Mat 21, 1908. 



The Weekly Florists' Review^ 





r^ 



y<*^' 



THE RETAIL 



FLORIST 



\ 



i 



FLOWERS FROM LODGES. 



, In a majority of tHe florists' clubs 

 throughout the country it is the prac- 

 tice to send a design to the funeral of 

 each member who dies. In some cases, 

 the character of the design is left to the 

 man who makes the piece, but a number 

 of organizations h"ave adopted a stand- 

 ard design, which is recognized as rep- 

 resentative of the club. The design 

 adopted by the Kentucky Society of 

 Florists is shown in tlie accompanying 

 illustration. It is a wreath on an easel. 

 The wreath is composed of gala^ leaves, 

 with carnations and valley. A similar 

 piece is sent each time there is a death 

 in the club membership. 



One of the peculiar features of the 

 plan adopted by this society is in rela- 

 tion to who is to make the design. The 

 florist is not expected to donate any- 

 thing, and it is the rule to follow the 

 membership list in order to tell who is 

 to do the work. The first time after the 

 rule was adopted the work went to the 

 first named on the alphabetical mem- 

 bership list. It ' had progressed as far 

 as the name of Jacob Schulz in the pres- 

 ent instance. 



Many retail florists have achieved repu- 

 tations as "joiners" simply for the 

 advantage which lodge membership gives 

 by gaining a Avide acquaintance. Those 

 who are lodge members often can get 

 it arranged so that they have authority 

 to send a designated floral tribute, rec- 

 ognized as representing the lodge, every 

 time a member dies, without special ac- 

 tion at a stated meeting. 



FUNERAL VORK. 



Notes on Set Pieces. 



Continuing the discussion of the spe- 

 cial features of set pieces, as certain 

 designs are called, others besides those 

 mentioned last week, the anchor, open 

 book and broken column, have points 

 which the design-maker must observe if 

 his work is to be really first-class. It 

 never should be lost sight of that one 

 of the most important things in making 

 a design is to always make the outline 

 first, thereby assuring good shape. 

 When it is possible to do so, it is always 

 a good plan to use some small flower as 

 an edging. 



Crescent and Star. 



A well made star and crescent is one 

 of the prettiest of designs. The crescent 

 can be trimmed in any one of many dif- 

 ferent ways. See that it tapers nicely 

 to the points. The star should be made 

 of some small flower, if possible. Often 

 I have taken a carnation to pieces and 

 used some of the petals. The star should 

 not be too large. 



The Cross. 



A well made cross also makes a fine 

 floral design. Often we find one not well 

 proportioned ; this, of course, is the fault 



of the wire man, but the florist gets the 

 blame, and deserves it, if he lets it get 

 by him. In a correctly proportioned 

 cross, each cross arm and the top arm 

 should be just one-half the length of the 

 lower part, but if the three top arms are 

 of equal length the lower part can be a 

 little longer without looking bad; in 

 fact, in some cases it makes a better ap- 

 pearance — for instance, in the ease of a 

 flat casket cross. When making up a 

 cross see that you have neat, square cor- 

 ners and that the arms are in line. 



In the case of a cross with a slanting 

 bar, the bar should always slant upwards 

 from left to right. 



The Ctx>wn. 



A crown is by no means one of the 

 easiest designs to make. 



In the first place, you must be careful 

 when filling or mossing the design to 



^ 



crown of flowers, be sure you get a 

 good price for the work, as you will use 

 many flowers and much time. 



Cross and Crown. 



The cross and crown is not as common 

 as some other designs, but nevertheless 

 it makes a nice piece. The cross is the 

 same as any cross. The crown can be 

 fastened at either the point where the 

 arms cross, or about halfway down 

 on the lower part. The crown must be 

 made up carefully, so as not to lose 

 shape. You can use carnations for mak- 

 ing the crown. A good plan is to take 

 the carnation to pieces, or rather divide 

 one carnation into several parts to form 

 the points of the crown. In other words, 

 use only part of one carnation wired to 

 a toothpick in making the points. 



Broken Wheel. 



As in many other designs of a like 

 nature, there is little chance for orna- 

 mentation on a wheel. Some dainty lit- 

 tle flower radiating from the hub toward 

 the rim always adds to the appearance 

 of the piece. Then the rim can be 

 trimmed prettily. A flower of different 

 color stuck in the end of the hub sets 

 that part of the design off. When a 

 broken wheel is fastened to an easel, in- 

 stead of standing on a base, see that 

 none of the spokes is perfectly perpen- 

 diciriar or horizontal, as this looks bad. 



i:^' 



,*^ 



^ -Ik 



^V , 



^O^ 



Design Adopted by the Kentucky Society of Florists. 



carry out the nice lines of the piece. 

 Some flowers like carnations or small as- 

 ters or chrysanthemums can be used to 

 form the crowi^ Little trimming is 

 called for. If you have never made a 



The Gates Ajar. 



The gates ajar is one of the designs 

 we are often called on to make. To give 

 appearance the two sides, or 



it a good 



