BUTTON-HOLE BOUQUETS AND SHOULDER SPRAYS. 



35' 



bows and streamers of broader satin ribbon, white, mauve, or yellow, attached to the 

 upper part of the handle, are preferable to introducing a bow of ribbon among the 

 flowers. 



" Posies " of long-stemmed flowers are sometimes carried by bridesmaids and others, 

 these being arranged carelessly, and done up with ribbon only. Long-handled French 

 baskets are sometimes carried by children at weddings, and are also occasionally wanted 

 for presentation purposes. For these all the flowers, fern or asparagus should be 

 wired, and they can be most tastefully and lightly arranged by inserting the wire 

 stems in a firm ball of dry moss in the bottom of the basket. Asparagus or smilax 

 may be wound round the handle and attached to the top, facing outwards, with a bow 

 and trailers of satin ribbon to match the flowers. 



Button-hole bouquets, if we except those worn by coachmen at weddings, ought 

 never to be large or clumsy, one, or at the most, two kinds of flowers being used. Kose- 

 buds, carnations, Lily of the Valley, violets, gardenias, tuberoses, stephanotis, and the 

 smaller-flowered orchids are among the more popular kinds for the purpose. Each flower 

 should be " wired " separately, and they can then be arranged and faced without much 

 difficulty. A small frond of maiden-hair fern and perhaps a tiny spray of the more 

 durable Asparagus plumosus at the back of the flowers are needed, all being bound 

 together with fine wire, and the neat stem covered with silvered paper. Three small 

 carnations are frequently partially split and then bound tightly together, when they 

 appear to be a single large bloom. The proper backing for these is a leafy growth or 

 two of carnation, the London florists fastening the points of the leaves down to 

 give them a more graceful appearance. 



Ladies' shoulder sprays are made in different forms to meet the wishes of those 

 ordering them. Some are merely a bunch of flowers or a glorified gentleman's button- 

 hole bouquet, while others are long, narrow, and curving. In every case all the flowers 

 are best mounted on light wires, otherwise they cannot be lightly arranged or be made 

 to face outwards properly. Even spikes of odontoglossums have frequently to be 

 thinned out, and some of the flowers mounted and fixed where they show to better 

 advantage. In forming long sprays, no attempt should be made to work to a 

 foundation of asparagus or fern. First put the flowers together, commencing at the 

 point and twisting the wire-stems round each other, thus forming the spray, and then 

 back the flowers with asparagus or fern. Finish off neatly, covering the "handle" with 

 silvered paper. 



