10 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 





*j.>^« 



Jdnb 1, 1911. 



seemed afterward to be strangely pro- 

 phetic, as a few weeks after their wed- 

 ding bride and groom both died of 

 diphtheria! 



At another time a bride desired that 

 a large harp, which her father had long 

 used, should be set prominently among 

 the wedding decorations. It was accord- 

 ingly mounted as the background for 

 the wedding party. A large bowl of 



Mail Orders for Brides' Bouquets. 



roses was placed on the top of the 

 standard. A shower of fine green traces 

 took its source from the rose bowl, 

 falling over and among the strings. 

 With these were thin garlands of rose- 

 buds reaching from the same point on 

 the harp to the windows at either side 

 and ending lightly among the lace 

 draperies. A few ferns grouped about 

 the base of the harp completed the 

 decorations of the ceremony room. 



The bride's favorite color or flower 

 is often asked for as a special feature 

 of the decoration and her preferences 

 should be respected if possible. 



A Question of Finance. 



One of the most intangible and yet 

 necessary elements of decorative work 

 is your estimate of the time which you 

 will need to complete the work. Esti- 

 mate as accurately as you can by the 

 amount of experience you have had, 

 make some allowance for unexpected 

 delays, and watch the clock as you 

 progress. Any number of incidents 

 and stray guests about the house will 

 break in if you allow them, but you 

 can be courteous and busy, too. De- 

 cline volunteer help and whip yourself 

 up if you find that time is getting away 

 too fast. 



It may be the estimating that is 

 bothering somebody. Is not your eye- 

 sight as accurate in one place as an- 

 other? You can tell roughly how many 

 carnations will be required for a pillow 

 of a certain size. Why not know how 

 many of the same flowers will grace a 

 buflfet properly? A lump price for each 

 room, or, if need be, each feature of 

 the room, with mention of the principal 



material to be employed, will be found 

 the most satisfactory way in pricing a 

 decoration. This is supposed to include 

 the flowers, the greens, the accessories, 

 the skill and the time. 



Competition in the real sense of the 

 word is scarcely possible jn decorative 

 work, or funeral work, either. No two 

 would do the work exactly alike. The 

 customer can not be sure in advance 

 which of two competitors will do the 

 better job for the money. Decorating 

 is as indefinite a term as gowning. 

 Other things being equal, the one who 

 seems to be the better informed will 

 land the job. Moral: Be well posted 

 and brimful of ideas. Have plenty of 

 schemes and talk them rather than the 

 quantity of flowers, but do not go too 

 much into detail. Tell enough to in- 

 spire interest, but keep the most in re- 

 serve till your job is landed. It is 

 often a good plan to submit several 

 different schemes which cover a wide 

 range of prices. G. B. 



BETAIL MAIL OBDEBS. 



Day by day the flower business is 

 broadening; it is no longer the local 

 affair of a few years ago. Nowadays a 

 retail florist reaches to the ends of the 

 earth for his business — not for the bulk 

 of his business, but for some of the 

 extra orders that are so welcome. 



In these June days, when the brides' 

 bouquets occupy so large a part of the 

 attention, it is interesting to note the 

 line in the advertisement of a Chicago 

 retailer: "Specially packed for ex- 

 press at no extra charge." Chicago is 

 the home of the mail-order industry, 

 you know. No reason why the Chicago 

 retailers should not share in the mail 

 business. This one is after his share. 

 The advertisement appeared in a Sun- 

 day newspaper that circulates for hun- 

 dreds of miles around Chicago. 



THE BBIBE'S BOUQUET. 



This is the time of year when the 

 bride's bouquet is in greatest demand, 

 and the work of leading retailers in 

 this line always is of interest. Here is 

 an illustration showing an excellent 

 shower bouquet which reached The Ee- 

 view some time since, with no marks 

 of identification. The materials used 

 were white orchids and valley, with 

 some tips of asparagus strings. The 

 work is especially commendable be- 

 cause it avoids the flat, bunchy effect 

 which gives an undesirable appearance 

 of weight. 



MOBE ABOUT FATHEBS' DAY. 



In The Eeview of May 25 I read with 

 interest the article by Mrs. L. M. Smith 

 regarding a day to be set apart as 

 Fathers' day, and gladly will I second 

 such a nomination. I have spoken often 

 of it and wished we could have a 

 Fathers' day. Why not? Father is 

 worthy of it. I agree also with Mrs. 

 Smith in thinking that the stately, 

 sturdy chrysanthemum would be the 

 flower and that the second Sunday in 

 November would be a good time." 



So let us try to have a day set apart 

 to do honor to dear old father. He 

 may faithfully tread the pathway of 

 life, bearing its burdens ungrudgingly 

 and cheerfully, and yet go down to his 

 grave "unhonored and unsung," but 

 he will be missed and mourned, never- 

 theless, in the cold, gray days when he 

 can no longer answer the call for his 

 services, and he will receive his reward 



on the other shore. Mother is worthy 

 of her day; she already has it; but 

 father, though he also is an indispens- 

 able factor in the blessedness of home, 

 is too often forgotten, or at least is 

 sometimes not appreciated. In my case, 

 as in that of thousands of others, 

 though father has been dead many, 

 many long years, yet scarcely a day 

 goes by without thoughts of him, and in 

 all sincerity I hope to have a Fathers' 

 day appointed, with the chrysanthemum 

 as the flower. 



Mrs. H. L. Phelps. 



I was just reading in The Eeview the 

 item and suggestion of a Fathers' day. 

 I think it is just as fair to have a 

 Fathers' day as a Mothers' day, for 

 the one memory is as dear as the other. 

 And I think the chrysanthemum would 

 be just the flower and November, the 

 second Sunday, just the day. So there- 

 fore I second the motion of Mrs. L. M. 

 Smith. Mrs. E. K. Stokesberry. 



A male reader sends the following 

 (no claim to originality) in answer to 

 suggestion for response in last issue: 



"Sunday, June 18, is Fathers' day. 



Bouquet of Orctiids and Valley. 



You must wear a rose in honor of your- 

 self and will be set upon a pedestal. 

 'Oh, Mother, Mother, Mother, Pin a 



Eose ' That'll be about all. Ee- 



member the date. You can't dodge it 



^^L^i^ •' • -'-T-rfity"- ---'^^"■.-■♦■i'^*.*^'— - 



^■- . ^ ^. A^ * _ ..!-. : ^ja^-ZMin:'-;^^ ^ft..j,-._^ j*i'.-.* . .i^i' .:!. >^ .■^•- A. J^ 



