The morning call., 1890-05-09
WILD FLOWERS.
The School Children of Santa
Cruz Interested in the Fad.

A woodsy-looking bunch of wild flowers,
interspersed with feathery fir tips and with
ferns and brake and grasses for foliage,
sent 10 the Santa Cruz Surf, has led to the
offer of prize to the county school outside
of the cities OF Santa Cruz and jacksonville
which shall send in by June 18th the largest
variety of wild flowers grown in the
county.
The bunch of flowers mentioned above
came from Laurel School, and contained
the following varieties: Eschscholtzia col
umbine, iris, lady's slipper, dog roses. elm
tonla, wild saliva, Indian pink, buttercup,
painted buttercup. Mariposa lily or "hare
bell" SolomOn's seal and thimble-berry
blossoms.
In connection with the subject of wild
flowers, adds the Surf it may be mentioned
that San Francisco has this spring had a
severe attack of admiration for the country
beauties, amounting to a fashionable craze.
The origin of this newborn admiration for
the more delicate and ephemeral beauty OF
the wood blossoms and field flowers is
really due to the work of that pio-
neer floral artistic, Miss Mary D. Bates,
who has, for number of years, been edu-
eating the Four Hundred up to this
point of appreciation. Only few years
ago San francisco society still chung for its
decorations to the hearts and darts, and
wreaths and Tyres. made of stiff wire and
stuffed heterogeneously with the most ex-
penslYe conservatory blossoms. Then there
wandered into somebody's house quiet but
exceedingly determined little maiden, who
had started to get her living honestly, with
a certain neaven-Sent talent that she pos
sessed. She startled the guests at the next
entertainment by making of the house a
symphony i'll wild flowers. Great masses
of glowing eschschotZias for one room,
studies in buttercups and ferns for another,
palest Mariposa lilies nodding out of cool
green cornerS-and so on, making reyela-
ton that created revolution, and was a
liberal education to Mary Bates patrons.
This successful artistic, learned in the
lore Of the woods and dearly loving the
flower-tapestried fields of a Californian
spring, is glad to acknowledge that she has
found the Santa Cruz Mountains school
of art for herSelf-a stoTehouse whence
she has drawn not only her inspiration but
much of the material with which she has
wrought out her finest fancies. For sew
eral years she has passed her vacations
camping near this city with company of
congenial friends and relatives. They have
gathered stores for winter use, and have
sent carloads of comfort to the sick and
sthe poor of San Francisco in the shape of
flowers, ferns and wildwood treasures for
the Flower Mission, the Y NJ. G. A. and
other helpful organizations.
Now the demand for wild flowers In San
Francisco is so great that from the time
the first wild peoples" flame out their
gold in January in sheltered fence corners
till the last azalea hides its blossoms away
from September dust and sunshine, two or
three establishments in the city have all
they can do to supply that demand, and
many country maiden and farmers boy
has earned coveted new gown or a
yearned-for book by gathering and sending
the once half-despised blossoms.
Let the children learn to know and love
and care for the native flowers of their
native State. 1t will elevate ana refine
them more than any other thing.