^ 04 AJL to- ^GAO QIxkHa to Hoit /t(iiMA 4 iiGX 10 
Half the pleasure to be derived from 
glads as a hobby comes from bringing 
beautiful spikes into bloom; the other half 
comes from appropriate and artistic vas- 
ing. Or, to put it another way: the beauty 
of any glad—or any other flower—may be 
doubled by appropriate vasing. 
Thinking it might be of interest to our 
customers to discover some of the means 
whereby florists secure their effects, we 
made up a bouquet last 
September, selecting a 
white variety, Mary Eliz¬ 
abeth, which would show 
up clearly, and photo¬ 
graphing the bouquet at 
several stages of the vas¬ 
ing. 
1. Equipment Needed: 
While glads may be 
adapted to a wide range 
of vases and baskets, 
probably the most useful 
type of container for a 
bouquet of generous pro¬ 
portions is the low pla¬ 
teau basket. The taller, 
more conventional type of basket should 
not be used unless one wishes to place it 
on the floor or on a low taboret. Further¬ 
more it is difficult to keep glads from look¬ 
ing stiff when vased in a narrow upright 
receptacle. The practice of placing bou¬ 
quets upon library tables or buffets calls 
for the type of basket pictured. This one 
measures 23" overall height. The tin con¬ 
tainer measures 5"x7" and is about 6" 
deep. It is not essential to have an espe¬ 
cially artistic basket (as long as it is of the 
right proportions), as when the bouquet 
is finished, the basket should scarcely 
show anyway.^ 
The most important consideration in ar¬ 
ranging glads is how to get them to stay 
where you want them. Florists commonly 
do this by two means: 1. Placing about 
two square feet of ordinary large mesh 
chicken netting crushed together in the 
bottom of the receptacle, and 2. Wir¬ 
ing the spikes to the handle or edge of the 
basket. The chicken netting device is rath¬ 
er a makeshift, however, and we prefer to 
use a Kenzan flower holder like the one 
pictured which will hold the spikes steady 
at exactly the desired angle (have a clean 
square cut at the end of your spikes if you 
use a Kenzan).^ As for the wire, if your 
town has a florist shop 
you can get regular flor¬ 
ist's wire from him. If not 
a 5c roll of common stove¬ 
pipe wire will serve just 
as well. A sharp knife for 
cutting spikes just the de¬ 
sired length, and a pliers 
or small tinner's shear 
costing about 30c com¬ 
pletes t h e equipment 
needed. Yes, and before 
you start be sure to have 
plenty of flowers. You 
won't use more than 16 
to 24 spikes but you will 
want some slight or even 
marked crooks in some of them for use in 
certain positions. 
2. Placing the First Row of Flowers: 
Select a fine spike for the center, plac¬ 
ing it so that about half the open florets 
are above and half below the handle of 
the basket. Cut off four or five inches of 
wire and wire the spike securely to the 
handle. Place other spikes to each side 
and wire. (The length of the spikes in this 
first row necessitates wiring in spite of 
the use of a Kenzan.) Note that approxi¬ 
mately as much space should be left be¬ 
tween spikes as the spikes themselves oc¬ 
cupy. (Far more flower arranqements are 
spoiled by using too many flowers than 
by using too few.) When finished a bou¬ 
quet should have a light, graceful touch 
as if ready to float or fly away. Not appar- 
PARAPHERNALIA 
^ Baskets of the type pictured may be purchased from most any florist for from $1.50^ to $2.00. 
•We can supply sun and moon Kenzans like the one pictured for $1.00 each postpaid (our cost price plus postage). This is a two part 
Kenzan and you will notice that the parts have been securely joined by a small splinter of wood for additional steadiness in making up 
so large a bouquet. Or we can supply large turtle-back Kenzans which are even better for $1.75 postpaid. 
