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Mabch 12, 1908. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review. 



THE RETAIL 



FLORIST 



MAKING UP BASKETS. 



Baskets of Flowers. 



In a former article on baskets I di- 

 vided them into three classes, namely, 

 plant baskets, cut flower baskets and a 

 combination of both. 



While I consider it a good plan to 

 have a few nicely made up plant baskets 

 standing around in the store, this would 

 not be practical with cut flower baskets. 

 But some baskets adapt themselves 

 nicely to hold fiber or glass vases, while 

 others have a tin or zinc lining. A nice 

 bunch of suitable flowers can be put into 

 such a basket, and it will not only help 

 to decorate your store, but will aid in 

 selling the flowers by attracting special 

 attention to them. 



Small glass vases especially made for 

 this purpose, or the test tubes used by 

 chemists, can also be held in place in the 

 basket with moss. Fill these with water 

 and put your flowers into them. This 

 idea you can also carry out in a table 

 decoration, when using some flower that 

 is apt to wilt. 



Many Styles of Baskets. 



There are countless shapes and colors 

 of baskets and each one can be used to 

 good effect in one way or another. Some 

 baskets are made of fancy material or 

 are nicely colored. These I would cover 

 as little as possible. Again, some bas- 

 kets of useful shape are of an unattract- 

 ive color, or have become faded from ex- 

 posure. In this case cover the basket 

 well with the green and flowers. Others 

 are left, in the plain straw color; these 

 should be pretty well covered, unless oth- 

 erwise specified. 



Uses of Baskets. 



The uses to which baskets can be put 

 are nearly as many as there are styles 

 and shapes. Take, for instance, a table 

 to be used as a serving table only. A 

 suitable basket in the center makes a 

 dainty and simple decoration. For such 

 an occasion I would use a high handled 

 basket, unless there is a dome or fixture 

 which hangs low over the table. If the 

 table is a large one, place four small 

 baskets, corresponding with the center 

 one, near the corners of the table. In 

 case you wish to decorate a table at 

 which the guests are to be seated, a low 

 basket without a handle can be used. A 

 small basket placed at each plate makes 

 pretty favors. These should, of course, 

 be quite small and should be filled with 

 some small flower, as sweet peas, daisies, 

 valley, etc. 



Store openings also create almost un- 

 limited opportunities for the use of bas- 

 kets. Here is a chance to make a good 

 profit, for in most instanced the making 

 up of the basket is left to the florist. 



A medium sized basket of choice flow- 

 ers makes a suitable gift to a friend. 



A basket of suitable color, filled with 

 yellow roses, daffodils, yellow mums, etc., 

 and tied with a ribbon to match, makes 

 an appropriate gift for a golden wedding 

 celebration. 



A basket of plain design, filled mostly 

 with white flowers and surmounted by a 

 dove, will be appropriate for a funeral. 

 The dove is, of course, not necessary, but 

 at the same time it looks well. 



I could go on in this way and name 

 many more chances for using baskets, but 

 do not wish to tire my readers. 



Flowers to Use. 



Not only the popular flowers of the 

 day, but any flower available, can be 

 worked up nicely into a basket. Of 

 course the color and arrangement depend 

 on the occasion for which the basket is 

 to be used, as also does the style of the 

 basket. 



With the foregoing hints on shapes. 



place with some string in such a way 

 that the string will not show after the 

 basket is finished. Cover the moss with 

 fern leaves. 



Now we are ready for the peas. Stem 

 them either to toothpicks or match 

 sticks. After you have a suflScient quan- 

 tity stemmed, commence making the bas- 

 ket. Make the arrangement as airy as 

 possible; this is easy if you have some 

 of the peas stemmed longer than the 

 others, ^tick the short ones into the 

 moss and then follow with the long oneS' 

 scattered in between. See to it that 

 some of the flowers hang a little over the 

 sides of the basket. Wind a nice piece 

 of smilax, not too heavy, around the han- 

 dle and the basket is finished. 



If you wish to elaborate a little on 

 the basket, you can run the flowers up 

 one side of the handle. Begin a little to 

 one side of the top of the handle, with 

 just one or two peas. Tie them to the 

 handle the same as if you were starting 

 to wind a garland. As you work along 

 downward, use more peas. Have them 

 twine all around the handle. A "Tew jCx- 

 tra long sweet peas should be put in be- 

 tween those already in the basket, on the 



A Presentation Basket of Carnations. 



styles, color, etc, in mind, we will now 

 proceed to make up a few baskets. 



Making Up a Basket. 



We will suppose that our basket is to 

 be used as the centerpiece on a reception 

 table. Our order calls for sweet peas. 

 As stated before, a basket on a serving 

 table, where the guests are not to be 

 seated, can have a high handle. Tick 

 out a basket about ten inches across and 

 of a color that will harmonize nicely with 

 the pink peas. Fill it with sphagnum 

 moss; have the moss about even with the 

 top of the basket. Tie the moss into 



side on which the handle has been 

 trimmed, so as to have a tapering effect. 

 Use a little of the same green between 

 the peas on the handle as you have used 

 in the basket. So much for the sweet 

 pea basket. 



Baskets for Funerals, 



A basket for a funeral can be made 

 up in various ways. Use either all white 

 flowers or white and some other delicate 

 color, as the particular case or customer 

 may demand. Of course, almost any 

 shape of basket can be used, but some 



