MAT 23, 1907. 



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SUGGESTIONS 



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Memorial Day. 



The florists' busiest season is now at 

 hand. Of the several holidays, a greater 

 amount of labor is involved in prepara- 

 tory work for Memorial day than for 

 any of the other great days, Easter it- 

 self not being excepted. Of course, to 

 those specialists who handle only one 

 flower, like roses or carnations, it may 

 make butv little difference, but to the 

 grower who handles a little of everything 

 and sells all he can at retail it entails 

 an enormous amount of work. Bedding 

 out, filling vases and window-boxes, 

 cemetery planting, doing necessary clean- 

 ing up for many, and then the rush of 

 orders for bouquets, wreaths and loose 

 flowers of all kinds, makes the season a 

 strenuous and trying one. When every- 

 one wants his or her place planted and 

 cleaned up for Memorial day, it means 

 that many hours of overtime must be 

 put in. Happily the florist is not as a 

 rule hampered by trades union edicts, 

 and long may he remain so. Pay your 

 men who are faithful and industrious 

 well for overtime worked. Do not make 

 impossible promises to your customers, 

 but try to please all you can, and you 

 will do about all that it is possible for a 

 man to do. 



Saving Bulbs. 



Some of your customers no doubt have 

 tulips, hyacinths and other bulbs in beds 

 to be planted with geraniums or cannas. 

 No doubt some of them will have the 

 idea that if these are dug up, the tops 

 cut off and the roots laid by in the cel- 

 lar to dry, they can be planted again in 

 October to make a gorgeous show another 

 spring. Do not encourage them in any 

 sufeh delusions; sell them fresh bulbs 

 next fall. But if it is intended to save 

 the bulbs, lift them carefully with the 

 foliage and replant rather thickly in 

 some dry and shady spot until the foliage 

 has dried down, when they may be lifted 



and stored. Hyacinth bulbs are of little 

 value for bedding a second season. 

 Tulips do fairly well, while narcissi 

 and crocus flower very well. 



Form of Bedi. 



Before planting out any bedding stock 

 the beds should be liberally^ manured ancT 

 spaded over. The usual practice is to 

 have them pyramided in the centers for 

 the sake of appearance. This is a big 

 mistake. Such beds are difficult to keep 

 moist, for if once allowed to bake, rain- 

 falls all run off to the sides. The per- 

 sistent sprinkling with the hose will soon 

 harden the surface of any border, but it 

 is hard to teach amateurs that the intelli- 

 gent use of a hoe is better for promoting 

 plant growth than nightly wettings over- 

 head. 



Cannas and Geraniums. 



The two principal bedding plants for 

 flower effects are cannas and geraniums, 

 the latter being, of course, in greatest 

 demand. In the case of the latter, it 

 is much better to have beds of one shade 

 of color rather than to have lines or 

 bands of a variety of shades. Scarlet 

 and 'white can be used in the same bed, 

 but scarlet and pink should never be to- 

 gether. Those who prefer a light edging 

 can have that useful variegated variety, 

 Mme. Salleroi. In* the case of cannas, 

 \\^hile a mixture does not look well, alter- 

 nate rings of scarlet and yellow do not 

 look bad. A large oval bed of, say, 

 Alphonse Bouvier, with a thick double 

 row of a good yellow around it, looks 

 well and the colors reversed are equally 

 good. 



G)Ietts and Altemantheras. 



No doubt some of your customers will 

 insist upon beds of coleus and alteman- 

 theras. They grow readily and soon 

 cover the space allotted them. But they 

 are not satisfying, as are the flowering 

 beds. 



Do not on any consideration use lines 

 of coleus, geraniums, ageratums and simi- 

 lar stock to produce a bold show. Foliage 

 and flowering plants do not harmonize 

 and should be separated. Solid beds of 

 verbenas, Drummond's phlox, nastur- 

 /tiums and petunias are in excellent taste, 

 and mixed colors of any of these look 

 well. Nasturtiums prefer rather poor 

 soil or they will make rank growth at 

 the expense of flower. Any of the four 

 plants named are alno good for scatter- 

 ing in clumps or lines along shrubberies. 

 Nicotiana Sanderse and N. affinis are 

 good for massing effects, preferring a 

 little shade. Begonia Erfordii, Vernon 

 and La Vesuve make excellent solid beds 

 and nice edgings. Tuberous-rooted be- 

 gonias succeed well only where they get 

 protection from the hot midday sun. 



Vases. 



When it comes to filling vases, remember 

 that as the body of soil is necessarily 

 small, it should be well enriched to carry 

 the plants successfully through the sea- 

 son. Here again it is much better to use 

 one variety and color of plant than a 

 massy mixture. Be sure you give gera- 

 niums a good, sunny location. In heavy 

 shade use green foliage plants or such 

 shade-loving subjects as tuberous be- 

 gonias. Cannas also need plenty of sun- 

 light. Dracaena indivisa is the centerpiece 

 par excellence for vase work. Phoenix 

 Canariensis and P. rupicola are satisfac- 

 tory palms. Latania Borbonica is so 

 heavy in foliage that it smothers plants 

 below it. Kentias cannot be successfully 

 used unless it is a shaded and wind-proof 

 location. In large vases, where a miscel- 

 laneous mixture is wanted, use such sub- 

 jects as cannas, Curculigo recurvata, 

 Grevillea robusta and crotons with nar- 

 row foliage, and for edging Asparagus 

 Sprengeri, variegated vinca, English ivy, 

 Abutilon Savitzii and ivy-leaved gera- 

 niums. The last named, by the way, 

 make excellent vases by themselves. 



Window-Boxes. 



In the case of window or veranda- 

 boxes, which steadily increase in popu- 

 larity, much of the foregoing material 

 may be used. In addition, nasturtiums, 

 verbenas and petunias are all good and 

 the three latter flowers make splendid 

 individual boxes, flowering all summer 

 long. If the location is fairly well 

 shaded, nephrolepis ferns will succeed 



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Bed of Ficus, Grevillea Robusta and Ivy, Planted by A. P. Frey at Lincoln Park, Chicaeo. 





