October 14, 1896. 



Garden and Forest. 



4i3 



Changing- Fashions in Flowers. 



ON a bright afternoon or evening, especially from De- 

 cember until after Easter, the florists' windows are 

 conspicuous features of our fashionable business thorough- 

 fares. In the daytime these are arranged with reference 

 to the rays of the sun, and a walk on Broadway or some 

 of the avenues on almost any Saturday afternoon is likely 

 to show a judicious grouping of growing plants in the 

 sunniest parts of the windows, with the flowers effectively 

 sheltered among the luxuriant foliage. Some of the dis- 

 plays on ordinary days during the last year or two will be 

 remembered by every one who saw them for their original 

 and tasteful designs and their costly composition. 



So common are these window arrangements that one 

 hardly remembers they were not always a part of the flo- 

 rists' business, whereas hardly any attempt was made to 

 gain attention by tasteful and striking arrangement even 

 twenty-five years ago. Changes have occurred steadily in 

 the florists' trade since 1830, when there were not more 

 than a dozen horticultural establishments in the entire 

 country, and marked characteristics of different periods 

 could be cited. But, to begin twenty-five years ago, hardly 

 one of the flowers now seen was then to be found in flo- 

 rists' collections. Fuchsias and tuberoses were regular 

 stock in trade, and, their short stems pieced out with wires, 

 served no small part in close, motiey bouquets. White 

 abutilons and double primulas were in high favor, plants 

 of double white Primroses sometimes commanding as much 

 as a dollar each. The once familiar Daphne odora has been 

 displaced for more fashionable blossoms, and Bouvardias, 

 a main reliance in all floral work, are now represented 

 only by a few of the newer varieties in small quantities. 

 Leaves and flowers of such commonplace plants as Trade- 

 scantia, Geraniums, Feverfew, Candytuft, Sweet Alyssum, 

 Mignonette and Heliotrope were among those most generally 

 used. Stevia and Eupatorium gave something like lightness 

 to the dense and formal bouquets. Occasionally, some enter- 

 prising growers used the stately Eucharis Amazonica, and 

 Euphorbia jacquinseflora and Chorozema varium were also 

 sold. The dainty flowers of Lily-of-the-valley were seen 

 during a short season only, until some twenty years ago, 

 when the secret of hurrying the pips through an artificial 

 winter, and so bringing them into flower the year through, 

 was learned. The Ascension Lily, Lilium candidum, was 

 the only Lily then forced in any quantity, while Callas 

 were one of the most common and useful of winter flowers. 

 Standard varieties of Carnations, now but a memory, were 

 President de Grauw, Flatbush, Snowdon and Peerless, all 

 white ; the carmine La Purite, the yellow variegated De 

 Fontaine and Astoria ; Hinsdale, a fancy variegated, and 

 Crimson King. Until five years before this period, the now 

 universal practice of growing Carnations under glass in 

 winter was unknown. The flowers were nipped off at the 

 calyx, and those measuring an inch and a half across were 

 considered of the first size. Importers of some of the first 

 French Carnations seen in this country are still making the 

 cultivation of these flowers a specialty, and to their per- 

 sistent and intelligent experiments are due improvements, 

 such as better habit of plant, firm stem, perfect calyx, clear, 

 solid color, fragrance and keeping quality. Very few roses 

 were sold in winter, and none of the varieties of that time 

 are now grown for florists' use. The old apricot-yellow 

 Safrano, the white Lamarque, with Gloire de Dijon, Marechal 

 Niel. Isabella Sprunt, BonSileneand Hermosa were favorites. 

 In Violets, Schonbrun and Neapolitan were fashionable. 

 A larger proportion of the Dutch bulbs imported were used 

 for forcing than now. when the most of them are planted 

 out-of-doors. Camellias were the choicest of all flowers, 

 and the most expensive bouquets contained only as many 

 of these waxy flowers as the number of dollars charged for 

 them. These formal, artificial-looking flowers are now 

 quite out of the trade, and gardenias, still plentifully grown 

 in England, have only a very limited call from travelers 

 who have cultivated a liking for them there. A few chrys- 



anthemums were sold in autumn, but they were the hardy 

 varieties which were grown out-of-doors, and no one then 

 dreamed that these flowers would be seen in such size and 

 variety as now when cultivated under glass. 



It must not be inferred, because a greater variety <>f flow- 

 ers and plants are used now than a quarter of a century ago, 

 that the business of the florist of that day was an insignifi- 

 cant one. Perhaps as many flowers were sold in propor- 

 tion to the population then as now. In the prosperous 

 times which followed the war, expenditures for all luxuries 

 were lavish, audit was difficult for popular florists to secure 

 enough flowers for the demands of their customers. A 

 larger proportion of the flowers sold were used at funerals 

 than now. White blossoms were universally chosen for 

 this purpose, and not infrequently tufts of cotton tied to the 

 regulation toothpicks were made to do duty in wreaths and 

 crosses when enough carnations could not be had to finish 

 the piece. This fashion of flowers at funerals at last came 

 to be an annoyance, and on the death of a noted actor so 

 many floral tokens of grief were sent to the bereaved family 

 that they filled the house and flowed out over the sidewalks. 

 Of course, such an unwise practice could not endure long 

 in a sane community, and the excess was corrected by the 

 notice, "no flowers," which soon began to appear in the 

 announcements of funerals. 



The change which has taken place in the material used 

 is no greater than the revolution in the manner of arrang- 

 ing it. In the sixties, baskets were made solid with moss 

 held in by a mesh of wires, into which the short-stemmed 

 flowers were thrust. During the holidays a large basket 

 might contain one or two heads of poinsettia, a few camel- 

 lias, and perhaps some rosebuds, tilled in with stevia and 

 eupatorium, and edged with leaves of Cissus discolor or 

 Croton. Leaves of Begonia Rex were also pressed into use 

 for variety. In smaller baskets two or three camellias were 

 used with the ordinary filling, and perhaps the bracts of 

 poinsettias were placed regularly around the border. Snug 

 hemispherical bouquets were constructed in the same 

 motley fashion, with Geranium leaves or Sword Ferns for 

 edging, and sometimes a stand of these compact affairs, 

 stood in damp moss, was to be seen in florists' shops, the 

 prices rated in proportion to size. As an example of the 

 lavish use of flowers, it maybe said that quite elaborate 

 baskets, costing two or three dollars each, were not infre- 

 quently given as favors at private balls, three or four hun- 

 dred of them being used on a single occasion. 



The growing of Ferns as an article of commerce has 

 developed entirely within the past twenty-five years, and 

 this marks, perhaps, one of the most striking changes in 

 the business. The table ferneries, now used so generally, 

 were then unknown, and fronds of Ferns which are now 

 indispensable in almost every floral arrangement, and 

 which are considered sufficiently delicate to go with the 

 most refined flowers, were never used. The change can 

 hardly be appreciated by one who sees whole houses given 

 up to the growing of Adiantums and other choice Ferns to 

 be used exclusively for cutting. Of course, in private col- 

 lections there were some choice varieties of Palms, but 

 these plants, which are now grown by the thousand and 

 which make the basis of display tor every festal occasion, 

 were almost unknown in the trade. 



Altogether, this great change has, us a rule, been in 

 the direction of refinement and simplicity. Instead of 

 formal bouquets, loose, long-stemmed flowers are now used 

 for gifts, although there seems something barbarous in the 

 passion for mere size which is shown in giant chrysanthe- 

 mums and dahlias. Nevertheless, the whole tendency is 

 in the direction of a purer taste and a more genuine tut. 

 The formal designs are much less common, and the use 

 of such flowers as Coreopsis, Rudbeckias, [-Ielianthus and 

 other native wildings is becoming general. Recalling the 

 changes which have gone steadily on during the past quar- 

 ter of a century, one wonders how the florists' shops will 

 look in 1925. 



New York. 



M. />'. C. 



