490 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
December  7,  1899 
light  grass  will  give  a  marvellous  effect.  There  are  times  when 
some  flowers  require  other  foliage  than  their  own  to  relieve  and 
embellish  them  ;  it  is  then  necessary  to  choose  such  foliage  as  will  look 
most  elegant  and  charming,  and  not  detract  from,  hut  add  to  the 
beauty  of  the  flowers  used.  The  ordinary  Asparagus  “  Fern,” 
A.  plumosus  nanus,  charming  as  it  is  for  most  purposes,  should  never 
he  used  with  either  Hoses,  Carnations  or  such  heavy  flowers,  it  tends 
to  give  them  an  over-stiff  and  formal  appearance,  but  try  the  effect 
of  Asparagus  Sprengeri  with  the  same  flowers,  and  no  one  who  has  not 
seen  it  would  credit  the  difference.  The  art  of  blending  colours  is  of 
the  greatest  importance  and  aid  in  the  choice  of  the  subject  to  be 
dealt  with.  Flowers  to  look  their  best  must  either  harmonise  or  be  in 
direct  contrast  in  colour,  otherwise  both  colours  are  spoilt,  “  killed,” 
so  to  speak.  The  effects  to  be  obtained  by  using  the  various  shades  of 
one  particular  colour,  or  even  one  shade  only,  is  marvellous,  indeed 
nothing  is  more  charming. 
The  great  aim  of  many  persons  is  to  put  value  into  their  decorations, 
without  which  there  is,  to  them,  no  charm ;  valuable  flowers  badly 
arranged  have  a  pleasing  effect  to  such,  whereas  art  would  be 
altogether  lost  upon  them.  The  skilful  artist  would,  however,  with 
careful  manipulation  obtain  better  and  more  charming  effects  with 
even  the  commonest  flower,  that  is,  provided  it  lent  itself  to  such  a 
purpose.  The  great  aim  in  the  arrangement  of  flowers,  whether  in  a 
bouquet  or  dinner  table  decoration,  should  he  to  obtain  the  best  effect 
with  the  fewest  possible  flowers,  so  that  they  may  appear  at  once  light 
and  graceful  and  at  the  same  time  lend  a  charm  to  their  surroundings. 
Avoid  anything  tending  to  stiffness  and  overcrowding,  as  nothing  can 
be  more  offensive  to  the  trained  eye ;  every  flower  should  be  a  bouquet 
of  itself,  every  leaf  should  have  a  telling  and  striking  effect,  and  should 
be  so  placed  as  to  show  itself  off  to  the  greatest  possible  advantage; 
avoid  the  symmetrical  as  being  in  direct  discord  with  Nature. 
Bouquets  arranged  in  the  shape  of  a  conically  clipped  Yew  or  Box 
tree  are  simply  grotesque.  To  obtain  the  best  effects  one  needs  to  be 
skilful  both  with  the  hand  and  eye.  I  say  this,  because  I  have  met 
those  who  have  the  one  but  not  the  other,  and  in  such  cases  it  is 
impossible  to  excel  by  oneself,  and  the  only  thing  to  he  done  is  to  call 
in  the  aid  of  someone  else  to  supply  the  deficiency  ;  the  old  saying  of 
two  heads  being  better  than  one  would  be  well  exemplified  in  this 
case.  Many  of  us,  however,  suffer  from  self-consciousness  and  refuse 
the  beneficial  aid  of  and  criticisms  of  others  and  thus  fail  to  attain  to 
anything  beyond  the  mere  commonplace. 
To  become  skilful  in  the  manipulation  of  flowers  a  man  must  be 
content  to  sink  self  and  learn  something  at  the  turning  of  every  corner 
in  life ;  he  must  jbe  ever  thinking  out  new  designs,  new  ideas,  and 
learning  to  make  use  of  the  ideas  of  others,  fitting  some  into  his  own 
and  improving  on  others.  It  often  happens  that  what  has  cost  one 
any  amount  of  trouble  and  anxiety  may  be  picked  up  in  a  moment 
from  a  stray  word  or  action  of  someone  who  has  not  given  the  matter 
one  scrap  of  thought  or  trouble.  A  new  mode  of  doing  a  thing  is 
always  the  best  if  an  improvement  on  the  old,  but  if  not,  it  is  a 
useless  change.  My  idea  in  life  has  been  always  for  improvement  and 
never  to  despise  the  source  of  such  improvement,  however  mean  or 
humble  it  may  be.  We  often  gain  knowledge  from  the  boy  who  is 
far  below  us  on  the  ladder  of  experience,  but  what  matters  if  it 
be  useful ? 
Buttonholes. 
'  I  suppose  my  subject  would  be  incompletely  handled  if  I  failed  to 
speak  of  the  various  forms  of  decorations  for  which  at  the  present  time 
flowers  are  used,  and  therefore  I  will  take  them  in  their  order, 
commencing  at  the  buttonhole.  This,  like  everything  else,  has  been 
subject  to  the  fads  of  fashion,  but  whether  worn  large  or  small,  to  he 
effective  and  pleasing  it  should  be  natural  and  elegant.  In  wearing  a 
buttonhole  the  dress  and  complexion  of  the  wearer  should  have  some 
consideration  in  the  choice  of  what  flowers  to  wear.  In  mounting 
a  buttonhole  the  foliage  used  should,  where  possible,  be  that  of  the 
plant  from  which  the  flower  was  culled,  but  when  this  is  impossible 
as  is  the  case  with  some  flowers,  Orchids,  for  instance,  then  care  must 
be  taken  to  select  such  foliage  as  will  best  harmonise  with  the  flower. 
Ladies’  Dress  Sprays. 
These  require  much  more  careful  manipulation  than  the  button¬ 
hole,  as  being  larger  the  great  difficulty  is  to  keep  them  from  appearing 
crowded  and  heavy.  It  is  therefore,  important  that  heavy  flowers 
must  not  be  extensively  employed,  and  if  used  at  all  should  have  some 
lighter  ones  to  assist  in  keeping  the  whole  graceful.  Such  flowers 
must  be  carefully  mounted  on  suitable  wire,  to  enable  it  to  be  placed 
and  kept  in  the  desired  position  or  bent  about  as  necessity  requires. 
The  whole  when  finished  should  present  a  natural,  light  and  graceful 
appearance.  Where  all  one  kind  of  flower  is  used  their  own  foliage  is 
essential,  hut  wheie  mixed  flowers  are  concerned  then  the  choice  of 
foliage  must  be  of  such  as  will  tend  to  impart  the  best  and  most 
artistic  appearance. 
Bouquets.  * 
A  bouquet  to  be  pleasing  need  not  be  made  of  expensive  flowers, 
but  must  be  so  arranged  as  to  appear  carelessly,  though  artistically, 
prut  together.  It  should  not  be  crowded  or  heavy,  but  each  flower 
ought  to  occupy  space  sufficient  to  show  off  its  whole  charm  and 
beauty,  and  the  outer  surface  should  present  an  irregularity.  By  this 
I  mean  to  say  the  flowers  should  not  all  be  placed  at  equal  distance 
from  the  centre  or  stem  of  the  bouquet,  otherwise  it  will  present  the 
appeal  at  ce  of  a  well-clipped  hedge  or  Yew  tree,  and  have  the  same 
stiffmss.  This  rule  applies  also  to  the  mounting  of  -wreaths,  crosses, 
and  other  designs.  In  all  these  the  same  object  must  be  in  view,  that 
while  keeping  to  the  design  in  hand,  yet  it  must  at  the  same  time 
when  finished  be  at  once  light  and  artistic. 
Vases. 
All  vases  are  not  at  once  suitable  for  holding  all  kinds  of  flowers, 
and  no  one  will  be  successful  in  this  form  of  decoration  unless  suitable 
vases  or  glasses  are  selected  for  certain  flowers.  The  shapre  and  colour 
of  a  vase  go  a  long  way  to  add  to  the  charm  and  beauty  of  flowers ;  it 
is  useless  to  complain  of  effect  unless  suitable  receptacles  are  provided 
for  the  flowers  to  be  used.  Most  flowers  look  well  in  good  clear  glass, 
therefore  if  others  are  not  available  one  is  always  safe  in  using  these. 
In  arranging  the  flowers  care  must  be  taken  not  to  overcrowd,  and 
foliage  must  always  play  an  important  part. 
Boom  Decoration. 
Great  taste  is  required  here,  and  if  possible  such  flowers  only 
should  be  used  as  will  harmonise  with  the  room  and  furniture,  and  the 
flowers  ought  to  be  so  placed  as  to  gain  the  best  effect,  not  only  for 
themselves  but  their  surroundings.  A  vase  of  flowers  placed  in  the 
wrong  position  will  at  once  lose  much  of  its  beauty,  and  too  many 
flowers  used  in  an  indiscriminate  manner  will  not  only  lack  charm  but 
give  a  hideous  appearance  to  any  room.  It  is,  therefore,  most 
important  that  all  these  things  have  the  most  careful  consideration. 
Table  Decoration. 
In  the  use  of  either  flowers  or  plants  for  dinner  table  decoration,  it 
is  essential  that  they  should  be  so  arranged  and  placed  as  not  to 
occupy  too  much  space  and  be  of  such  a  nature  as  not  to  obstruct  the 
view  of  those  dining.  They  must  be  light  and  elegant,  and  the 
simplest  flowers  and  foliage  often  give  the  best  effect.  It  is  best  to 
decide  on  the  kind  of  flower  to  he  used,  and  arrange  the  other  portion 
of  your  table  to  harmonise  with  them.  The  most  attractive  effects  are 
gained  by  using  either  all  of  one  colour,  or  that  of  two  colours  of  the 
same  flower,  which  blend  well  together.  For  instance,  pink  and  mauve 
Sweet  Peas  with  their  own  foliage  and  Grasses  are  very  charming ;  pink 
Carnations  and  white  Daisies  and  Grasses  also  do  well  together,  as  do 
also  pink  and  dark  Pmses,  but  the  latter  being  of  a  heavy  nature  require 
careful  handling  to  get  anything  like  the  charm  that  is  obtained  from 
Sweet  Peas.  I  am  not  an  admirer  of  the  elaborate  designs  often  used 
for  this  purpiose,  as,  in  my  opinion,  they  are  at  once  stiff  and  formal. 
I  know  they  aptpeal  very  much  to  the  admiration  of  some,  and  much 
has  been  written  in  their  piraise,  but,  like  the  dressing  of  certain  flowers, 
they  never  repay  the  trouble  and  expense  expended  on  their 
production. 
Church  Decoration. 
Much  time  and  trouble  is  expended  and  many  beautiful  flowers 
spoilt  in  church  decoration  by  unskilful  hands.  The  present  aim  in 
church  decorations  seems  to  be  to  do  too  much  with  too  little  material, 
and  instead  of  its  being  left  to  the  few  who  know  what  to  do,  and  do 
it  with  the  necessary  taste,  everyone  who  helps  to  supply  the  flowers 
must  take  a  part  in  their  disposal,  and  I  need  scarcely  say  this  neither 
adds  to  the  beauty  of  the  church  nor  the  good  feeling  amongst  the 
workers.  There  are  certain  positions  only  in  a  church  which  lend 
themselves  to  the  art  of  the  decorator,  and  these  require  such 
careful  treatment  that  it  seldom  hapipens  that  one  sees  what  might  be 
truly  termed  artistic  decorations. 
The  communion  table  or  altar  should,  of  course,  he  the  first  con¬ 
sideration,  but  often  the  stiff  formal  vases  used  for  the  purpiose  do  not 
add  much  charm  or  beauty,  or  give  a  very  desirable  effect.  Flowers 
for  this  purpose  should  be  of  a  bold  or  showy  character,  and  ought  to 
be  used  in  such  numbers  only  as  will  tend  to  make  the  most  of  every 
flower  and  give  the  best  effect,  not  merely  to  a  close  observer,  but  to 
the  congregation.  The  pulpit  is  another  suitable  place,  but  is  too 
frequently  covered  in  such  a  hideous  fashion  as  to  destroy  all 
semblance  of  beauty.  The  various  other  parts  for  decoration  should 
he  selected  with  the  same  object  in  view,  and,  of  course,  in  accordance 
with  the  way  in  which  the  edifice  lends  itself  for  the  purpose.  The 
flowers  should  be  disposed  of  in  such  a  manner  as  not  to  destroy  the 
architectural  beauty  of  the  church,  but  to  add  a  further  charm 
thereto. — ( Read  by  Mr.  W.  Mackay,  at  a  meeting  of  the  Devon  and 
Exeter  Gardeners'  Association.') 
