JUNE 23, 1910. 



The Weekly Florists' Review* 



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THE RETAIL 



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LANGUAGE OF FLOWEES. 



A steadily increasing number of 

 peii'le are learning to speak the lan- 

 ffii.iLje of flowers, and the Jones-Russell 

 Co.. Cleveland, finds it well worth while 

 to assist in their education. This is 

 doNO by means of the advertisement 

 reproduced herewith. The reproduction 

 is I'lom a post card, but the same text 

 is nscd in newspaper advertising, where 

 it reaches a greater number of people. 



ART IN MASSIVE DESIGNING. 



Many Flowers to Make One Form. 



Heviewing the two definitions given 

 in tlie opening chapter of this discus- 

 sion (on page 5 of The Review of June 

 9), that of the word "art," and that 

 of tlie word "massive," we remember 

 that art in massive design is really 

 the expression of some idea by the use 

 of many flowers or plants to make one 

 form. Many forms of beauty are lost 

 in one collection to produce a greater 

 object, which shall be a reproduction 

 of something seen or imagined. Beauty 

 of individual flowers is deliberately sac- 

 rificed for what they can contribute to 

 the tree or orchard. The separate flow- 

 ers of any of the composite order are 

 set closely together and you have the 

 yellow center of the daisy or the 

 brown center of the sunflower. That 

 is massive designing with a vengeance. 

 A grove or orchard is a massive de- 

 sign composed of massive designs, the 

 individual trees. 



Our massive designing, then, must 

 take definite form, must mean some- 

 thing, must speak. 



Of what practical value, then, is all 

 this talk about massive designing? Hav- 

 ing gotten this idea well in mind, not 

 to lose sight of the individual beauty 

 of 1 he flower without finding for it a 

 Pla-e in a mass which shall multiply 

 'ts isefulness in its new location, let 

 "s inention a few instances where it 

 ^ill Iienefit us in our work. 



Where Massing Is Effective. 



J' there are two or three hundred 

 ^aii itions available for a window dis- 

 P'f*/ collect them in one large vase or 

 jar ikJ display them as a mass rather 



""' separate them into several groups 

 °^ Vises, aimlessly placed. In a church 

 alt;: I decoration where the flowers can- 

 "ot he appreciated individually, mass 

 jnei . together at one point. How many 



'nils in a church the preacher must 

 hav.. his f .. . 



. - nerves upset and his atten- 



|iO'i distracted by an ambitious collec- 



'oii of yellow, red and green vases, 



'ti< pink, lavender and white bouquets, 



Pf"i a few square inches of pulpit de^k 



pace! Florists might help committees 



^. simplify this matter and rule out 



^S'ollaneous contributions of this kind 



y Suggesting coreopsis for one day's 



J ^^"r^tions, sweet peas for another, 



^ahlias for another, pinks for another. 



Adhering to the Scheme. 



In a decoration for a home wedding 

 there are three points which should be 

 treated — a convenient place opposite 

 the entrance, where an attractive deco- 

 rative feature should welcome guests 

 as they arrive, the ceremony place, and 

 the dining room. Other features should 

 be helpers to emphasize the decorations 

 of these points. They should harmonize 

 with, yet lead up to the others. 



Economize, not in the quantity of 

 flowers employed, but in the variety 

 of schemes employed. Some decorated 

 rooms might be compared to a room 

 decorated with many different styles 

 of wall paper or different designs of 

 frescoing, so little attention is paid to 

 the style of arrangement of different 

 decorative features. It should be one 

 scheme, with every feature connected 

 and related to every other. 



Further, do not occupy every niche 

 and corner that offers itself. Treat 

 each room as a fraction of the whole, 

 yet as a unit of itself. Neglect the 

 majority of vacancies; indulge a few 

 of them. In that sense, always mass. 



Artistic Use of Short Stock. 



Often a quantity of short stock is 

 available for display purposes and a 



to the mirror. If properly arranged, 

 the several sections will reflect indefi- 

 nitely gates and gates of roses, and 

 the people will stop and look, and re- 

 member, too. Besides suggesting that 

 you have roses, it will also suggest that 

 you have decorative sense. 



Method in Massing. 



A window filled with some kind of 

 blooming plants in a commonplace man- 

 ner will never prove so attractive as if 

 a tall column of those same plants were 

 seen rising alone and unrivaled in the 

 window. 8uch groups of Easter lilies 

 and spira?as have been seen this sea- 

 son. If enough space is available, have 

 several columns, wide apart, and fill the 

 floor space between the columns with 

 plants individually displayed. 



Mass with a purpose, and a very defi- 

 nite purpose, as you would scatter with 

 a method in your madness. 



Do not run massive designing or loose 

 designing, or any other one style, to 

 tiresome extremes. Alternate, combine, 

 connect, hint at, flirt with the two. Oc- 

 casionally cut loose from all restrictions 

 and forget rules. Get away from every- 

 thing and everybody and set your fancy 

 free. See an image in your mind's eye 

 and call in common sense to work it out. 



Gertrude Blair. 



BOOMING THE BUSINESS. 



' ' Flower growers and sellers in Eng- 

 land have not, on the whole, been hav- 

 ing the best of times lately," says the 

 Horticultural Advertiser, "and it would 

 be well for the trade as a body to con- 

 sider whether it is not iu its power to 

 do something to improve the demand 

 generally. 



' ' There are in England only two spe- 

 cial seasons when flowers are so much 



So f au ^ptuk ti]t Han^aa^t nf J^ionirra? 



Flowers are the ideal medium for the expression of per- 

 sonal interest and may be made lo speak in various degrees, from 

 "Best Wishes" to "Tenderesl messages of undying Love." 



IB0tl}fr; fflifr; ^mpptlfpart; Jfrirnb. 



To each may be conveyed the most graceful expression of 

 your sentiment by a box of well chosen flowers. 



We make a practice of delivering boxes of flowers upon a 

 standing order, at regular intervals, as desired. One dollar pet 

 box and upward. Haven't you someone to whom you would 

 be glad to show your thougtful interest in this way? 



We have a special f-lospitai service through which you 

 may brighten the sick room of friends or relatives. 



<JIl;r Janra-Husarll (£.a. 



Entltil 9oUtt lids. 



anil. 4936 ■ Nartb 233 



Let Us Seek to Make it the Universal Language. 



Eurlii at i|urim 



problem as to the method as often re- 

 curs. You may have dishes and dishes 

 filled and set around, till you are weary 

 and the people take no notice of them. 

 They are as attractive as so much mud, 

 as commonly displayed. But get out 

 that set of rattan screens that have 

 been forgotten for a while. Fasten 

 some Kift vases on the back. Cover 

 a screen with the short roses so that 

 they appear as though growing on the 

 front of the screen, either in spray 

 patterns or solidly massed. Use two 

 or three screens after this fashion. Set 

 them according to the size of the win- 

 dow, with relation to each other and 



in demand as to give the grower a 

 chance of putting up his prices and 

 making a little to compensate :^or slack 

 seasons. In America there are not only 

 these two, but also a great floral day 

 known as Memorial day, which, we be- 

 lieve, is May 30. This began by qiiite 

 a limited number of people taking flow- 

 ers to the cemeteries to adorn the grslves 

 of the soldiers who fell in the great 

 Civil war; but it has gradually spread 

 until on that day nearly everyone deco- 

 rates their family graves with wreaths 

 and other floral emblems, so that a de- 

 mand for flowers is created almost equal 

 to that of Christmas or Easter. Then, 



