THE LADY DECORATOR 57 



with flowers both cut and growing, to smarten up your 

 concert-platforms or theatrical scenes, to dress your 

 bazaar-stalls for you, to make your Court bouquets, or 

 sprays for hair and dress ; she will even help you to 

 decorate your churches ; and, after once experiencing the 

 delight of skilled assistance, few ladies in the world of 

 fashion take these graceful duties entirely on themselves. 

 A lady flower-decorator is almost as much wanted as a 

 lady type-writer, and has a far pleasanter time of it. But, 

 like all trades, this one has to be learned. I believe an 

 apprenticeship of two years is considered necessary. 



It is at a wedding, perhaps, the flower-lady is at her 

 best. The entire dwelling of the bride is made whitely 

 beautiful, and the church becomes a green and scented 

 sanctuary. Palms and Ferns are lent. I hope I am 

 right in saying that the lady decorator never dyes her 

 flowers. I am certain she would not do so except to 

 order ; but the present year, which promises to be one of 

 Eastern magnificence and gorgeous colouring, has begun 

 badly in the matter of flower-dyeing ; even the simple 

 spring flowers have not escaped the ban. Early in 

 March, when pacing Regent Street, and pausing, as one 

 cannot help doing, to admire the display of flowers in 

 certain shops, it was with a shock of horror one beheld 

 dyed daffodils ! They formed the upstanding group of 

 blossoms in crosses and garlands, the groundwork of which 

 consisted entirely of Wall-flower ; and the dye that 

 reddened the Daffodils, leaving some of the petals their 

 natural colour, matched the red-brown of the Wall- 

 flowers exactly. For one moment it was a puzzle — only 

 one. Shade of Herrick ! who could mistake a Daffodil ? 

 A dyed Daffodil is several degrees more agonizing than a 

 green Carnation, and nearly as bad as a blue Rose. 



The fashion for certain flowers and colours at different 

 seasons is quite harmless, though one may smile at it ; 

 but sometimes there is a reason behind the mode. For 



