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The Weekly Florists' Review. 





Apbil 1, 1909. 



orders are up there is no danger of any 

 wagon starting out and leaving some- 

 thing behind that will then have to be 

 sent by expensive special delivery. 



Incidentally, see> to it now that you 

 have enough tags and also envelopes for 

 customers ' cards. ' Your order sheet 

 ought to show who takes the order, w;ho 

 puts it up, whose card is to be attached, 

 and who delivers, and there ought to be 

 enough spirit in your employees so that 

 each one will see that his own part is 

 done correctly. All the time and ef- 

 fort spent in preparing to do business is 

 wasted unless the orders are carefully 

 filled and promptly delivered. 



Plant orders are bulky and you will 

 doubtless need extra delivery facilities. 

 Arrange for them now. Get enough wag- 

 ons so that you can get everytmag de- 

 livered by Sunday noon. 



There is more individuality in the 

 flower business than in a department 

 store, but the florist will do a whol« lot 

 toward avoiding the annoyances if he 

 will adopt the department stores' system 

 for conducting the filling and delivery 

 of orders. 



DWARF AZALEAS. 



The dwarf azaleas shown in the illus- 

 tration on page 21 were sold last Easter 

 at $3.5(> each, complete, including the re- 

 ceptacle. This was in a high class store 

 in a big city, where delivery added con- 

 siderably to the cost of the stock, so 

 that in smaller places a good profit 

 might he had at even a lower price. The 

 one at the left is the red azalea, Hexe, 

 or Firefly, as it is known in the east. 

 The receptacle was an unglazed green 

 bowl, which went some little way in mak- 

 ing the arrangement attractive. 



The one at the right is Azalea Charles 

 Enke, pink, and the receptacle was pure 

 white. It was lined with moss before the 

 plant was put in and it is worth while 

 noting that in each case moss obscured 

 the top of the soil, and "dirt," as most 

 customers call it, never adds anything 

 to the appearance of any plant arrange- 

 ment. Moss is cheap; use it. 



THE RAMBLER ROSES. 



The rambler roses, which have become 

 so poj)ular for Easter sales, are some- 

 thing of a tax upon the skill of the flo- 

 rist. Not only do they require careful 

 growing, but they are of such shape that 

 it is not the easiest of things to rig 



them out in what the leading retailers 

 now consider the embellishments neces- 

 sary for satisfactory sales. In the illus- 

 tration on page 29 two Easter roses are 

 shown. The one at the left is Lady Gay, 

 light pink, and all that was required in 

 this case was to slip the pot into the 

 receptacle as shown, spreading a little 

 moss over the soil. The receptacle was 

 copper, with brass hoops, but copper 

 rivets. It was inexpensive and the plant 

 as shown sold for $5. It- looked well 

 worth the money. 



The plant at the right is Hiawatha, 

 with single red flowers lighter at the 

 center. This has become one of the 

 most popular of rambler roses. The re- 

 ceptacle is the Pompeian tone ware, now 

 known and appreciated all over the coun- 

 try. This plant brought $8 in a good 

 store last Easter. 



THE GENISTA. 



The genista illustrated on page 23 

 was as handsome a specimen as was 

 shown last year in one of the country's 

 leading retail stores. The picture cannot 

 show the color, but the combination of 

 yellow flowers and green foliage with 

 the Italian terra cotta pot was especially 

 piecing. The receptacle was happily 

 chosen; the plant looked worth a lot 

 more money than it would have appeared 

 worth if it had been put in any sort of 

 bright colored dish or basket. It was a 

 small matter to cover the soil in the pot 

 with green moss, but it added much to 

 the appearance of the arrangement. 



TWO GOOD SELLERS. 



Pussy willow baskets always are good 

 sellers at Easter. They may be had in 

 a variety of shapes and sizes, zinc-lined, 

 for filling with plants. Nothing goes 

 better with the pussy willows than do 

 Dutch hyacinths. Those shown in the 

 illustration on page 33 were blue and 

 the arrangement was a good seller in a 

 Mgh class store last Easter at $3.75. 

 There was as good a margin of profit 

 provided for on the cost of the basket 

 as on the stock used in filling it. 



In the same picture another of the 

 brisk sellers is shown — the terra cotta 

 box of primulas. These receptacles 

 come in all si^es. You can tell your cus- 

 tomers they are Italian ware, and, indeed, 

 they are Italian in style if not in ac- 

 tual manufacture. The first were im- 

 ported, but these come from Cincinnati. 



Practically all the supply houses handle 

 them and you can get those that hold 

 only one good primula, or some that are 

 large enough to occupy an entire window. 

 Articles of this character often make 

 sales for the florist, because the cus- 

 tomer thinks, "Wellj when the flowers 

 are gone, I've got a pretty dish." What 

 we want, no doubt, is to sell the primulas, 

 but we have no objection to being fa- 

 vorably remembered by the customer who 

 tells her friend that the receptacle in 

 which Willie now keeps his marbles came 

 from Jones, the florist. 



GRASSY TWIG HAMPERS. 



Something of a novelty last Easter, 

 one of the good sellers this year, will 

 be the grassy twig hamper shown in the 

 illustration on page 25. These may be 

 had of any of the supply dealers and 

 come in a great variety of sizes and 

 sh9.pes. The one illustrated contained 

 twenty-five Rose Luisente tulips.? Not 

 many "wiA have use for a larger size, 

 but there are hundreds of stores which 

 will sell large numbers of the smaller 

 boxes, containing say from six to fif- 

 teen tulips. And you don't have to 

 plant tulips in them. They go equally 

 well with primulas or any other stock 

 which can be made up in small baskets. 



The boxes are of wood, covered with 

 a peculiar heavy bi*own straw, which is 

 "bound in place with lichen-covered twigs. 

 You can order an assortment of the sup- 

 ply houses, getting them square, round, 

 oblong, oval or diamond-shaped, and dif- 

 ferent sizes in each shape. They will 

 sell steadily during the bulb season. 



HAMPERS OF PLANTS. 



Not every flower store has sale for 

 the elaborate plant arrangements shown 

 in the leading stores in the big cities. 

 Indeed, in the average small town it 

 would be useless to expect to sell any 

 considerable number of these, but it al- 

 ways pays to have one or two merely 

 to show your customers that you are up- 

 to-date and equal to any demands. Some 

 large baskets and hampers are a good 

 advertisement, even if not sold. In the 

 window put as big and fine a basket 

 or hamper as you know how to arrange, 

 and around it group a few of the kind 

 you expect to sell. Did you ever stop to 

 think why it is the dry goods store puts 

 such fine dresses in the window? You 

 know how many people buy such things. 



A Conservatory Like This Is an Inestimable Boon to Any Florist at Easter. 



