336 
The Garden Magazine, July, 1924 
dining table individually, but any lover of flowers 
will refuse to do this as it proves patent indifference 
to the flower. Flowers are living things and they 
respond to good treatment as do other forms of life. 
For the dining table, then, a low centre-piece is 
the most satisfactory. Short-stemmed flowers such 
as Violets, Pansies, Nasturtiums, Sweet-peas, should 
be properly placed in a shallow bowl. They will ap¬ 
pear to best advantage when the individual flowers 
are well separated one from the other, either by 
their own or other suitable foliage. Not only is this 
a provision of economy, but it presents the flowers 
in their individual beauty as they are in nature, 
and one soon begins to appreciate them as flowers 
rather than as bunches. Flowers tied in bunches 
with cord or wire immediately suggest artificiality 
and usually are injured when so bound up. 
T HE color of flowers may serve utilitarian pur¬ 
poses as well as decorative, and should always 
be considered with reference to the color and char¬ 
acter of the room. Delicately tinted pinks and blues 
require a bright, sunny room if they are to show 
to advantage. A quantity of brilliant red tends to 
reduce the size of a room, while blue similarly used 
apparently increases it and yellow brightens it. 
The color selected should give accent to the room, 
“FOR THE DINING TABLE A LOW CENTER- 
PIECE IS THE MOST SATISFACTORY” 
This is true first because a tall arrangement is un¬ 
sociable and apt to hide one’s vis-a-vis; also it is liable 
to be out of proportion to the size of the table itself 
so that their form is obscured. A single, vigorous, flowering 
stalk with its wonderfully graceful leaves and flowers is bouquet 
enough. The finest quality of Lilies is lost in a cluster. 
Since simplicity is always pleasing, it is usually desirable to 
confine a vase to one type of foliage and flower. If two are 
placed together, one should complement the other. Each 
should have elements which contrast with the other and ele¬ 
ments which have something also in common. It is best to 
use the flowers’ own foliage. Fine greens, like Asparagus 
or Maidenhair, would look absurd with coarse flowers like 
Chrysanthemums; for the best effects, this element of texture 
may well be considered. 
Vases that are transparent or translucent are to be com¬ 
mended because they make it possible to see the flowers in their 
entirety and not detached. Stems are important not only to 
the life of the flower but as contributing to the artistic aspect 
of its form and color, and we should respect them. Do not 
jam the flowers into the vase as a flat-topped bunch, but let 
them be at different heights and always roomily accommodated. 
The arrangement in the vase should present a chief center of 
interest with one or more minor centers. It is better if ir¬ 
regularly balanced rather than each side just like the other. 
The dining table affords one of the most popular opportuni¬ 
ties for the use of flowers, and practicability must be considered 
as well as the artistic aspect. A tall, long-stemmed group 
serves to obstruct the view of the faces at the opposite side of 
the board. Further than that, it is unstable, for such a group 
requires a tall receptacle, and the combined height of the 
receptacle and the projecting flowers makes it likely to topple 
over. In addition to these two inconveniences, the center of 
interest is above eye level so that one sees chiefly the under 
side of the flowers. It is always better to view (lowers from 
above, and if the group is tall it should be placed either on the 
floor or upon a low table. Tall flowers may be laid around the 
GIVING THE INDIVIDUAL FLOWER A CHANCE 
Japanese Iris (shown above), Lilies, and other flowers of distinctive habit 
should never be crowded together but appear to best advantage when 
separated and permitted to display their natural beauty of stem and leaf 
