20 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



Mav 10, 1910. 



FILLING CEMETERY VASES. 



An Important Item With Many. 



Mi'nic]ii;il il;iy will snoii he here aild it 

 liiiiiys :i iiiisv tiiiii'. .Xoi only do our 

 i-iistoiiicrs want llicir vnscs iiJlcd in tlic 

 eeinotcrii's. Imt i lio'c is ollcn the desire 

 exprossecl ; •' 1 want our liowor beds and 

 veranda Inixes (illcd Ijy Dei-orajion d:iy. " 

 Those wliii do what we call a eei'ielerv 

 business. aH<l (ill ItOO or 4()(» \ases, know 

 .w iiat a l.-dioiious business it is. Some 

 years a;^o there were severtil kinds of 

 vases and baskets used tor this purpose. 

 There w(>re east iron vases, wire l)askets 

 or stands and rustic baskets. Xow there 

 are few of any kind but the iron Auses 

 and they certainly have the best ap- 

 pearance, as well as being practically 

 «'verlasting. A coat of i)aint annutilly 

 and they are always new. 



There is rather too much sameness in 

 the jiainting. Xinety-ti\e jier eenl or 

 more ar" painted white. While any 

 gaudy color would be quite out of place, 

 if more were painted a deep green and 

 others a stone color it woukl relieve the 

 monotony. 



Do It at the Greenhouses. 



Time was when we used to send wag- 

 ons loaded with plants to the cemetery 



iron vases and, of course, some large 

 stone vases that have to be filled at the 

 cemeteries, but nearly all iron vases arc 

 of the reservoir type and the top, or 

 liowl. can 1)0 lifted olf and brought to 

 tin' gi'eenhouses and much more satis- 

 factorily filled. The work can bo done 

 much better, with no waste of jjlants, 

 and you li:i\(' the conteids of the whole 

 gi'eenhouses at your back. There may be 

 a little more teaming this way. but, all 

 things considered, it is by far the better 

 l)laii. 



The Profit. 



We never considered that there was 

 much margin of profit in this vase filling 

 business, yet a change in style of late 

 years has been somewhat iu our favor. 

 Ten years ago, with few exceptions, the 

 vases were filled with a mixture of plants, 

 with vines arounil the edge. Often have 

 we counted the plants and found that 

 at wholesale prices they would cost as 

 much as we got for tlie filling, soil, moss 

 and labor thrown in. But remember that 

 in those cases we largely used what we 

 had and so cleaned up on everything, 

 and that makes a wonderful difif'erence. 



Did you ever think of the difference 

 in the profits of a place where all the 

 stock is in salable shape and the benches 

 emptied and one where one-third or one- 



Bedding Plants at a Rochester Residence. 



^cii wnik i-iIl'ciI « ilh Mine. S;.l 



loi nciaiiiinii: li:u-K "I tlie^c ( icii. (I laril ireriiiiiiini, (lel|iliiniiinis 

 l.tilnxfs, etc.. anil sliiiilis. i 



and other wagons with soil, and a gang 

 (d' men, and .attempt to till fifty vases in a 

 day. ^- We have got over that, for there 

 was too much wiiste of material. I'lants 

 \\cre liroken and wilted and the battered 

 |daiits that came back made too liig an 

 item. 'fiiere arc a lew (dd fasiiioned 



half the jilants, for some reason or other, 

 are left unsold.' It is the difference be- 

 t\\(en success and failure: Every foot 

 of your Iiench room must yield you some 

 profit, if it does not, it has dragged 

 down the profit nf'the sjiace that did 

 pay. 



Red Geraniums Mostly Wanted. 



liut to return to the vases. The great 

 majority are now filled witli one kind of 

 plant, mostly geraniums. Ther(^ are sev- 

 eral reasons for this. They are always 

 in bloom, are neat and compact and do 

 not suft'er from a little neglect of water. 

 They make a bright, gay spot. S. A. 

 Xutt is such an admirable variety for 

 this purpose that it is overdone. The 

 individual owner of a cemetery lot may 

 be (diarmed with his brilliant mass of 

 scarlet blooms, but when there are forty 

 sinular ones within 100 yards, the effect 

 is not pleasant. There should be more 

 pink, white and salmon. Bcjrtte Poite- 

 vine, Mrs. Frances Perkins and John 

 Doyle are all fine for the purpose. The 

 green vinca is good for edging the scar- 

 lets and the variegated vinca for the 

 pink and salmon shades. A <lwarf white 

 geranium is fine for .Mrs. Perkins and 

 Mme. JSalleroi is often wanted as an edg- 

 ing for Xutt. A combination that many 

 want is a ])ink geranium for the center 

 with an edging of the pink ivy-leaved 

 geranium. 



Other Good MateriaL 



Large vases are sometimes filled with 

 dwarf, free-flowering cannas of one va- 

 riety, such as Tarrytown, the Exi)ress, 

 or Souveiur de Antoine Crozy. Large 

 stone vases are sometimes filled with 

 (Jaladium esculentum, but these vigorous 

 rooting j)lants should never be used in 

 combination with other plants, for they 

 quickly starve them out. Begonias of the 

 Vernon type nmke jjretty vases and 

 where there is some sliadc during the 

 hottest hours we have filled vases with 

 tuberous-rooted begonias, and rich ami 

 choice they look. 



This doesn't pretend to have exhausted 

 tlie list of available plants for this pur- 

 pose, but always recommend the filling to 

 be of one kind of plant. There is more 

 l)rofit for you and it is sure to be more 

 satisfactory to your patron. If your 

 customer wants scarlet geraniums, it will 

 have to be so, but encourage variety. 

 It is not the beauty of one lot that 

 should please the visitor to the city of 

 the dead, but the generally pleasing ap- 

 pearance of the whole grounds. 



Mixed Plants. 



If the mixed vase is still preferred, 

 there is considerable choice of material. 

 For a center plant there is nothing equal 

 to tliat ciist-iron plant, Dracama indivisa. 

 It not (uily exists, but it grows and en- 

 dures the fierce sun and drying winds. 

 Then there are tlie geraniums, coleus, 

 achyrantlies, variegated geraniums. Be- 

 gonia Vernon, acalypha, Boston fern, 

 ccntaurea. fuchsias (in the shade), j)e 

 tuTuas, etc. About the only palm that 

 wouhl be good for a center ])lant in 

 place of the <lracaMia would be the pho'- 

 iiix. They will stand the sun and the 

 wind. 



It is neither fair nor wise to put in 

 pl.ants that will make a fine show for a 

 week or two and then be out of bloom 

 for the whole summer. 8ucli plants as 

 the white feverfew or show pelargonium 

 will not do, or any plant the flowering 

 season of which is short. Nearly every 

 cemetery has situations where any plants 

 will thrive and other Ijleak, windy posi- 

 tions where only the hardiest plants will 

 jireserve a decent appearance. This must 

 l)e studied. 



Drooping Plants. 



All these mixed vases will want an 

 assortment of drooping ])laiits .and there 



