flowers as low as $2 00 

 each. 



Cape Jasmine 75c a dozen. 



Rose' Bushes, Hydrangeas and otiier 

 blooming plants. 



Telegraph, Telephone and* Mail Or- 

 ders given prompt and careful attention. 



^ A:^ANGE, FLORIST 



77-79 EAST MADISON STREET 



Two D..r, W,rt of Michigan BM. Tolephon, CMrmi 3777. A* l>et,ar*m,nl. 



Type of Advertisement Found Most Profitable by Chicago Loop Florist. 



clever florist can take a 16-inch circle 

 of galax, magnolia or other prepared 

 foliage, assemble some roses, carnations, 

 or other flowers, add some ribbon, and 

 the job is done. And the price of the 

 wreath can be regulated by the material 

 used, of course. 



A Past and Future. 



One might say that the modern-day 

 wreath in the florists ' business is Ji 

 product of evolution. In the beginning 

 the wreath was made ''from the bottom 

 up"; that is, the florist did everything 

 from constructing the base to tying in 

 the cut flowers and fern, or whatever 

 was used. All this, of course, took time, 

 and limited the output. Then followed 

 the galax wreath, product of Boston, it 

 is said, and competition spurred on busi- 

 ness. This was followed by the mag- 

 nolia wreath, which soon became so 

 popular that trainloads were consumed 

 every Memorial day. And the florist 

 really began to produce. The evolution 

 is still in progress. 



Getting back to present-day condi- 

 tions, it can be said that the most of 

 those who now do a big business in 

 Memorial day wreaths started in a 

 small way and worked gradually up. By 

 study of their experience one finds that 

 it is foolhardy to start in too "big" at 

 first. Of course, it is true that if the 

 wreaths do not sell so well as expected 

 they can be kept in a cool and not too 

 dry jdace, to be used at a later time for 

 funerals, etc. 



Doubtless, the average florist carries 

 several wreaths of magnolia leaves in 

 stock at all times, in readiness to make 



up for sudden calls. And perhaps he 

 makes three or four 18-inch wreaths 

 from a basket of the leaves. This would 

 make the wreaths good and full. But 

 by making the wreaths not quite so 

 great in circumference ;nid with the 

 leaves not overlapped so much, one can 

 got five, six or even seven 16-inch 

 wreaths from the same basket of stock. 

 Most florists, however, buy their 

 wreaths ready-made. For Memorial day 

 sale the Ki-inch wreath is about right 

 for average use. 



Fitting the Purse. 



From a study of a number of adver- 

 tisements on wreaths for Memorial day, 

 it is found that the average price is 

 low, except where something special 

 and a great deal out of the ordinary is 

 handled. But, as intimated before, the 

 ingenious florist can make them up for 

 any price. For instance, a wreath can 

 he made on wire or rattan, much like 

 the Christmas wreath of holly. Made 

 up in a 15-inch size, these can be 

 trimmed with a little ribbon and a few 

 flowers of any kind on hand, and so 

 made "to fit the purse." 



Even though the magnolia wreath 

 came in to take preference over the 

 galax wreath for Memorial day, never- 

 theless the peony has remained "the" 

 flower for wreath use for this occasion. 

 In making a wreath with peonies, care 

 must be taken not to make too heavy 

 an efifect. Sprengeri, rightly used, w^ill 

 lighten the effect and valley will add 

 a telling touch. Color can be introduced 

 by a little chiffon, a few ficus and pan- 

 danus leaves, or something of the kind. 





