October 27, 1910. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 





I 



THE RETAIL 



FLORIST 



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DINNER WORK. 



It Interests the Public. 



Did you ever notice how, at a flower 

 show, the visitors, and especially the 

 ladies, cluster around the decorated din- 

 ner tables and how closely they note 

 each detail of flowers and their arrange- 

 ment? There is nothing at a show that 

 attracts so much attention from actual 

 flower buyers as do the table decora- 

 tions; it's a part of the show that 

 means real business for the trade, be- 

 cause the women who are doing things 

 get ideas they sooner or later carry out 

 in their own homes. Not a few retailers 

 in good locations find dinner work an 

 important part of their business. Once 

 let a hostess use flowers from a skillful 

 florist when she has guests at table, 

 and that hostess is pretty sure to be- 

 come a regular customer — her board to 

 her looks bare and inhospitable without 

 the flowers. 



An Example. 



A good centerpiece is not expensive, 

 nor is it difficult to make. The accom- 

 panying illustration, from a photograph 

 of a table decoration arranged by Harve 

 E. Lozier, Des Moines, la., is an excel- 

 lent example; it may be varied to suit 

 the size of the table and the depth of 

 the purse of the customer. This center- 

 piece was made of Killarney roses and 

 valley, with Adiantum Farleyense as 

 the green needed in addition to the rose 

 and valley foliage. The boutonnieres 

 were small, consisting of a few sprays 



of valley backed by a frond of Farley- 

 ense. 



But the special feature of the center- 

 piece is the fact that while it fills the 

 center of the table, giving an effect as 

 of abundance, it is not high enough to 

 interfere with intercourse between the 

 guests across the table. Plates were 

 laid for twelve, so that in this case a 

 large table and a large centerpiece were 

 required, but for the largest or the 

 smaller tables all that is required is to 

 add to or take from the centerpiece, in 

 no case adding greatly to its height. 

 Where ladies are to dine they ordinarily 

 are given corsage bunches of greater 

 size than the boutonnieres for the men. 



To Make a Centerpiece. 



For the making of these centerpieces 

 the article used by the best stores is 

 the willow plateaju sold by all the sup- 

 ply houses. The retailer usually carries 

 these plateaux in stock in sizes from 

 10-inch to 36-inch, both round and oval. 

 While an inventive maker-up can de- 

 vise a number of substitutes that cost 

 nothing, the plateaux are the only thing 

 to use for good trade, and the expense 

 is small, say from $1 a dozen to $1 

 apiece for the various sizes. 



Line the willow base well, using tin- 

 foil and paper. The lining is impor- 

 tant, because if moisture comes through 

 and soils the tablecloth your work will 

 make anything but a favorable impres- 

 sion. With the lining well looked to, 

 fill in with damp moss, damp enough to 

 handle, but not so wet that you can 



wring moisture out of it, else you will 

 be in danger. As you pack in the moss 

 to the required shape and density, wind 

 it firmly in place. For this some florists 

 use an^"^ strong cord, but the better 

 workmen use the stout green thread 

 that now is sold so cheaply in satisfac- 

 tory quality that hardly any store is 

 without a supply; when used in design 

 work it is almost invisible, even if not 

 wholly covered. A layer of ferns goes 

 over the moss on the plateaux. 



If good, stiff -stemmed roses are used 

 for the centerpiece no wiring is needed; 

 all that one has to do is to cut the 

 stems to the right length with a slant- 

 ing cut that gives a sharp point that 

 will readily penetrate the moss. If 

 weak-stemmed roses are used, as for the 

 less expensive class of centerpieces, it 

 may be necessary to reinforce the 

 stems with wire; or if short roses are 

 used it may be desirable to lengthen 

 some of them by wiring on a match- 

 stick, in which case the green sticks 

 always should be used. Such flowers as 

 valley always must be stemmed and, 

 unless the centerpiece is decidedly 

 small, they must be stemmed on match- 

 sticks instead of toothpicks, or they 

 will not stand out among larger flowers, 

 if any are used. The green also must 

 be stemmed, in the majority of caSel 

 There is nothing finer for this purpose 

 than Farleyense, though more often one 

 of the other adiantums is used. 



Given a little opportunity, any skill- 

 ful flower worker can make centerpieces 

 all in the same general style but suffi- 

 ciently different so that monotony will 

 be avoided. 



There is one point to be considered: 

 A centerpiece so made is an exceedihgly 

 ephemeral affair; it can last only so 

 long as the softest of the flowers used 

 will endure in a warm room. Therefore 

 such work is only to be made up as 

 shortly as possible before the hour of 

 actual use. 



One of the effective ways for increas- 

 ing interest in dinner work, and of get- 

 ting orders for it. is to occasionally set 



Dinner Fable Work Has Become an Important Department of the Retail Business. 



