' i .. ,--1 .'? W.-^ * ?r><;>7, ./> Vity- f , 



898 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



Septehbkr 29, 1904. 



But if your soil will grow them as does 

 Jamestown, then a single specimen is 

 grand enough. 



I think why we so often see this hy- 

 drangea stunted or straggling is that we 

 simply starve it, both for food and water. 

 All the hydrangeas, as their name im- 

 plies, are heavy drinkers and the soil, 

 unless naturally rich and on gravel, 

 should be liberally supplied with manure 

 at planting time and every spring a 



heavy mulch spread around the surface. 

 One other point. Every spring prune 

 back all last year's growth to three or 

 four eyes. As they had 30° below zero 

 in Jamestown last winter, this Japanese 

 shrub or dwarf tree is not very tender 

 and then, again, you may say its bloom- 

 ing season extends from the end of 

 July until winter snows give it a shel- 

 tering blanket of the "beautiful." 



Wm. Scott. 



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t 

 I 



BEGINNINGS 



IN DESIGN... 



DECORATIVE SCHEMES. 



Pillar Decorations. 



Among the separate architectural fea- 

 tures that form a part of a floral dec- 

 oration as a whole are mantels, mir- 

 rors, staircases, doorways, chandeliers, 

 arches, pillars, windows, walls and 

 ceilings. While a decoration as a 

 whole should be connected and uni- 

 form, it is much easier, both for illus- 

 trative and descriptive purposes, to 

 treat each feature separately. The il- 

 lustration for today is a small detail 

 of a wedding decoration, the mantel 

 and mirror portion of which were pre- 

 sented in the Review some time last 

 year and treated under the subject of 

 "Drapery Studies." This pillar was 

 some distance in front of a mantel in 

 front of which the bridal party stood. 



As is easily seen, the only decoration 

 attempted for the pillar is a smilax 

 garland, the main part of which con- 

 sisted of three strings of smilax sepa- 

 rated at the heavy ends so as t« make 

 the garland nearly uniform in thick- 

 ness. In short, we have one long 

 string of smilax equal in length to 

 three ordinary strings. Fasten with 

 tiny wire >vrappingB easily concealed 

 among the foliage. At the point where 

 the first two strings come together at- 

 tach the heavy end of a third string 

 for a side garland, and a little lower 

 down attach a second branch garland. 

 Fasten the upper end of the main gar- 

 land to the middle of a wire long 

 enough to encircle the top of the pillar 

 two or three times. Wrap and tie the 

 wire tight enough to hold the garland 

 around the pillar, but not tight enough 

 to scratch its finish. One ought to be 

 careful of these wire ends. In most 

 cases they should be gotten out -of 

 sight, but here it is best to let them 

 project outward from the pillar, as 

 being so high up as to be out of sight 

 and harmless. 



Start the main garland downward 

 as is shown on the right side of the ac- 

 companying illustration. When more than 

 one-third of the way down, direct in a 

 curve across the front of the pillar, 

 thence back around the opposite side 

 to a point immediately under the first 

 turn; then let the end of the garland 

 fall to the floor easily toward the left. 

 Of course th6 garland will hold itself 

 in place to the last point from which 

 it falls to the floor. Attach here one 

 end of a piece of No. 36 wire about a 



foot long; wrap in under the foliage. 

 Carry the wire straight across the pil- 

 lar to the left until it strikes a point 

 on the lower branch garland as it 

 hangs. Attach it at the most conven- 

 ient point and fasten the wire. Cover 

 this last wire with a little spray of 

 smilax. Train the upper branch gar- 



Smilax on a Pillar. 



land similarly on the other side of tiie 

 pillar, and the whole web will hang 

 together of itself. Here and there on 

 the main garland pull out a delicate 

 spray and catch it somewhere around 

 the pillar. Let the most of this be 

 done toward the upper part. Occa- 

 sionally allow a loose spray to fall 

 where it will. 



It will.be noted that the top of the 

 garland is started below the capital. 

 This is usually the most ornamental 

 part of the pillar, where the design 

 shows much of the architect's skill. 

 Do not cover this up. Let the tempo- 

 rary decorations rather catch the idea 

 of the architect and carry out the lines 

 of design instead of proceeding inde- 

 pendently. The draperies to the right, 

 left and back of the column in this 

 illustration are the connecting lines of 

 the rest of the decoration, and do not 

 belong to the pillar design especially. 



Where the heavy part of the decora- 

 tion is at the bottom of the pillar and 

 becomes lighter as the top is reached, 

 good use can be made of galax. Braid 

 the stems of galax leaves in a single 

 strand, having the leaves touch, base 

 to tip. Fasten the tip end of the gar- 

 land around the base of the pillar in 

 the same way as the smilax garland 

 was fastened at the top of the other 

 pillar. Start the garland around the 

 pillar, the first circle being made close 

 to the floor. Continue wrapping, cov- 

 ering the surface of the pillar solidly 

 till about one-half of the height is 

 reached. Make the next round slight- 

 ly apart, and continue widening the 

 distance toward the top. Bronze galax 

 leaves or green would do just as well. 

 WUth this decoration also there need 

 be no tacking or scratching. 



Garlands of one kind or another 

 seem to be the most natural pillar dec- 

 orations, but where there is space to 

 spare blooming plants or a circular 

 bank of long-stemmed flowers, ferns or 

 other foliage may be employed to ad- 

 vantage. Fill in the bank with sphag- 

 num, stem the flowers and foliage, as 

 is done for a basket, and insert the 

 longer, stiffer stems up against the sur- 

 face of the pillar all around. Set the 

 shorter stems and the drooping flowers 

 around the outside. If the tall ones 

 are disposed to droop very much, tie 

 around the pillar with wire, as was done 

 with the garlands. In order to make a 

 good display the banking should be 

 run up three or four feet. Use no 

 trimmings at the top of the pillar for 

 such a decoration as this. 



Gertrude Blair. 



FLOWERS BY TELEGRAPH. 



Put a neat sign in your window: "Fu- 

 neral or gift flowers delivered by tele- 

 graph anywhere in the United States." 

 When you have taken an order refer to 

 the page of "Leading Betail Florists" 

 in the Review and select a man to whom 

 to telegraph the order. You will find it 

 a very satisfactory source of new busi- 

 ness. 



Bradford, III. — Mrs. H. B. Blaisdell 

 & Son send their patrons a very neat 

 blotter which they evidently find a good 

 business bringer. 



RocKFORD, III. — ^Leonard Lawson, an 

 employe at the Edward Dempsey & Co. 

 greenhouse, stepped on a rusty nail Sep- 

 tember 23, which penetrated his foot 

 and his condition is now alarming. 



