Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-02-01
FLOWERS OF FASHION.
A Florist Tells Of the Newest Things I'm
Decorations for Dinners.

| "A Florist Tells Of the Newest Things In
Decorations for Dinners.
"When fashionable Washington people order
noral decorations for their dinner parties now
adays," said leading florist to . representa-
tive OF The STAR, "they nearly always say
| supposing that the entertainment is to be at all
elaborate that the banquet is to be pink, yell
low, red or white, a. they may happen to have
previously determined For it il considered
the swell thing at present to have a dinner al
ways in one color as to the decorations and so
on. So, as a rule, the customer tells me. my
dinner is to be for SO many guests and will be
Of such and such tint The howersa nd their
arrangement leave to you The most stylish
color for dinner is red, but comparatively
few red dinners are given for the reason that
fine roses Of that hue such as jacks and those
OF the Ulrich Bruner variety, cost SO enor-
mously."
HOW TO ARRANGE THE BLOSSOMS.
''What is the very latest fashion in table dec
oration?''
well, to begin with, there is usually placed
in the middle of the table large mirror Peo-
pie who are accustomed to give handsome dim
ners have such mirrors of their own as a part
OF the table service, but they can be hired for
the occasion. They are of two kinds generally
One sort is about three feet long and of oval
shape; this makes very pretty center piece
Or you may employ mirror Of oval or rectan-
| gular form, extending the whole length of the
board. Nothing could well be more beautiful
than this device, the notion being to represent
lake, in which the flowers are seen reflected
III the small looking glass is used the whole
table cloth around 1t, from one end of the board
TO the other. Is covered with mass of maiden
hair fern, with roses scattered over it. Here
| and there punches of flowers are placed either
| IN tall crystal vases in low glass vessels
This is particularly the proper thing at present
| the IDEA or 1t being that the view across the
table shall not be INSTRUCTED. fayorite plan
| Is to make three mounds of ferns, one at each
end and a third in the middle for a basis
| where the large mirror is put on the flowers
| ana terms are made to Irvine about over the
glass In graceful arrangement. From the
mounds, II they are adopted scroll-like stream
| ers Of ferns made to extend hither and
! thither over the cloth. Of course the corsape
bouquets laid at the plates-they must be small
punches OF choice flowers instead of large ones
as formerly-should help to carry out the gem
eral floral scheme, and the boutonnieres tor the
men likewise"
RED AND PINK DINNERS
Chow would you apply all that to red
dinner2'
II would first cover the cloth around the
central mirror with ferns of a more pronounced
pattern than the delicate maiden hair, for the
reason that the flowers to be used are more strl-
ingin color. Then would stick the fern bank full
OF scatter jack roses. relieving the brilliant
effect somewhat with lilies of the valley toward
the edge OF the ferns where they meet the white
cloth. In crystal receptacles would place
punches of my most superb red roses, and the
corsage bouquets l would make of red rose
buds and of lilies of the valley For each
male guest L would provide q single small Jack
bud for the buttonhole. Pink dinners are the
most popular of all at present. For repasts in
that color one would select Magma Charta Mrs
Laing, Luizet and Nine. Waterviilc roses with
PINK orchids artistically combined. If dark
pink flowers are used about the center of the
table they should be graded down in
| tint to light shades at the cloth Each
gentleman present ought TO have for his but
tonhoie dendrobion orchid, such as Joseph
chamberlain always wore as a bouttoniere when
he was over here and set the fashion 1t is not
so much the thing at present, by the way, to
supply great profuson of blooms as to have
| them exceedingly fine and costly"
YELLOW AND WHITE DINNERS
"What would be the arrangement for o yellow
| dnner?
''Jonquils, narcissus. yellow tulips and roses
| OF the same color should be the flowers II the
| center piece Is of tulips the corsage bouquets
and boutonnieres ought to be of narcissus.
| BIT variations on all such things are without
number. Each customer usually wants some
peculiar innovation to distinguish his or her
Gunner from other peoples. At white dinner
white roses and lilies of the valley are most
correct. The corsage bouquets should be of
lilies OF the valley and white violets with white
| v1oiets alone for the buttonholes. Each finger
| bowl should have single white violet in it.
AT red dinner the fnger-bowl flower should
be a red rose bud, at yellow dinner a yellow
rose bud and at pink dinner pink rose bud:
also In each finger bowl must be put a scrap of
| lemon verbena for favoring the water AS
swell thing in the way of flowers at dinner
as can be found nowadays is apple, pear and
peach blossoms cut when immature and made
to bloom artificially by placing them in warm
water. Large shipments of such blossom buds
| are being made from the far south this winter
and they sell for SO big price that if one-half
| reach their destination in good condition the
| speculation Is very profitable. might as well
| add that carnations are very fashionable this
| year, more particularly for lunches"
FLOWERS MORE THE STYLE THAN EVER
SIS the fashion of floral decorations growing
| in Washington"
wonderfully. The florists business here
| has almost doubled every twelyemonrh for
some years past. People are spending more
| and more money on flowers for all sorts of mr.
| poses, and entertainments will be given during
| this administration which will totally ecliDse
| forally speaking, anything seen at the capital
| heretofore. The finest exhibition of such dec
| oratiye effects that myself have ever seen at
| dinner was given the other night at Mr.
A
rectangular space in the midst of the table 80
/ feet long and feet wide was a trough inches
| In depth, filled in with a mass of maiden-bair
/ fern. Beneath the fern bed were $50 iucan-
descent electric lights, and springing out from
| ferns were thousands of Magma Charta roses
Around this enormous fern bed was laid plush
scarf with fern leaves and yellow roses scat
| tered over it. Outside of this was border of
| smllax concealing more lncandescent lights
with pink roses of shades graded toward the
cloth again outside of the whole"
- -
Saturday Smiles.
tailor-made girl and ready made Young
| man wooed the beautiful sunshine recently
without their winter wraps.
Funeral on Friday afternoon.-Ne,o York
| Herald
Very Appropriate.-Leader ofband engaged
| to play selections during an exhibition of 1.-The
Angelus we'll. sir, vat shall We play irst?"
Manager-"What's the matter with "Hear
dem belsl Don't you hear dem bells?"-La,o-
| renee american.
Lecturer on Colorado-''Where else in the
world will you find in one spot, outside of our
state, such products as marble, iron, fire CLAW,
chalk, copper. lead slate, fruits of all kinds.
| hemp, hax. all manner of grains, and-but whv
| enumerate them? Where else will you find all
| these things? Where, say?"
Man in the audience Gmpatienty)-"In nv
| boy pocket "-Chlcdgo Tribune.
1 SI.n IyaI