THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
4G2 
markets, we may often see smartly dressed gentlemen 
buying as many of the best bouquets and plants as a man 
can carry on bis back. Rut the custom pervades all classes, 
more or less, and nearly all the year round the ilower- 
gardeners in the vicinity of the capital are in full activity to 
keep the markets supplied. Orange-blossoms, for obvious 
reasons, and also young Orange-trees, are in much request 
at all seasons. Other sorts are taken as they come. At 
present, the commoner kinds of what we would call green 
house plants are in great abundance, many of them trained 
in a variety of fanciful ways. Fuchsias in the form of little 
trees, Pelargoniums, Roses, Myrtles, Myoporums, Neriums, 
Veronicas, Dahlias, and Asters, are among the ordinary 
sorts. And now for a few observations on the preparation 
of bouquets, for which the Parisians have so much fame; 
and it would be somewhat strange if the French, who excel 
in everything relating to ornarhent, did not display particular 
taste and fancy in the arrangement of their flowers. 
The Parisian bouquets may be ranged under two distinct 
classes—the natural, and the artificial arrangement. Both 
are constructed according to the same model, in the first 
instance, but not to the same extent; or, rather, at a certain 
point the one deviates from the model of the other, and in 
their general appearance they are very different. In the 
one form the flowers are more naturally placed, and more 
varied in their character, than they are in the other form, in 
which they appear as flat and formal as possible, and, con¬ 
sequently, only particular kinds of flowers are suited for 
this latter arrangement. Both are pretty, but the one is 
much more agreeable than the other. In the artificial 
form, all the flowers have a broad, flat surface, more or less; 
and as examples, the following may be namedChina 
Aster, Dahlia, Daisy, Scabious, Roses, Camellias, and similar 
sorts. These are arranged closely together in distinct 
circles, and the whole bouquet has an even and uniform 
surface, more or less convex. No leaves are seen, and, 
indeed, the flower-heads seem so packed together, so to 
speak, as to leave no room for leaves. But that is the object. 
These circles, however, are not always made up of one 
kind of flower, or of one colour, for different flowers, or 
different colours of the same flower may alternate in the 
same circle, provided this does not spoil the effect of the 
circle near it, and the evenness of surface required. 
In the natural form the flowers are not packed close to¬ 
gether by their heads, and although the same round convex 
outline must be preserved, uniform evenness of surface 
must be avoided. The flowers are not all equal in size; they 
are not all broad and flat, as in the other arrangement, for 
here such kinds as the Orange, the Myrtle, the Boronia, 
and the Veronica, are admissable. But they are arranged 
in circles, in precisely the same way, only the difference of 
the materials, and the presence of leaves, produces a very 
different effect. 
The general form of a French bouquet is almost inva¬ 
riably round and convex, gradually falling from the centre 
to the circumference. It is never one sided and sloping. 
The flowers are arranged in circles, and the number of 
circles, even in largfe bouquets, rarely exceeds six or seven. 
A large and conspicuous flower forms the centre, and Fern 
fronds the outer circumference. 
Besides the two forms of arrangement which I have 
described, and which may be taken as the types of French 
bouquets, there is a third form, which though it does not 
possess anything like a distinct character, it is yet more 
common than the others. Instead of a single row of flowers 
in every circle, small flowers are grouped together, so as to 
make each circle about two inches in width, and instead of 
one large, conspicuous flower in the centre, several arc also 
grouped together. In this form the flowers arc neither flat 
and broad like the Aster, or Camellia, nor graceful brauchlets 
like the Orange, or Boronia, &c. They are usually such as 
Rose-buds, Fuchsias, Violets, Verbenas, and similar small 
kinds grouped together in the circle. But in every case the 
great object is to arrange the colours of each circle so as to 
give an agreeable aspect to the whole when finished. In 
general, strong contrasts prevail in the artificial form, but 
the natural form admits of greater harmony of colour, 
because the materials are more varied; the former is more 
or less pretty , at least, striking, but the latter is often more 
beautiful, and I think the distinction may be easily under- 
Sepxember 12. 
stood. Foreigners, however, have a fancy for stiff uniformity. 
This is seen in their parterres, their clipped trees and shrubs, 
and the same fancy extends to their bouquets. It is only 
when a more than ordinary degree of good taste is exercised 
that we find a judicious compromise between extremes. In 
this case, the result is admirable, and it is shown in what 1 
call the Parisian bouquet, au naturel, in which the flowers 
are selected witli care, and the colours agreeably mixed, yet 
every circle preserved distinct. 
The French bouquets afford much scope^for the fancy in 
their construction, and this is, perhaps, .more particularly 
the case with the strictly artificial form than the others, 
because the whole surface is even and regular, presenting, ! 
as it were, a flower carpet of Mosaic work in miniature, j 
But though the Parisians have a lively fancy for contrivances j 
and inventions, especially in matters relating to beauty in 
form and colour, they are tenacious enough of what they 
once adopt, and the “grouped bouquet” which I have 
noticed as the third form, is that most commonly seen, for 
it requires but little skill and time in its preparation, and is 
subject to no rule, except that of the circular arrangement. 
With one or two exceptions, which I shall notice more 
particularly by-and-by, the following examples which I have 
only recently noted, belong, more or less, to this mixed class. 
As I have already observed, it is usual to put a large and 
striking flower in the centre, and in order to fill up the space 
below the surface, a circle of small wild flowers, as “ Forget- 
me-not,” is formed as the first circle, but, of course, the 
flowers used for this purpose must be determined upon by 
the centre, which, in fact, forms the key to all the other 
circles, which, in the two first classes, are composed of larger 
flowers, all placed single in the row ; but, as lias already been 
hinted, the circles of the third class are made up of several 
small flowers grouped together. 
EXAMPLES. 
No. 1.—Centre, dark blue, a group of large Pansies. 
1st circle, briylit blue, mixed wild flowers. 
2nd do., ivhite, Pinks and Rockets. 
3rd do., purple. Pinks and Rockets. 
4th do., blue, China Asters, with a white Rose-bud 
at every second or third flower, and placed between the 
last two circles. 
No. 2.—Centre, red, Rose-buds. 
1st circle, white, Pinks. 
2nd do., blue, Pansies. 
3rd do., red, Fuchsias. 
4th do., while, Pinks or Rocket. 
5th do., red, Pinks. 
6tli do., blue, Centaurea eyanuse. 
No. 3.—Centre, white. Dahlia. 
1st circle, blue, wild flowers. 
2nd do., red, Pelargoniums. 
3rd do., blue, deep, China Asters. 
4tli do., red and white. Fuchsias. 
5th do., yellow. Dahlias. 
No. 4.—Centre, while, Roses. 
1st circle, scarlet, Verbenas. 
2nd do., white, Pinks. 
3rd do., purple. Pinks or Rockets. 
4th do., blue, Centaurea cyauus. 
No. 5.—Centre, blue, Forget-me-not. 
1st -circle, white, Rocket. „ 
2nd do., blue, deep, Tansies. 
3rd do., blush, Roses. 
4th do., red, Pelargoniums. 
5th do., yellow, Dahlias. 
No. 0.—Centre, ivhite, Roses. 
1st circle, blue, Forget-me-not, &c. 
2nd do., white. Pinks, with red Pelargoniums alter¬ 
nating. 
3rd do., yellow, Dahlias. 
4th do., red, Roses. 
5th do., mixed, Dahlias of different colours, and 
alternating so as to preserve the different tints well 
balanced and distinct. 
No. 7.—Centre, red and yellow. Gladiolus. 
1st circle, ivhite, Roses. 
2nd do., blue, Centaurea. 
