January  9,  1902. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
31 
Dinner-table  Decorations. 
Fashion  in  regard  to  dinner-table  decorations  passes 
•through  almost  as  many  lleeting  changes  as  the  personal 
adornments  of  the  fair  ladies  of  the  land.  It  is  not  often  that 
the  nrovincial  gardener  “sets  the  fashion” — even  in  the 
former  case — no  matter  how  important  his  charge  may  be. 
Some  style  which  is  the  “  rage  in  London  ”  is  brought  to  his 
notice,  with  the  request  that  he  should  do  his  best  to  imitate 
it.  It  is  seldom,  however,  that  the  gardener  of  taste  is 
bound  down  very  closely  to  the  details  of  any  particular 
style,  as  an  hostess  is  usually  delighted  to  see  on  her  own 
table  a  London  idea  improved  upon,  or  an  original  style 
adopted.  My  experience  has  always  been  that  a  gardener 
having  artistic  taste,  and  a  fair  amount  of  ingenuity — if  not 
originalitv— is  given  a  pretty  free  hand,  and  not  subjected 
to  restrictions  which  some  complain  of.  No  matter  what 
style  is  adopted,  the  chief  points  to  observe  are  to  have  a 
well-balanced  arrangement,  to  avoid  heaviness  at  any  point, 
to  select  suitable  colours,  and  last,  but  not  least,  to  finish 
every  part  well. 
During  the  past  season  the  fashion  has  been  to  have 
everything  kept  very  low,  Avith  the  result  that  the  effect 
produced  has  been  too  formal  to  satisfy  those  having  a  really 
artistic  taste.  The  London  florists  are  interested  in  main¬ 
taining  a  low  style  of  arrangement,  because  their  floral 
devices  are  usually  made  up  in  sections  on  their  own 
premises  and  then  conveyed  to  wherever  they  are  required, 
placed  in  suitable  positions  on  the  dinner  table,  and  given 
the  few  necessary  finishing  touches.  Flowers  arranged  in  a 
low  style  are  much  better  adapted  for  this  kind  of  work 
than  when  a  freer  style  is  adopted.  The  difficulties  of  transit 
are  less.  This  is  a  point  gardeners  should  bear  in  mind,  as 
it  gives  them  the  opportunity  of  surpassing  the  too  artificial 
attempts  of  the  London  experts. 
To  my  mind  no  dinner-table  decorations  are  really 
effective  unless  a  flowing  outline  is  produced  by  giving 
height  at  various  points.  Some  readers  will  perhaps  at  once 
exclaim :  “  Oh !  but  nothing  should  be  high  enough  to  im¬ 
pede  the  view  across  the  table.”  My  reply  is.  Height  does 
not  mean  heaviness,  and  it  is  quite  an  easy  matter — vv^hen 
suitable  materials  are  selected — to  secure  the  necessary 
undulations  of  outline  without  getting  into  the  common 
error  of  making  the  eleA^ated  parts  so  heavy  as  to  be  termed 
obstructions.  An  artist  in  decorative  work  generally  lias  in 
his,  or  her,  mind’s  eye  a  definite  idea  as  to  the  appearance  of 
the  arrangement  when  completed,  and  a  due  sense  of  vropor- 
tion  keeps  in  check  the  common  tendency  to  overcrowd,  to  use 
too  much  material.  The  greatest  mistakes  are  usually  made 
on  small  tables,  when  the  vases  or  other  receptacles  used 
are  too  numerous  or  too  large  in  proportion  to  the  size  of 
the  tables.  Glasses  and  flower-stands  of  various  sizes  and 
of  suitable  fonns  may  now  be  obtained  at  reasonable  prices 
from  manufacturing  specialists,  and  when  the  decorator  is 
provided  with  a  varied  simply  of  them  the  production  of 
light  arrangements  is  much  simplified.  Without  such  con¬ 
veniences,  however,  no  ingenious  operator  need  be  much 
puzzled,  because  by  the  aid  of  slender-shaped  flower-glasses 
varying  in  height  from  2in  to  12in,  and  a  few  glass  bowls 
or  shallow  tins,  extremely  varied  arrangements  may  be 
worked  out,  which  for  brightness  and  beauty  would  be  hard 
to  surpass. 
The  great  festive  season  is  now  on  hand,  and  from  that 
time  onward  till  the  end  of  January  dinner  parties  and  other 
festivities  will  be  the  order  of  the  day.  I  propose,  there¬ 
fore,  to  treat  in  detail  of  a  few  good  methods  of  arrange¬ 
ment,  which,  I  trust,  will  be  helpful  to  some. 
The  Holly  and  the  Mistletoe  are  inevitably  associated 
with  Christmas  time,  and  should  therefore  be  used  to  some 
extent  in  embellishing  the  dinner  table  on  that  festive  day. 
If  used  too  freely  the  effect  produced  is  heavy  ;  but  when 
associated  with  flowers  and  graceful  plants,  or  foliage  in  a 
cut  state,  brighter  and  artistic  finish  may  be  easily  com¬ 
bined.  Scarlet  Tulips,  Holly,  and  Mistletoe  form  a  pleasing 
combination.  Where  there  is  a  choice  of  Holly  select  the 
variegated  forms ;  shoots  with  a  silvery,  rather  than  a 
olden,  variegation  are  preferable,  because  they  show  up 
etter  under  artificial  light.  A  few  shoots  well  berried,  if 
wired  together  in  a  tasteful  _way,  look  well  if  disposed  at 
irregular  intervals  near  the  sides  of  the  table.  These  may 
be  sometimes  connected  by  flowing  lines  formed  of  other 
shoots  ;  at  other  times  run  out  a  few  lines  to  form  a  series  of 
irregular  rays,  but  do  not  connect  the  various  little  grouns 
with  each  other.  Sprays  of  Mistletoe  could  also  be  mixed 
with  the  Holly,  and  to  still  further  brighten  the  arrangement 
wire  a  few  Tulips  to  the  Holly  here  and  there.  If  this  is 
done  deftly  the  flowers  will  appear  perfectly  natural  in 
appearance.  When  candelabra  are  used  a  few  sprays  of  Ivy, 
Asparagus,  or  Smilax  will  answer  well  for  draping. 
If  the  latter  greenery  is  chosen  let  it  hang  in  a  festoon 
at  one  or  two  points.  Tulips  wired  to  the  greenery 
at  intervals  will  then  give  it  a  showy  appearance.  Two  or 
three  dressed  stands  or  vases  will  be  needed  for  the  centre 
of  the  table,  always  avoiding  having  them  so  close  together 
as  to  form  an  obstruction.  Stands  with  a  few  projecting 
arms  are  well  adapted  for  Tulips,  and  fronds  of  Pteris 
serrulata  and  Adiantum  cuneatum.  are  light,  pleasing 
forms  of  greenery  to  use.  Slender  shoofs  of  Carex  japonica 
variegata  will  also  help  to  give  lightness.  Instead  of  stands, 
low  glass  bowls  should  be  used  for  the  centre  of  the  table. 
In  that  case  a  light-foliaged  plant,  such  as  Eulalia  japonica 
variegata  or  Cocos  Weddelliana  could  be  placed  in  the 
centre  of  the  bowl.  Some  of  the  flowers  could  be  used  with 
the  bulbs  attached,  others  lengthened  on  wires.  I  have 
now  to  deal  with  what  I  consider  to  be  the  most 
important  part  of  the  arrangement,  viz.,  forming  pretty 
little  bits  which  appear  to  spring  up  naturally  at  various 
points.  In  some  cases  small  bowls  or  receptacles  of  varying 
sizes  and  shapes  may  be  used,  the  flowers  to  be  arranged  in 
sand,  the  latter  being  lightly  covered  with  Lycopodium,  and 
lightened  with  Fern  fronds.  In  other  cases,  where  just  one 
or  two  flowers  are  needed,  Avire  and  fasten  them  to  a  small 
ball  of  moss,  dress  the  moss  with  a  few  Fern  fronds,  and  Ave 
at  once  have  a  neat  little  arrangement  Avhich  can  be  dis- 
oosed  AvhereA^er  required.  I  do  not  believe  in  making  these 
little  parts  of  the  arrangement  “  match  ”  on  either  side  of 
the  table,  but  prefer  to  see  them  Avell  placed,  yet  Avith  a 
studied  disregard  to  regularity.  On  a  large  table  it  is  often 
necessary  to  introduce  here  and  there  a  A^ery  light  thin  plant, 
or  a  slroot  or  tAvo  of  Eulalia  or  Carex  to  give  height  and  light¬ 
ness  of  surface,  but  if  such  are  arranged  in  the  light  Avay  I 
have  in  mind,  no  one  could  possibly  object  to  them  as  being 
obstructions.  Poir  settias  might  be  used  instead  of  Tulips, 
and  they  are  very  effective.  They  would,  however,  need  a 
someAvhat  different  stAde  of  arrangement.  The  great  point 
Avith  flowers  of  that  type  is  to  keep  them  low,  ai^oid  over¬ 
crowding,  and  thus  make  every  bract  “tell.”  In  that  way 
only  is  their  beauty  displayed  to  advantage. — H.  Duxkin 
.  (To  be  continued.) 
- - 
Wild  Flowers  of  Old  English  Gardens. 
We  often  notice  in  autumn  that  various  tall  plants,  which 
have  braved  the  changes  of  October,  are  suddenly  smitten 
doAvn  by  a  November  night’s  frost.  Thus,  the  biennial 
Mulleins,  in  their  second  year,  drop  along  the  roadsides 
or  about  the  copses,  and  the  same  thing  occurs  Aihen  they 
are  growing  in  garden  borders.  Some  people  stdl  believe 
that  these  plants  are  not  really  British,  but  have  distributed 
themselves  gradually,  their  ancestors  having  been  imported 
years  ago.  Yet  several  species  appear  to  come  up  naturally 
in  woodlands  after  clearing,  and  we  have  no  veiy  early 
record  of  any  Mulleins  as  a  garden  species,  though  doubtless 
the  monks  cultivated  many  brought  from  abroad  Avhose 
history  is  lost.  But  if  the  Great  Mullein  (Verbascum 
Thapsus)  was  the  Great  Taper,  from  a  fancied  resemblance 
to  church  candles,  it  was  also  Hag  Taper,  and  supposed  to 
have  mystical  poAvers.  An  ointment  Avas  made  from  the 
flowers  ;  the  woolly  doAvn,  too,  Avas  held  in  esteem.  Though 
not  the  tallest  of  our  Mulleins,  it  seems  nrobable  this  was 
the  species  first  cultivated  in  English  gardens. 
Then  there  is  the  White  Mullein  (V.  Lychnitis),  a  species 
not  always  of  that  colour,  for  an  orange-flowen^d  Aaiiety, 
having  thicker  leaves,  has  been  got  by  fertilising  plants  Avith 
pollen  from  the  preceding  species.  Several  varieties  of 
other  plants  in  the  genus  have  been  similarly  obtained  ; 
some  have  been  found  wild.  Of  the  tall  yelloAV  Hoary 
Mullein  (V.  pulverulentum)  there  is  a  A^ariety  Avhich  has 
purplish  stems  and  branches,  also  less  woolly  lea-^s. 
Usually  they  are  covered  on  both  sides  with  mealy,  rather 
unctuous  wool.  If  we  have  a  specimen  5ft  high  it  looks 
grand  when  its  tapering  stem  is  full  of  golden  flowers, 
showing  scarlet  hairy  stamens.  Loudon  remarks  that  it  the 
stem  is  struck  smartly,  in  about  five  minutes  all  the  floAvers 
