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Fbbbdaby 97, 1908. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



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THE RETAIL 



FLORIST 



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IN THE SUNNYiSOUTH. 

 The coat of arms of the city of Savan- 

 nah, Ga., is represented in the accom- 

 panying illustration. It is the design 

 which the Daughters of the Confederacy 

 of Georgia sent to the unveiling of the 

 Jefferson Davis monument at Eichmond, 

 Va., and was made by Albert C. Oelschig, 

 the youngest member of the firm of A, C. 

 Oelschig & Sons. The design stood over 

 six feet high and was nearly as wide. 

 The flowers used were valley and blue 

 hydrangeas, with longiflorum lilies set 

 among the hydrangeas, the blue flowers 

 being used to give the proper color. The 

 background of the plaque was of smilax 

 and at the base caladium leaves were 

 used. 



MAKING UP BASKETS. 



Plant Baskets. 



There are really three classes into 

 which to divide floral baskets, namely, 

 plant baskets, baskets of flowers and a 

 combination of both. As it is possible 

 to describe only one at a time, let us 

 take the first. 



Before going into details in regard to 

 the planting or arranging of plant bas- 

 kets, would it not be a good plan to talk 

 over the various good reasons why every 

 live, up-to-date flower store should at 

 all times display some made up baskets? 

 As we are all in the business for the 

 good, honest dollar, just size up the 

 basket proposition and see where the 

 dollars come in. In the first place, 

 there are always some plants that will 

 not sell readily unless they are dressed 

 up, so to speak. Among these, for in- 

 stance, are small palms with maybe one 

 or more broken leaves, blooming plants 

 that are quite far advanced or of a poor 

 shape, etc. This is one reason why bas- 

 kets are profitable, for by working such 

 stoek into baskets it will not only sell 

 readily, but give satisfaction to the pur- 

 chaser. ' 



Then, again, the larger stores are al- 

 ways compelled to keep on hand a nice 

 assortment of empty baskets of various 

 shapes and colors. Some of these are 

 sure to become shop-worn, no matter 

 how careful we may be. The color may 

 fade or the handle get broken. These, 

 when made up, make just as fine bas- 

 kets as new ones. I have found it a 

 good plan to give some of the more 

 soiled a coat of olive green paint or 

 some other suitable color. 



Another reason why you should and 

 will sell plant baskets is, because they 

 make most appropriate gifts, which 

 cannot help but please the recipients. 

 What better gift could be sent than a 

 nicely arranged basket of plants! 

 riowers last but a few days at the most, 

 while a single plant would hardly seem 

 enough to send. Then there are store 

 openings or store decorations. Set a 

 few baskets around on the counters, 

 charging a fair rental for them. Last 

 but not least, a few seasonable baskets 

 standing around in your store will add 

 much to its attractiveness and, even if 



they do not sell at once, they may sell 

 some other article for you. 



Various Shapes. 



There is really no limit to the num- 

 ber of shapes of baskets, but a great 

 many of these are not good for use as 

 plant baskets. In fact, some are not of 

 much use for anything but an ornament. 

 Still, we must carry an assortment. In 

 most cases when a person buys a basket 

 of plants, he does so be(!ause he wants 

 an article that will last longer than cut 

 flowers. Many people will take care of 

 the plants and make them last a long 

 time, and I consider it a good adver- 

 tisement if our flowers and plants last 

 well. You may say that if they keep 

 too long you will not sell as many, but 

 this I consider poor logic. 



deep to fill with an assortment of plants. 

 A basket of this style looks well with 

 a tall plant in the center and several 

 low ones planted around the bottom. 

 Still another shape is one that is all 

 handle and fancy work, with no room 

 for plants. This you would better pass 

 by. Next we run across some pretty 

 birch-bark hampers. These are artistic 

 when well filled. Now we come to the 

 good, common-sense shape of basket; 

 one that is of a reasonable depth, say 

 about four to six inches, with the width 

 and length in proportion. This is the 

 shape that will make the nicest plant 

 basket of any. 



In all plant baskets there should be 

 a tin to retain the moisture and prevent 

 it from soiling tables, as well as to keep 

 the plants in better condition. Most 

 supply houses include the tin with the 

 baskets if this is desired. If you have 

 the tins made by a local tinsmith, ex- 

 plain to him that all you want is the 

 cheapest material that will hold water 

 and that you do not want any fancy- 

 work. This will reduce the cost consid- 

 erably. 



If you are making up a basket of 

 plants for sale, plant them with just as 

 much care as if they were being potted 

 up in single pots. If only for tem- 



The Coat of Arms of Savannah. 



^With the above in mind, let us just 

 size up our stock of baskets and see 

 what wo find. First we run across a 

 basket with a rounding bottom, the 

 deepest part of which is only two inch- 

 es, while at the sides it has no depth at 

 all. Such a one may be all right for 

 flowers, but it is of no use to us at pres- 

 ent. Then there is the other extreme, 

 one shaped more like a vase, almost too 



porary use at some store opening, you 

 can use sphagnum moss to fill in; this 

 will retain the moisture for some time. 

 If in an emergency you have no time to 

 have a tin made, then line the bottom 

 of the basket with some tinfoil. For 

 temporary filling it is really not neces- 

 sary to take the larger plants out of 

 the pots, providing you have room for 

 them. Hugo Schroeter. 



