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December 15, 1904. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



189 



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THE RETAIL 



FLORIST.-... 



s 

 s 



I 



HOLIDAY SUGGESTIONS. 



Embellishing: the Plants. 



Nowadays the arrangement, staging 

 and decoration of plants is as important 

 as the tasteful and delicate blending of 

 colors in cut flowers. We have come to 

 expect that everything that can put forth, 

 or be made to put forth, a bloom stalk 

 at Christmas must be top dressed with 

 ribbons and petticoated in tissue paper. 

 Already this craze has reached its limit, 

 and this year we are seeing a healthy re- 

 action. Now, instead of seeing a dis- 

 play of blooming plants bedecked with 

 huge bows and hoods, we see, first of all, 

 clean bright foliage and new or scoure<l 

 pots, with saucers to each size, and plants 

 stripped of every suggestion of loose or 

 yellow foliage. Here and there one is 

 placed in a modestly colored jardiniere, 

 another has an olive-green crepe paper 

 pot cover tied with baby ribbon to match 

 the paper or blending with the color of 

 the flower. Another has a wider ribbon, 

 if the fldwer is not a showy one, with a 

 neat rosette bow. In neither case is the 

 paper cover very much higher than the 

 top of the pot, and it is frilled out only a 

 little. The lower part has the same 

 finish and covers the outside edge of the 

 saucer. 



Sensible florists will provide the heavy 

 water-proof paper which the supply 

 houses offer for an occasion of this kind, 

 thus guarding against the wilting down 

 and discoloring which takes place the 

 minute a drop of water touches the sur- 

 face of ordinary crepe paper. One roll 

 of paper will make a dozen plain covers 

 for 6-inch or 8-inch pots. Cut in two 

 lengthwise and each piece will be enough 

 for six covers. 



Pot Covers. 



Many serviceable and neat covers can 

 be bought ready for use, in different sizes, 

 with elastic bands and colored linings 

 which are fringed at the top. The latter 

 feature is the main objection to this style. 



Some amateurishly-figured materials 

 have been observed in pot covers. These 

 are not at all to be recommended, even 

 for flowerless plants. The safest color 

 for a pot cover for any plant is the plain 

 dark olive-green without lining. Then 

 there is no objection to using a not too 

 brilliant bow of ribbon to tie. 



Birch bark pot covers are especially 

 good, both on account of the modest grey 

 and brown coloring and their durability. 

 There is nothing prettier for an arau- 

 caria than this rustic setting. 



Get in the touches of brilliant color 

 on the ferns, araucarias and palms, which 

 have no flowers to brighten them. A new 

 pot cover of this kind is made as fol- 

 lows: First cover the pot with water- 

 proof paper; then "tack" a few short 

 pieces of well-berried holly on a short 

 piece of sash ribbon in scarlet or olive- 

 green of a vridth to match the depth of 

 the pot and fasten around the pot with a 

 short, bunchy bow at back. Water plants 



carefully and scantily after covering and 

 decorating the pots. 



Use Little Ribbon. 



As a rule blooming plants should not 

 be decorated above the pot. They are 

 suf&cient in themselves. Therefore ap- 

 proach the decorating of the plants them- 

 selves with fear and trembling. Select 

 one here and there only. In most cases 

 gauze ribbon in grey, pale yellow, white 

 or light lavender or pink is best. Many 

 of these neutral tints have a dainty 

 stripe of a darker color running along the 

 border. Make a fluffy bow of this ma- 

 terial under the foliage of an azalea or 

 pepper plant. Lavender or light green 

 tulle looks airy and dainty among the 

 soft green of the primrose foliage. The 

 only bow permissible on an araucaria is 

 one preferably of thin taffeta or gauze 

 ribbon between the first two whirls, and 

 only one. Many customers will, however, 

 choose holly red ribbon for Christmas 

 plants with which it harmonizes. 



A word as to the displaying of plants. 



that is the basket cover. Wa see them in 

 scarlet, green and soft yellows as well as 

 pink. Use no ribbon with these, unless it 

 be the green. Many of them are good 

 enough to be provided with an inside zinc 

 pan to catch and hold waste water. 

 Hampers in large sizes are pretty recep- 

 tacles for an assortment of foliage plants. 

 The small sizes are suitable for flowers. 

 Where a hamper is filled with plants a 

 lar|fe bow may be used on the lid, if it is 

 thrown back. Don 't attempt to tie a rib- 

 bon around a hamper. It used to be a 

 very general practice and is still done 

 by many but the decorators in the east 

 who set our floral fashions now recognize 

 that it is in better taste omitted. No 

 very tall plants should be used in this 

 style of Iwisket. 



Where a tall palm is used with other 

 plants in a large jardiniere or basket- 

 cover, group a Boston fern or two, with 

 two or three other kinds of ferns, like 

 Pteris tremula and P. serrulata in a 

 thick mat of foliage around the foot of 

 the palm. 



Ferneries can be filled either after the 

 style of the preceding group of plants, 

 with a Cocos Weddelliana in the center 

 and low ferns around, or with an even 

 low top. Cover the soil with a low grow- 

 ing lycopodium or club moss. Cocos 

 Weddelliana in a half cocoanut shell sus- 

 pended like a hanging basket is a taker 

 for Christmas. Hang with three cords of 

 scarlet or narrow ribbon. 



Japanese hanging dishes of decorated 

 china filled with long-leaved ferns are 



A Hamper of Christmas Plants Arransfed by E. 'Wienhoeber Ca, Chicago. 



Avoid step?. Make groups, some low in 

 clumps, others high on iron stands, with 

 medium and low stands in front and 

 around them, and set other plants on 

 the floor in front. Then make a solid 

 wall of say, Boston ferns as a back- 

 ground to other varieties. Of something 

 like primroses or cyclamens make a bor- 

 der or a long line. 



Baskets and Hampers. 



Eeverting to pot covers, there is one 

 kind which should be largfely used, and 



also attractive. Hand-painted china 

 dishes of the same style may be sus- 

 pended with cords or chains and filled in 

 the same way. These china dishes are 

 not drained, of course, and watering 

 should not be overdone. 



Wreaths and Gift Boxes. 

 There is considerable call for ceme- 

 tery wreaths and bunches for Christmas, 

 most of which perhaps are holly or 

 lycopodium in some attractive form, 

 with cut flowers. Besides the holly 



