sr^j.i — ■ ..■ j'. - vs^'i^'," 



JULV 20, 1905. 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



449 



THE RETAIL 



FLORIST. 



^«^ ^Mf»> -^^r^ 'Mr^ ■Ur»> '■U^ ■i^^».t^^Wr».ife»>^Wt^Vr^K <it^ «*-*>%<Sr»>-U-».'W^^^k<rd» 



f 



A SUMMER WINDOW. 



A good-sized stump with a short, 

 broad branch on the left, banked at the 

 back and right side with Boston ferns 

 and auratum lilies is the center of the 

 window display illustrated this week. 

 The floor of the window is covered with 

 sheet moss as usual. Grouped in front 

 of the stump, close up to it to resemble 

 the habits of growth, are a few small 

 ferns in pots. A wide brimmed sun hat 

 is nailed on the branch of the stump 

 and filled with coreopsis. A small dish 

 containing water is easily concealed in 

 the crown of the hat, and the flowers 

 straggle out from it in every direction. 

 A rent is made about half way around 

 the crown on the right and some of the 

 flowers are drawn through backward 

 till they hang out from under the edge 

 of the brim. The vase holding the stems 

 of these flowers should be covered with 

 moss and other green. 



In the rear of the window, towards 

 the left, is a small group of yellow cal- 

 ceolarias. All the pots of these groups 

 of growing plants are covered with moss. 

 In attempting a wild scene like this, 

 every trace of greenhouse "fixings" 

 should be hidden. 



One detail in this study should be ob- 

 served; namely, there is a way out, ap- 

 parently. Some opening or parts should 

 be left, having the appearance of lead- 

 ing out or back. Vacancies are a rest 

 to the eye and make a depth to a win- 

 dow which no amount of filled space can 

 ever do. This opening or vista need not 

 be very large, but its presence some- 

 where is an essential feature of a good 

 window picture. The coloring here is 

 yellow, brown blending with red in the 

 coreopsis and auratums. 



Gertrude Blair. 



EXHIBITION PIECES. 



Now is the time to begin planning 

 for fairs and flower shows, which require 

 or ought to require, designs of a special 

 'lass. Too often, where an award is 

 offered for the best flower design, a fu- 

 neral design is chosen for competition, 

 from lack of expenence or interest, and 

 ^00 often the general public gets the 

 impression that design work is con- 

 fined to that class. Funeral designs on 

 Wire frames, with the exception of large, 

 fine ones, upon which there are oppor- 

 tunities for the display of excellent ma- 

 jf'rial and fine arrangement, are fast 

 'King pushed to the rear by loose sprays 

 "nd clusters. 



Tf you want to be in the lead in your 

 ■■oinmunity, show how to make other 

 "ower designs of a happier kind. In 

 "y'ler to make such work worth while, 

 I'lan Avith the officials and superinten- 

 ' fnt of the flower department. Have 

 y'l'^ni understand the expense of prepar- 

 l^^'iJ? such work and give them to under- 

 ^•■'iid that if they want an attractive ^is- 

 '"'^.v, premiums of considerable value 

 "»'st be offered. Most officials will pay 



attention to your interests if properly 

 presented, especially in the agricultural 

 and horticultural societies. Aluch de- 

 pends upon the location and surround- 

 ings in the exhibition hall. Good light, 

 with freedom from draughts, are the 

 most important requirements. Cold stor- 

 age cases with plate glass fronts are next 

 in order. These are only reasonable 

 needs where flowers must be on exhibi- 

 tion twenty-four hours before being 

 judged and several days after. 



Collections of flowers, both general 

 and specific, are as a rule, the most 

 poorly displayed of any exhibition 

 pieces. Despite the fact that flowers are 

 supposed to keep well in damp sphag- 

 num, it really makes very little differ- 

 ence. By all means have the stems in 

 water. Have one collection in a tall 

 vase and another in a basket of con- 

 venient shape and size to hold a dish of 



possible to arrange with the best effect 

 and have any considerable amount of the 

 stems reach the water. 



If difficulty is met in keeping flowers 

 in place in shallow dishes, put in a net- 

 work of wire across the top of the pan, 

 or fill the pan with stiff green down in 

 the water and insert the stems as into 

 sphagnum, minus the picks, of course. 



Among the designs which are not too 

 commonly seen in exhibitions might be 

 named an automobile, o. chariot, a spray 

 in a frame like a picture, a harp or 

 lyre in festive arrangement or a pic- 

 ture hat. For either of the first two, 

 one dove perched on the front with rib- 

 bons attached to two flying doves in 

 front, might be attractive for an elab- 

 orate piece. Any of the familiar' color 

 combinations would be suitable, ^being 

 careful to make the body of thippiece 

 either in one color or shaded, rathBr than 

 a mixture. Then fill in what flowers are 

 in the top of a decidedly different color 

 and kind, remembering that striking con- 

 trasts will best serve your purpose. 



Make the spray in the frame like a 

 panel on a background of rich foliage, 

 like bronze galax or ivy. Make an elab- 

 orate frame from roses or some striking 

 color in garden flowers. Pin the spray 

 securely to the background and suspend 

 like a picture. The long panel will be 

 the best shape. 



A Summer Show Window. 



water to fit. In another have a bowl 

 or pan of water covered with bark or 

 ferns. Use one or two of your mantel 

 pans with a raffia covering, or fill a 

 birch bark canoe with Fome one of the 

 collections. Where a hand bouquet is 

 among the entries, the longer stemmed 

 flowers can be made to reach the water 

 in a tall vase. Make the shower bushv 

 enough to stand out from the vase. This 

 will be the most difficult exhibit to hold 

 in good shape as it cannot be sprink- 

 led on account of the ribbon, nor is it 



A picture hat can be made entirely of 

 flowers, crown and upper and under 

 brim. Pansies, cornflowers in blue and 

 purple, with light pink asters and a 

 wreath of pink roses or a plume of deli- 

 cate green would work in well. Adian- 

 tums for the upper part of the brim 

 would work in properly. 



The harp or lyre can be made of either 

 green or some solid coloi ^n flowers 

 with a broad base filled with a variety 

 of flowers and a great cluster falling 

 through the strings forward at their 



