12 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



May 20, 1009. 



goes quito well on hats and the milliners 

 are hantl]inj> it in considerable quantity. 

 There probably never has been a bet- 

 ter selling novelty than the Japanese air 

 plant, used as a filling for small birch- 

 bark baskets and other hanging recepta- 

 cles. The birchbark seems specially 

 adajtted to the pnr|)ose, })ut many china, 

 brass ;nid excn glass receptacles are used, 

 though of course anything for this j>ur: 

 pose must be small. Killed with moss 

 and with the air plant gracefully pendu- 

 lous, these arrniigenuMits have been splen- 

 did sellers, ami everyone expects that 

 rluring the approaching sununer they will 

 go specially wi-ll. The public likes them 

 and nniny who have bought have assertl'd 

 tliitt they haw grown thriftily, only ^^heu 

 tlie arrangement was jiulled apart out of 

 curiosity to see Avhere the wheels go 

 'roun<l, there jJroAed to be only tootli- 

 jiicks for roots. 



ROTT'S UPRIGHT WREATH. 



The accunipauyiug illustration shows a 

 large Standing wreath made with the 

 everv-day material ordinarily available in 

 ;iny place where design work is done. 

 The Howers are Kaster lilies. Bride roses 

 and carnations. The green is leucothoe 

 sprays and fancy ferns in the l)ase, and 



ferns for background aud adiantum for 

 trimming in the wreath itself. This is 

 another of the designs of Albert C. Eott, 

 Joliet, 111., and, liKe all of Mr. Rett's 

 work, where the customer leaves him a 

 choice in the matter, is made up with the 

 tiowers rather loosely set on a back- 

 ground of green. Mr. Rott does not be- 

 lieve in the common practice of first 

 nmking a solid background of white car- 

 nations, or asters, if in season, but makes 

 up his work so that each flower has at 

 least some slight opportunity to show 

 for itself. 



DESIGNS FOR MEMORIAL DAY. 



Any Good Flowers Are Suitable. 



Since Memorial liay has become a fam- 

 ily as well as a national day, its oppor- 

 tunities for pretty designing are limited 

 only by the tinu' requii'ed for execution. 

 Anything in the sha{)e of good fiowers is 

 welcduie. in the demand for greens, 

 Memorial day is second only to Christ- 

 nms. while a green wreath with flowers 

 is perhaps the nrost sought of all. 



Laurel in its nmny varieties. })ox- 

 wood, asparagus aud smilax are all good 

 for this purpose. Wreaths of solid 

 green, with a cluster of flowers on one 



Rott's Upright Wreath. 



side, are sure to sell. The addition of a 

 flag tie or drapery is the taker for a 

 soldier's grave. For an average cus- 

 tomer. who has several graves to decorate, 

 besides the above wreath there are galax, 

 ivy and other out-of-door native foliage, 

 almost any of which, if of woody stock 

 and well matured, makes a good, lasting 

 wreath, either on a frame or set in 

 wreath fornr and stiffened with heavy 

 wire. To this can be added flowers or 

 ribbon, or both. 



For the Sake of Variety. 



For the sake of variety, on some place 

 a tapering cluster of roses, the point of 

 which lies well around the wreath. On 

 another tie a knot of peas, with a cord 

 lo match either the foliage or the flowers. 

 On one side of another fasten a cluster, 

 fan-shaped, of short-stemmed stock. 

 Make another au all-foliage wreath, by 

 constructing the wreath itself of all 

 green and the decoration of colored 

 foliage. 



For a mixed Avreath, dot the flowers 

 here and there all around the green fornr. 

 Then one can be arranged with knots of 

 small flowers, with loops of narrow rib- 

 bon connecting. This scheme presup- 

 poses a solid green wreath as a back- 

 ground. 



A Crescent Wreath. 



How about a crescent wreath for the 

 next? After covering the frame solid 

 with green, on sides and top, cross two 

 (dusters of flowers on the narrow side. 

 Tie with a tight knot of wide ribbon. 

 Throw a cluster of ferns over the knot. 

 Carry the ends of the ribbon in and out. 

 through the flowers and stems, toward 

 the wide part of the design, and when 

 the center of the widest part is reached, 

 spread the ribbon and let the ends fly 

 inside of the center space. 



Numberless styles of arrangement and 

 coloring can be shown in one kind of 

 flowers ; for example, pansies of one solid 

 color touched with a cluster of another, 

 like i)ur|ile and yellow, brown and yellow, 

 blue and white, etc. 



Leaving a thotrsand other conceptions 

 of the wreath to the interested designer, 

 we turn to the consideration of a few- 

 other designs appropriate for this occa- 

 sion. 



A Use for Small Plaques. 



Small plaques, such as are used for 

 table centerpieces, and which are perhaps 

 not used quite fast enough for that pur- 

 j)ose. may be tastefully filled with good 

 effect. Fill the plaque solidly with 

 sphagnum. Spread on a green covering 

 of moss, fern leaves or other inexpensive 

 green. Stem and use some medium aud 

 short-stemmed flowers, and plant them 

 erectly aud well separated, as in basket 

 filling. Place ferns and other soft foliage 

 among tlie tiowers and around the edge, 

 and you have a small flower bed ready 

 for immediate use. These are easily and 

 ipiickly arranged, and ought to sell' well. 

 If price permits, add a dove perched well 

 up on a stout stem, or somewhere on the 

 edge of the basket. 



The National G>1ors. 



For a show piece or a more elaborate 

 order, diajte a broken column with the 

 national colors, or make a floral urn and 

 catch a silk flag through the handles and 

 across the front of the piece. A flag 

 worked into a ])illow of white is a good 

 design. A jior traits, set into the' center 

 of the pillow, or a shield on a pillow on 

 a panel background, will admit of a dis- 

 tinct piece Avith a liberal decoration. 



Tn working out the national colors, the 



