Mat 2, 1912. 



The Weekly Florists' Review* 



9 



a ^U^ '♦^'♦%.<#%.W%.W%.^»%.<<%.<<%.<^%.<<%.'<%.'*^<*^'*^'*^'*^ 



$ 



MOTHERS' DAY 

 PREPARATIONS 



1 



|-^r»>-fe^»>-fer»>^ 



THE BETAILEBS GET BEADY. 



Ordering Plenty of Stock. 



Since last week's issue of The 



Ee- 



view reached the trade, wholesale flo- 

 rists all over the country have had a 

 steadily increasing number of inquiries 

 and orders for special supplies for 

 Mothers' day, May 12. It is apparent 

 that the retail florists everywhere are 

 jiieparing for a greatly increased de- 

 mand, excellent as was the business for 

 Mothers' day last year. 



It is right and proper that retailers 

 should assure themselves of adequate 

 supplies for this, the same as for other 

 special flower days. But one thing 

 should not be overlooked: Mothers' day 

 is not an old and well established 

 flower day, like Easter or Decoration 

 (lay; Mothers' day is in its infancy, so 

 to speak, and the public, proverbially 

 short-minded, may forget "to honor the 

 best mother who ever lived — your 

 own," unless reminded of it. 



Don't Let Them Forget. 



He is either a venturesome or a 

 short-sighted retailer who stocks up 

 heavily for Mothers' day and does 

 nothing to bring the day to public 

 notice. 



The Mothers' day advertising done 

 last year will bear fruit again this 

 season, but don't trust to that. Em- 

 ploy whatever form of advertising you 

 have found best suited to your local 

 needs, but by all means do something 

 to bring Mothers' day to the attention 

 of your customers. 



The best way to boost Mothers' day 

 is to advertise it in the daily papers. 

 A lot of mayors and governors have 

 issued proclamations, but a good many 

 of them have neglected to mention the 

 wearing of flowers, or their use in 

 Mothers' day decorations. That is up 

 to the florists. If your ingenuity is 

 equal to a special Mothers' day win- 

 dow decoration, put it on, but at least 

 get some nicely lettered display cards 

 for your window. 



Push Colored Flowers. 



The momentum gained in the last 

 couple of years and the fresh impetus 

 fliven by the Mothers' day articles in 

 recent issues of the big magazines and 

 newspapers insure a demand for more 

 white carnations than it will be pos- 

 sible to supply. Mothers ' day is not an 

 occasion which will stand high prices; 

 indeed, the greatest danger lies in too 

 jrreat an increase in values. Therefore 

 it is necessary for everyone to do his 

 part toward turning the demand, not 

 away from white carnations, but to 

 include other colors and other flowers. 

 We do not want a Mothers' day limited 

 hy the possibilities of supplying white 

 carnations. To have its full value to 

 the trade the use of every flower must 

 ^e appropriate to Mothers' day. 



Of course it is easier to work along 

 the lines of least resistance and sell 



everyone white carnations as long as 

 they last, but after that we either have 

 to shut up shop or sell the people some- 

 thing else. Might as well begin at the 

 beginning and push colored stock; sell 

 it wherever you can, but give them 

 white when they will not take anything 

 else. 



White flowers for Mother's memory. 

 Bright flowers tor Mothers living. 



Let that phrase appear in all your 



Mothers' day publicity. Those who 



tried it last year found that it worked 



finely. See the letters on page 10 of 



last week's issue of The Eeview. Note 



what the Idle Hour Nurseries, of 



Macon, Ga., said: "We got our leading 



local paper to reprint 'The Story of 



Mothers' Day' as it appeared in The 



Review and we took the advertisement 



The Review suggested, containing the 



lines: 



A White flower for Mother's memory. 

 Bright flowers for Mothers living. 



' ' The advertisement we spread across 

 five columns of the paper, using a space 

 five inches deep. The results were be- 

 yond our expectations. White flowers 

 had ^first call, but bright flowers had 

 an even larger sale, for there were more 

 of them. The Review is entitled to 

 credit for showing the trade how to 

 popularize the day so quickly." 



THE WHITE CABNATION. 



Mothers' day has inspired the people 

 as nothing else has done — and it is easy 

 to get newspaper publicity for it. The 

 average florist will prefer to feature 



White flowers for Mother's memory, 

 Bright flowers for Mothers living — 



but if you think your supply of white 

 carnations will stand it, hand the fol- 

 lowing verses by Margaret E. Sangster 

 to your local newspaper with a request 

 for publication in a Mothers' day ar- 

 ticle May 11: 



THE WHITE CARNATION. 



Here's to the white carnation. 



Sturdy and spicy and sweet, 

 Wafting a breath of perfume 



On the stony way of the street; 

 Bringing a freight of gladness 



Wherever the breezes blow: 

 Here's to the white carnation, 



Pure as the virgin snow. 



This Is the flower for Mother, 



Wear It on Mothers' day; 

 Flower for rain and sunshine. 



Winsome, gallant and gay. 

 Wear it in Mother's honor. 



Pinned to the coat's lapel; 

 Wear it in belt and corsage, 



F'or her that you love so well. 



For Mother in lowly cabin. 



Or Mother In palace hall, 

 Is ever the truest and dearest. 



And ever the best of all. 

 In travail and pain she bore us. 



In laughter and love she nursed. 

 And who that would shame the Mother 



Is of all mankind accursed. 



Tired and wan too often. 



Weary and weak at times. 

 But always full of the courage 



That thrills when the future chimes. 

 Mother with hands toil-hardened. 



Mother in pearls and lace. 

 The light of heavenly beauty 



Shines In her tender face. 



So here's to the white carnation. 



Wear it on Mothers' day; 

 Flower that blooms for Mother, 



Winsome, gallant and gay. 

 Flower of perfect sweetness. 



Flower for hut and hall. 

 Here's to the white carnation. 



And to Mother — Our Best of All. 





<»?».<<^' 



r^rssrEsr^STSsr^KTS^LSS 



)-fer»»'^?»)'fer»)-'yr»>-fe»>-fe:»>-fe»>' 



^ 



THE RETAIL 



FLORIST i 



t 



W?».<»^<*^'»^.<»^.<»^<»^<#^.<*^:fe»>'fer»>'fer»>'fer»)V :ys-^ r»>-fer»>'yr»)'fe:^>' 



r^»S 



CONVENTIONAL DESIGNING. 



Its Adaptability to Decorating. 



The most general meaning given to 

 conventional designing, as regards floral 

 art, was discussed in a former article 

 and was found to be the common or 

 customary method of executing designs; 

 it was also stated that the word con- 

 ventional may be applied to the set 

 design itself. The three methods 

 more or less conventional at the 

 present time — the so-called loose style, 

 the solid style and the foliage back- 

 ground — were considered. 



This discussion led up to a question 

 as to whether the second meaning of 

 the term conventional has any applica- 

 tion to floral designing. The sense of 

 the derived application is this: A re- 

 moval from close representation of na- 

 ture by a system of rejecting and se- 

 lecting — what? Lines. It is a process 

 of analyzing and separating the form 

 of the flower into the lines which unite 

 to make its outline, adapting these lines 

 and reproducing therefrom a shape 

 which retaini^the characteristics of the 



pattern flower, is enough like it to be 

 recognized, but still is not an exact re- 

 production. 



The Fleur-de-lis as an Example. 



A familiar illustration is seen in the 

 conventional fleur-de-lis, common in 

 jewelry, wall paper, embroidery and 

 book-cover designs. A little study of 

 this conventional fleur-de-lis will show 

 that a new figure is created, resembling 

 the original, but more adapted to orna- 

 mental uses. The separated lines are 

 brought together, retaining the princi- 

 pal ones and leaving out the less 

 important. Compare the two — the iris 

 flower with the conventional fleur-de-lis 

 —and you will find that the flat picture 

 is the skeleton of the flower; yes, more; 

 it is the spirit of it. It has stripped 

 the flower of its deceptive high lights 

 and color body, with the supporting 

 stem, and revealed the simplicity and 

 clearness of its one set of lines, of its 

 own idea. 



But where and how does all this apply 

 to floral designing? Possibly more in- 

 directly than directly— by influencing 

 one's style; by teaching an observer 



