IfAT 18, 1905. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



1573 



Plants to Use. 



There are plants for every situation 

 and often these boxes are shaded most of 

 the day by the stately elm on the avenuef. 

 We have filled some with Begonia Rex, 

 others with Boston ferns. If sunny, then 

 everybody likes color and there is noth- 

 ing like the gay geranium. Unlike the 

 vases, a mixture for the boxes is prefer- 

 able to a mass unless it be a very shady 



situation and the drooping greenery is 

 the chief beauty. 



Such a box as described, filled with or- 

 dinary-plants, should be worth 75 cents 

 per running ifoot, exclusive of the box, 

 which made of cypress and painted, 

 should be worth 35 cents per lineal foot. 

 Encourage the veranda box. There is 

 nothing, except the beautiful trees, which 

 will better embellish our residence streets. 

 William Scott. 



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EASTER NOVELTIES. 



The illustration on the next page 

 shows the interior of the show house at 

 "The Sign of the Rose," one of Phila- 

 delphia's most unique flower shops. 

 Chas. H. Fox is the proprietor and a man 

 of original ideas. One! of the illustra- 

 tions shows a bougainvillea in a recep- 

 tacle which Mr. Fox originated for 

 Easter of 1904. These are plain wil- 

 low and silk fibre and have since been 

 supplied to the trade by some of the 

 dealers in this class of material but in 

 the form of a more conventional basket. 

 It was the idea of Mr. Fox to depart as 

 far as possible from conventionality, and 

 he seems certainly to have succeeded, 

 at the same time retaining the artistic 

 qualities. 



GROUPING OF PLANTS. 



The grouping of plants is an interest- 

 ing but neglected study. It should be 

 given as much care and thought as the 

 displaying of cut flowers. Instead of 

 that thought and care, when plant dis- 

 plays are to be arranged it seems to 

 be born into human nature to imme- 

 diately and invariably measure out rows 

 and bring every pot in line with the 

 mark, with a generous addition of all 

 the colors in and out of the rainbow, well 

 mixed. To begin with, such an arrange- 

 ment is often thought necessary on ac- 

 coimt of having no background worthy 

 of the name. Now, a background is just 

 as important as the plant display itself 

 and it may make or ruin a fine efl'ect. 



For the display illustrated there were 

 first placed as a background a number 

 of Porto Rican mats in plain, olive 

 green and one lighter green mixed with 

 white in an indistinct pattern. The lat- 

 ter kind were tacked along the wall above 

 the two long shelves where the plants 

 were to be displayed. The darker mats 

 were spread out over the shelves, some 

 straight and some cornerwise, till the 

 surface was covered and also the space 

 beneath to the floor. These mats made 

 a clean, soft background for the group 

 of plants to be arranged for display. 

 Of these plants there was quite a variety, 

 as is often necessary in a retail store. 

 Longiflorum lilies, rubber plants, 

 Asparagus plumosus, Boston ferns. Crim- 

 son Ramblers, white geraniums, a ken- 

 tia, Hermosa, Kaiserin and Ideal roses 

 and light scarlet geraniums, a problem in 

 color, sure enough. The first act was 



to clear out the scarlet geraniums 

 in a side group by themselves. The 

 second move was to group the lilies after 

 the style shown in the illustration, show- 

 ing each plant individually and yet mak- 

 ing each stand in a relation to the whole 

 group, which suggests mildly the form 

 of a crescent. Within the center of the 

 group above there appears a Boston fern 

 in a matting cover and to the right an 

 Asparagus plumosus tipped forward. To 

 the right outside of the line of lilies are 

 two rubber plants and another Boston 

 fern. 



Inside of the circle backed by lilies 

 and bordered in front by the white gera- 

 niums, are the Crimson Ramblers. This 

 marked contrasting of the color intensi- 

 fies both the crimson and the white, which 

 advantage, of course, does not appear in 

 the picture. The Hermosa, Ideal and 

 Kaiserin roses all being harmonious col- 

 ors, are placed together within the left 

 side of the crescent. The intervening 

 space toward the center is comfortably 

 tilled with the white geraniums and a 

 few more of the plumosus plants. 



There were only a few pot covers used, 

 and those few included but one of each 

 kind. A brown basket cover may be seen 

 around a lily jar, one lavender striped 

 Porto Rican mat tied with a purple 

 cord covers the Boston fern near the cen- 

 ter, and an inconspicuous green jardin- 

 iere guiltless of any decoration except 

 gold handles, is barely visible on the 

 right. Gertrude Blaib. 



MEMORIAL DAY. 



Decoration day, the anniversary on which th« 



graves of the soldiers of the United States are 



decorated with flowers. It Is observed on the 



3Uth of May, and Is much cherished by the 

 American people. — Encyclopedia, 



While "Decoration" will doubtless 

 always be the popular name for the day 

 now again approaching, "Memorial" is 

 a better term and, unless usage makes 

 for correctness, the proper one. For a 

 number of years ago the Grand Army of 

 the Republic, whose very own the day 

 then was, at one of its national encamp- 

 ments, expressed its belief that the word. 





The Grouping of Plants. 



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