The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1878-06-18
AGRICULTURAL.
Arrangeme mt of Color in Flower.

The public taste in flowers, as in fruits,
animals and dress. is undoubtedly generally
in sympathy with strong colors. A bouquet
strong in its blue, red and yellow gorgeous
ness, will catch the eye and open the purse
of the average man and woman, while the
more lovely blending of subdued tints will be
passed unnoticed. Animals of bright color
will often find purchaser, when one not
fashionable as to color, but far better in all
that constitutes value, will be passed unno-
ticed. Thus red apples, red checked pears
and peaches, high colored plums and cher
ries, will outsell their more sober colored rel.
atives, although rntrinsically the lighter COL
ored fruits may be far better to the taste. In
flowers, however, there are but two things
to be considered, elegance in shape and color,
and perfume.
In nine case out of ten, except among ed
ucated tastes the masses of bloom will be
found to be composed almost entirely of blue,
red and yellow. The more tender colors, the
neutral ones, and especially white, are often
kept entirely out, or very sparsely used.
Even among such common flowers as candy
tuft, annual phlox, verbena and petunias, we
seldom see beds of pure white. They are
not only elegant to true taste, but indispen-
sable for bouquets, especially in subdued
lights, or for evening parties.
A short time since, at one of the promi-
nent florists of Chicago, lady in ordering
some bouquets, said, "Be sure to give nae
plenty of white" When she left, the florist
said "Ihat lady knows what flowers are.
Three.quarters of those who order them are
particular to say give me plenty of COLOR
and when they say that know they mean
plenty of red, yellow and blue. The result is
we are obliged to cater to this taste, and
consequently our show bouquets are made to
catch the common eye, and often make US
ashamed of ourselves as bouquets makers
nevertheless, we must make what we can
sell.'
If there are to be but few beds, they may
be of mixed colors. If there are to be num-
Der, it is far better that the colors be rib
boned, or that the beds be each of single
color. Even where the space is confined,
this may be accomplished by making the beds
to correspond in size with the dimensions of
the place. The principal difficulty with very
small beds, especially where they are cut in
sod, is, they dry out quickly. This, however,
is easily obviated by little watering, an es-
sential point to be observed, whether the
beds be large or small, where continuous
bloom is to be had. Indeed, one of the great
est mistakes made by the amateur florist is
that the beds are made too large, and the
planting is too wide.
The soil should be rich, not with rank ma
nure, but good sweet compost. Then plant
thickly enough, according to the height of
the flowers used, or their habit, il running
plants, which little observation will show,
and very much care will be saved and much
enjoyment be added to the owner.
Where beds are made connectedly, care
must also be taken that the contrast one with
another be not too sudden. Let the fore
ground be of light and delicate shades of
color, and as you go further and further back
let the colors be more pronounced. Thus,
with little care and study you may have
beautiful carpet of bloom that will be elegant
at distance, and yet not be violent in con-
trasts nearer by. The strong colors may be
placed where the visitor will come upon them
from behind some piece of shrubbery, or
where they can only be seen at a distance.
1t may take some study to accomplish this,
and yet it will be a pleasant study, and one
that will repay the student of the beautiful in
nature.-Prdirie Farmer.