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JULY 1, 190U. 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



THE RETAIL 



FLORIST 



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BOHANNON'S HOME. 



One of Chicago's notable new build- 

 ings is that of the University Club, at 

 the corner of Michigan avenue and Mon- 

 roe street. It is said to be the finest 

 clubhouse in America. In erecting the 

 ornate architectural pile, provision was 

 made for the housing of a florist as one 

 of the necessary features of such an in- 

 stitution. L. K. Bohannon secured this 

 desirable location for the Bohannon 

 Floral Co. The accompanying illustra- 

 tion shovrs his portion of the front. Mr. 

 Bohannon says that since moving to the 

 clubhouse the character of his trade has 

 undergone a notable change. While he 

 has lost a large part of his transient 

 trade, he has enjoyed ■ a great gain in 

 high class patronage, not only from the 

 members of the University Club, but 

 from the better class of flower buyers 

 throughout the city. 



DECORATE STEAMERS. 



For the third successive season W. J. 

 Palmer & Son, Buflfalo, N. Y., have re- 

 ceived the contract to decorate the steam- 

 ers of the Northern Steamship Co., ply- 

 ing between Buffalo, Chicago and Duluth. 

 These are the steamers, Northland and 

 Northwest, the finest on the lakes. 



DIFFICULTIES IN DESIGN WORK. 



Need of a Good Background. 



As a result of the craze for exagger- 

 ated size in design work, a number of 

 mechanical ilefects are to be seen almost 

 any day. Not tliat they all appear in 

 the same piece, but even one is glaring 

 enough to mar an otherN^ise good design. 

 Toothpicks and sphagnum are not meant 

 to beautify, so they should be packed in 

 and driven far out of sight. As was 

 suggested in a former chapter, if the 

 side or top decoration were extended 

 there would be little difficulty of this 

 kind. If enough time and material are 

 taken to prepare the background prop- 

 erly, less flowers and time will be re- 

 quired to complete the decoration. If 

 the piece must be large for the money, 

 wire the stems their full length, unless 

 that should be out of reason, and cluster 

 the flowers, leaving one portion or sev- 

 eral spots of the background exposed. 

 The general effect will be even better 

 than if the attempt were made to spread 

 a limited amount of flowers over too 

 large a surface. 



A Fundamental Principle. 

 One of the cardinal principles in de- 

 signing is to arrange the grouping in 

 such a way that it will have the appear- 

 ance of all the lines (stems) coming 

 from a common source. Sometimes it 

 is difficult to keep to this excellent rule 

 in decorating a rather small piece. The 

 space must be "filled up"; that is 

 the habit we have gotten into. Here, 

 again, the remedv is with the back- 



ground. Make it even and solid, to out- 

 line the design properly, and a cluster 

 or a series of clusters will be all that 

 is necessary to complete the design. 

 When green is plentiful, it adds much 

 to the effect if the background can be 

 made thick with several layers of green. 

 Asparagus will do nicely for this. Soft 

 spring and summer flowers, such as pan- 

 sies, alyssum, candytuft, garden helio- 

 triope, etc., serve well for this purpose. 

 What could be more attractive than a 

 wreath of purple or dark blue pansies 

 over which is trained a spray of pink 

 roses, or a bronze and yellow shaded 

 pansy wreath with yellow or white roses? 



Good Use for Split Carnations. 



Split carnations are fine for solid back- 

 ground pieces; they cover much more 

 space than perfect flowers. For a pil- 

 low which it is desired to make extra 

 large, run a solid panel of carnations — 

 from four to a dozen flowers wide, ac- 

 cording to the size of the pillow — from 

 left to right diagonally upward, includ- 

 ing the extreme corners. Over the rer 

 maining corners train loose clusters of 

 another flower, merging the loose por- 

 tions into the solid with fine green. 

 Fringe the entire edge of the piece with 



able setting that it is possible to give a 

 flower, and if additional foliage is de- 

 sired it should be selected with a view 

 to its resemblance to the foliage belong- 

 ing to the flower. Customers can be 

 trained to appreciate this fact and can 

 see the unreasonableness of always call- 

 ing for extra green. 



Estimating the Price. 



Another problem which confronts one 

 is estimating quickly what amount of 

 stock can be afforded for a design for a 

 stated price, either before a purchase 

 or in planning and laying out stock for 

 a design or spray. With a little expe- 

 rience, one can soon be able to set a 

 price on sight, or be able to set a size 

 for a certain price. 



At the same time, there can be no 

 standard price for a certain size of de- 

 sign. The season of the year and the 

 supply of flowers, the quality of stock, 

 the kind of flowers it is proposed to use 

 — all these things must either influence 

 or fix the price. Take, for example, a 

 12-inch wreath. It can be filled profitably 

 for $5, or it can be filled for $10 or over, 

 according to the kind of flowers used. 

 With everyday, average stock of odds 

 and ends, it can be kept within a range 

 of $5 to $7. A little ranging of prices, 

 with explanations attached, will serve to 

 cultivate a taste in the purchaser for the 

 better class of flowers and better ar- 

 rangements. If carnations, a few roses 

 and some of the commoner flowers are 

 to be used, he can buy the piece for $5, 

 but when he comes to think of violets, 

 valley, etc., he should be able to see 

 value to the amount of $10 and over, 

 and if he is ambitious for something still 

 rarer, he is prepared to see the price 

 soar. 



Then, in estimating what is needed for 



New Qua ters of Bohannon Floral Co , In University Club, Chicago. 



choice green in a flaring arrangement. 

 Thus executed, the piece has a decided 

 outline and can be recognized as a pillow 

 at the first glance. 



Though long-stemmed enough to show 

 good individual qualities, these same 

 flowers are often too crowded on the 

 design to show the stems. The view of 

 the stems, foliage and sides of the flow- 

 ers is just as valuable as a full-faced 

 front. Its own foliago is th(! most valu- 



(Iccorating a piece for a fixed price, al- 

 low a reasonable amount for the time 

 which will be needed to finish the piece. 

 There are also the frame, green, moss, 

 wire and all other supplies to be drawn 

 on. Count out the 'stock, at retail price, 

 which can be afforded for the remainder 

 of the money, together with the ribbon 

 or chiffon. Many people use not only 

 more stock than the price justifies, but 

 inoro Than good taste a<linits. 



