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June 24, 1900. 



The Weekly Florists' Review* 



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THE RETAIL 



FLORIST.... 



EGYPT IN A WINDOW. 



The accompanying illustration gives an 

 inadequate idea of a window decoration 

 which attracted much attention at the 

 store of Jacob Schulz, Louisville, Ky., 

 during the recent Shriners ' conclave. TTie 

 entire front of the window was devoted 

 to a miniature reproduction of the 

 sphinx, the pyramids and the surround- 

 ing Nile country. In the illustration the 

 Nile does not show, nor do all of the 

 pyramids at the right, of which there 

 were two. The Nile was not the typical 

 one, but a clear stream stocked with gold- 

 fish, with a caravan of nobles crossing a 

 footbridge. In the photograph no flow- 

 ers are shown, and without these the win- 

 dow would not be considered as meeting 

 the chief requirement of a florist's dis- 

 play. But the flowers were there in the 

 original; the photographer in order to 

 get even the least detail in his picture of 

 the special display found it necessary to 

 curtain it off in front of the flowers. 

 The window is a deep one and back of 

 the arrangement for the benefit of the 

 visiting Shriners was one of cut flowers 

 and blooming plants — for the benefit of 

 those who might become his customers. 



Mr. Schulz has been making special 

 effort in the way of window decoration 

 and has found that he was amply repaid 

 for all the thought, work and expense, of 

 which considerable of each was entailed, 

 put into his displays. The Shriners ' win- 

 dow attracted possibly more comment 

 than any yet devised. 



DIFnCULTIES IN DESIGN WORK. 



Preserving the Outline. 



Prominent among the awkward points 

 of the every-day design work is the dis- 

 regard of the fundamental lines of the 

 design frame, or the direction that these 

 lines take. To illustrate: Take the 

 empty frame of a wreath; the direction 

 of the outside and inside circular wires 

 makes the outline of the design. If they 

 were run in any other direction than 

 circular, or did not meet in the center, 

 we would have something else than a 

 wreath. If the two ends were shortened 

 and pinched together at opposite points, 

 we would have a crescent. If the round 

 form of the wreath were lengthened and 

 a section were cut out and the points 

 turned outward, the product would be a 

 horseshoe. If bent broader for half the 

 distance around and flared at two wide- 

 apart points, with a base added, we 

 would have a lyre. All of which goes 

 to illustrate that the directions which 

 the principal wires take form the lines 

 of the design. 



The minute that the wires are covered, 

 however, a lot of people forget what they 

 are aiming to make. After cutting all 

 the stems of all the flowers to be used 

 six inches or twelve inches long, they 

 are stuck in the moss straight up and 

 out till they fairly meet in the center 

 of the piece. All that is necessary to 



complete the piece is to attach a label. 

 It is commendable to make a good show- 

 ing for the money, but when a wreath 

 gets so fluffy and puffy that the center 

 is lost it is time to call a halt and return 

 to first principles. 



Making a Wreath. 



When a wreath is to be made, cover 

 the frame first with a soft green all 

 around, on top and both sides. Stem 

 the flowers as long as the size of the 

 piece and the quality of the flowers will 

 permit, and lay them half reclining in 

 the direction of the shape of the piece. 

 Train the stems along to follow the lines 

 of the wreath, rather than allow them to 

 extend out like spines on a cactus. You 

 will thus have the flowers in a more 

 graceful position and they can be just as 

 loosely arranged, while they are raised 

 to a height consistent with the size of 

 the piece. Fill in under the long stems 

 scatteringly with shorter flowers. 



Of course, with an extremely small 

 piece no good designing can be carried 

 out. For this reason, as well as the loss 



completed may be much larger than the 

 mere frame, but let the flower stems be 

 trained to follow its outline and con- 

 form to its shape. Most flowers are 

 more graceful, anyhow, when leaning, 

 than in a perfectly vertical position. 



A Heavy and Clumsy Effect. 



Another disagreeable result of the all- 

 around vertical style is the heavy effect 

 it gives to all except very large pieces, 

 by increasing the width of the pieces 

 out of proportion to the length. While 

 barely permissible in such pieces as a 

 wreath, pillow, broken wheel, gates ajar, 

 or cross, it is clumsy and heavy in a 

 design like a crescent, harp, lyre, bas- 

 ket, centerpiece, or many other outline 

 designs, especially those of slender form. 



The decorative cluster of a design, 

 flower or ornamental green, should be 

 carried around the outside and inside 

 edge of the design as well as on the top, 

 as a cross or wreath of ivy, galax, box- 

 wood or other suitable green, covered 

 entirely with the uniform background on 

 three sides, could not be more beauti- 

 fully flnished than with a cluster of 

 long-stemmed roses, lilies, carnations, 

 mums or other good sized flowers, caught 

 securely to the design frame through the 

 green and trained to follow the lines of 

 the design. They can be wired so as to 

 hold in place and pinned to the frame 

 wherever required, under the foliage. 



An Art in Cutting Stems. 



When it is necessary to cut stems, 

 the designer who plans the piece should 

 be as careful in doing the cutting as the 



Shriners' Convention Window of Jacob Schulz, Louisville. 



and gain account. Little designs should 

 not be attempted. 



Every flower in a piece need not be 

 considered a part of the outline of the 

 design. Some flowers may be used as a 

 part of the background and, as such, are 

 related to the picture part of the design 

 only as a setting. But the whole drift 

 of this argument is: Keep to the lines 

 of the design, even if afar off, as opposed 

 to the common practice of crossing those 

 lines at sharp angles. The piece when 



grower is, who insists upon cutting his 

 flowers from the plant just at the proper 

 place. This bars the practice of cutting 

 stems at an even length, as would be 

 done with less effort. If necessary to 

 cut, find a point on the stem below a 

 curve or bend which makes the rose what 

 it is, a little different from all others 

 of its kind. 



Equally important with the correct 

 system of designing as regards form, the 

 subject of color again clamors for at- 



