10 



The Florists^ Review 



Adoust 8, 1912. 



the narrow part of the wreath and had 

 covered the wire frame of the easel 

 with some greens, he would have had 

 a more finished design. The galax leaves 

 are not expensive; a few more would 

 not have added much to the cost and 

 would have aided in producing a bet- 

 ter shaped wreath, which would, no 

 doubt, have been a better advertise- 

 ment for the store man. I have al- 

 ways found it to be to my own benefit 

 in the end if I made it a point to cut 

 down my profits rather than produce in- 

 ferior work. A few more flowers or 

 leaves will never break you, and a 

 satisfied customer is worth more than 

 one whom you have ftot pleased. 



I do not mean to state that the 

 wreath in question was probably not 



shape was perfectly maintained with- 

 out being stiff, but this takes oceans 

 of time. S. C. 



Flatness, or Lack of Interest. 



The maker of this galax wreath has 

 embodied the principle of the empire 

 garland, adapted it to a wreath form, 

 and in outline has succeeded in pleas- 

 ing the eye by a fairly good propor- 

 tion. 



We find that flowers have been used 

 to enrich the galax leaves and we fol- 

 low the flowers around in a desire to 

 see what meaning or story they have 

 to tell. They are beautiful, for flowers 

 are beautiful, but we fail to find any 

 real interest. There is no story told 



Watch 



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Billboard Advertisement of a Massachusetts Florist. 



satisfactory, but here is the point: It 

 matters not how small the sale may be, 

 see that your work is of such a char- 

 acter as to cause the same sort of 

 favorable comment as would be brought 

 forth by a larger design, and your wor- 

 ries in the business will be over. 



D. G. 



Before and After Taking. 



This crescent wreath looks to me 

 as though it were not to be taken se- 

 riously. Contrasting it with the wreath 

 criticised in The Review of July 4, it 

 reminds one forcibly of "before and 

 after taking." One seems to have too 

 much stock and the other too little. 

 The taste is bad and the execution is 

 worse. As it seems to be a galax 

 wreath, I should have discarded all 

 flowers except the roses, and if these 

 had been combined with some graceful 

 green and clustered with rather long 

 and irregular stems in the heavy part 

 of the wreath, the piece would have 

 been more graceful, but in this case 

 the maker has used the green as if it 

 were poison ivy and he had reason to 

 be afraid of it. 



Crescent wreaths are more difficult 

 to make than ordinary wreaths, and I 

 think they are pretty if made of small 

 flowers. I made some, in the sweet 

 pea season, with purple and lavender 

 peas and Whitman! ferns. In the nar- 

 row part I stripped the individual 

 fronds from the stem, put three and 

 four on wired toothpicks and worked 

 them in quite full. The effect was 

 like that of a beautiful fringe and the 



and we do not see any particular dis- 

 play of individuality in the arrange- 

 ment. 



To sum up our findings, we pronounce 

 the whole composition flat. Now, flat- 

 ness of interest in designing is at- 

 tributable to lack of opposition; so, if 

 the maker had given his carnations a 

 direction, or opposites in direction, he 

 would have created a point of interest, 

 and, grouping his roses and narcissi, 

 would have qualified his interest with 

 his richest material. 



The easel looks naked, and the let- 

 ters appear to be placed so as to em- 

 phasize this nakedness. The coldness 

 of steel has no relationship to the 



warmth and delicacy of fresh flowers. 

 Fred C. W. Brown. 



Beconstructing the Wreath. 



It will be necessary to repeat some 

 of the first principles of designing in 

 discussing the accompanying picture. 

 In the first place let us view the 

 design without the flowers, with the 

 galax only. Whether the frame itself 

 or the photo is to blame, the design 

 appears too flat, too shallow. Bemove 

 the galax and add more moss; pile it 

 on the top, twice as much. Wrap 

 tightly and re-cover with the galax, 

 remembering that since you have 

 chosen a conventionalized form of 

 wreath, you must outline it more 

 strictly and smoothly. As it appears 

 in the illustration, the form of the 

 piece is slouchy and warty. Don't 

 have some long and some short-stem- 

 med leaves around the outside edge of 

 this piece. Use them either all short 

 or all long. Personally I prefer the 

 short -stemmed ones, well lapped at top 

 and edges, for this design. Here you 

 have one side of the tip, where it ap- 

 proaches the top, narrower than the 

 other. Correct this fault and your de- 

 sign will appear fifty per cent better. 

 Next, remove these letters and figures 

 from the toboggan slide and place them 

 on a short, narrow chiffon banner, 

 ready for its place when we shall make 

 the place. 



The flowers in this piece are not so 

 badly arranged, but there is some im- 

 provement possible. With the small 

 quantity employed — and that is no spe- 

 cial hindrance to good work — it is bet- 

 ter to have not more than two varie- 

 ties. Leave out the roses; the carna- 

 tions and narcissi make a good com- 

 bination. Then let those in the center 

 of the broad section be six or eight 

 inches long; those next on either side, a 

 little shorter and tipped from the ver- 

 tical position. Let those which tip the 

 spray at either side show considerable 

 stem and be set in a reclining position 

 on the galax leaves. Wire, if neces- 

 sary, and don't be afraid of showing 

 stems here, there and everywhere. Use 

 own foliage with these flowers. This 

 effect serves two purposes. It blends 

 the high flower center with the narrow 

 foliage section at the top, and tapers 

 the flower section to harmonize with 

 the motive of the piece. 



Now for that lettering, which is al- 

 ready prepared. Make a little room 

 diagonally across the center of the 

 broad section or over the top of the 



Unique Roadside Advertitement Found in the Berkshires. 



