DECORATIVE USE OF FLOWERS. 



127 



will make this plain at once to any one acquainted 

 with the work; in the former rtianner just suffi- 

 cient flowers are used to give the requisite effect, in 

 the latter method the fern-fronds are used to hide 

 some of the flowers that ought not to have had a 

 place at all. Here is a waste of material decidedly, 

 which ought at all times to he avoided ; and a sacri- 

 fice, too, is made of the elegant and graceful ap- 

 pearance that ought to >he produced, in favour of a 

 display that imparts deneity and heaviness. It is 

 always easy to add one or two fern-fronds at the 

 finish, should it he necessary ; hut we find with 

 practice that ahout the right quantity can he ar- 

 ranged heforehand. 



Foliage. — The foliage of many kinds' of flower- 

 ing plants and hulhs can be used most advantageously 

 in conjunction with the flower of each given genus. 

 This is an important point frequently overlooked by 

 floral decorators, who, perhaps from force of habit 

 more than any other assignable cause, prefer to 

 rely far too much on the supply derived from ferns 

 — the Maidenhair fern in particular. We would 

 not for one moment disparage this valuable fern for 

 decorative purposes, but when a preponderance of 

 it is allowed in a collective group of decorations 

 it will produce a sameness and repetition that, 

 with a little forethought, might easily have been 

 avoided. We should not then hear the complaint so 

 often made, that the Maidenhair ferns had been 

 robbed so much for cut purposes ; and Fig. 1 will 

 show how possible it is to produce a fine efltect with- 

 out ferns of any kind. It will be found that the 

 foliage of many bulbous plants is the best adjunct 

 to the flowers of the same which can possibly be used 

 in floral arrangements. Take, for instance, a few 

 spikes of Gladiolus in two or three distinct colours, 

 and arrange them in a suitable vase ; nothing will 

 associate so well with' these as their own foliage. 

 The Calla Lily {Richardia cethiopica) may be cited 

 as another instance in the same direction ; the White 

 Water-lily {Nymijlicea alba) likewise is displayed to 

 the best advantage when resting on its own beautiful 

 leaves. These latter are somewhat fugacious, and 

 require repeated renewal: this is the great draw- 

 back to their more frequent use. The Cape Lily 

 {Schizostylis coccinea) and other Liliaceous plants 

 from the South of Africa— such as Tritonia aurea, 

 the Sparaxis, the Ixia, and the Babiana— should all 

 be used in unison with their own foliage. The 

 Daft'odils {Narcissus), now so popular with floral 

 admirers, may be taken as another example; we 

 often use leaf-growths of these pretty bulbs cut from 

 close to the ground when requiring to arrange any 

 of their flowers. The handsome blossoms of the 

 Tulips also never look better than when arranged 



with their own beautiful leaves, provided the latter 

 are well developed. 



Of our more choice exotics among bulbous plants, 

 the Lily of the Amazon [Eucharis amazonica) is still 

 another instance. When the last two or three 

 flowers only are left on any spikes of this plant, we 

 like then to take off the whole of them at once, with 

 a good length of the flower-stem attached. Two or 

 three such spikes, with some of the smallest foliage 

 of the same plant, will make a handsome decoration 

 by themselves. The lovely trusses of Pancratium 

 fragrans will associate well with the foliage of Aspi- 

 distra lurida, its own leaves being somewhat too 

 rigid and not often so conveniently spared as the 

 substitute we have named. Vallota purpurea will 

 go well with the leaves of the Aspidistra also. 

 These are sufficient instances among bulbous plants 

 to illustrate our meaning, which may easily be 

 adopted as readily as in the case of the Lily of the 

 Valley, with which hardly any one would think of 

 using other than its own foliage. 



Of other plants and shrubs many notable cases 

 might be cited, with the flowers of which their own 

 foliage is the best accompaniment. The Rose, among 

 many others, affords an admirable illustration of 

 this method. Suppose we take some few flowers of 

 the tea-scented kinds for a decoration, no foliage will 

 be more appropriate wherewith to arrange them 

 than their own beautiful leaves, especially such as, 

 in their younger stages of growth, partake of a 

 bronzy or coppery hue. The shoots also from some 

 of the climbing Roses, as the Banksian and the 

 Ayrshire, are most useful in larger arrangements. 



The Chrysanthemum (double kinds) furnishes us 

 with an instance in which a hardy and common 

 shrub, viz., Berberis (Mahonia) Aqtiifolium, can be 

 made of the greatest service as a groundwork for 

 this popular autumn flower. The Winter Jasmine 

 {Jasmmum nudiflorum) is another case in which the 

 Berberis foliage is a valuable aid. The single 

 Dahlias, now so universally cultivated, afford still 

 another illustration of the value of this same shrub 

 to accompany their flowers. We do, in fact, put 

 nearly as much value on the Berberis Aquifolium as 

 on some of the most popular ferns for decorative use 

 in floral grouping. The Copper Beech {Fagus syl- 

 vatica purpurea) supplies us with another useful help 

 in decorations, consisting chiefly of white or yellow 

 flowers, whilst the Variegated Maple {Acer Negundo 

 albo-variegaium) forms a good contrast to various 

 shades of blue or scarlet. Another climbing ever, 

 green — which is not so frequently seen as it should 

 be, and still less used in a cut state — is Garrya 

 elliptica, the long and pendulous catkins of which, 

 during the months of January and February, cause 

 it to be much admired when arranged as a fringing 



