Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-12-02
PLANTS AND FLOWERS
A HOUSE LOOKS EMPTY AND DULL
WITHOUT THEM.
The Everyday Care Required to Keep
Them in Good Condi-
ton.
Written for The Star.

Written Tor The Star.
An item which should be reckoned among
every woman's household expenses in the
winter time is a certain amount of money
spent on flowers. When everything else
fails these smiles Of God bring cheer
and brightness into the family circle, and
the home maker who leaves them out of
her calculations has overlooked part Of her
duty.
This does not mean that windows should
be loaded down with potted plants nor that
a goodly portion of the weekly allowance
should be spent on cut flowers. There Is
much sunshine in one healthy fern or
a few fresh blossoms as In the most gor-
geous jardiniere of palms or the smart for
lists biggest bunch of roses The point is to
be In touch with flower life, and by love and
consideration gain the beauty and freshness
which 1t gives forth.
And 1t is only by a certain tenderness
that flowers can be made to yield the best
there Is in them. They have feelings al
most as sensitive as human beings. and
they absolutely refuse to give up Their love-
regards them. .--..s
Take for instance any bunch of cut
MOVERS. One woman puts them In water
and leaves them for three or four days
without another thought. At the end of
that time they look forlorn and shriveled,
and the fresh bath which she gives them
only revives them until the following day,
when they wither completely.
Prolong Their Life.
Another woman with a similar bunch of
flowers nips their stems slantwise before
placing them in water. At night on re-
firing she puts them in a cool place. and
If the air is very chill they have tissue
paper wrapped loosely about their heads.
or If the room becomes close or hot be-
fore bedtime, she removes the vase of
flowers to cooler spot to prevent their life
being Slapped out by sitting air. A few
minutes In a crowded, overheated room
takes tWenty-four hours of freshness from
cut blossoms. Each morning clipping
OF the stems and new supply of cool water
give them a fresh lease on existence and
they never fail to show their gratitude by
renewed brightness during at least five
days.
When treated with care in this wav the
length of time that cut flowers will last
depends upon their freshness when they
are purchased. Florists have various WAYS
or doctoring blossoms SO that they keep
bright until they are just ready to drop
apart. Therefore, 1t is well to make sure
that the petals or stems are not bound to-
gether by wire or straw. The woman who
buys flowers regularly once q week soon
learns the days which consignments
come from the greenhouse
They Must Breathe.
Another thing to be remembered about
cut blossoms is that they want breathing
space. Flowers show to best advantage and
live longer when there are only two or
three In vase. Let the stems have plenty
of room. For this purpose there come all
sorts of wire and copper holders so that
blossoms Will remain in position and still
not crowd each other in trying to get sup
port
With potted flowers regular attention is
quite as important. So MANY women are
unable to keep flowers growing because thew
are oyerzealous in their care of them for a
few days and then leave them during the
rest OF the week without a bit of nourish-
ment Geraniums and primroses are the
most satisfactory Towering plants and last
Well through the winter. If dead leaves are
kept picked off and blossoms removed imme-
olateiy they become faded. new blooms will
appear very frequently. Changes In tenn
perature so disastrous to most ported flow
ers, Will not affect these two varieties to
any great extent.
A Fern Is Best.
Lacking the time patience to care for
poisoning plants, the housewife should at
least have some kind of fern Women of
experience say that the Boston fern gives
best results with least attention. In select
ing this or any fern, choose that is full
OF green life and symmetrical in form. Be
sure that 1t has good drink of water every
day, and once a week set 1t in the bathtub
during the morning hours, first giving 1t a
tHoIcuSn spraying. never let a fern get
direct sunlight, and above all things give it
nourtshment systematically. 1t is this, and
this alone, which makes one woman have
fourishings plants while the next woman is
not able to keep plant green longer than
two weeks after she gets 1t.
word as to fads In flowers and plants
this fall. In cut flowers, orchids of which
there are no less than $50 varieties are be-
ing exploited by florists as the flower of the
season both for decorative purposes and for
bouquets One of the newest species resem-
bles a clematis vine. and Is thickly covered
with tiny slipper orchids in the most deli
cate shades of yellow. The cost of the
larger orchids makes them prohibitiye to
the average home maker One or two
blooms, however, can be made to show eff
superbly If held In one of the new glass
vases. The latter consist of several flower
shaped branches, each one of which is In
| tended for single blossom, and reflects its
| lovely covering.
Plenty Variety.
Palms and filings for ferneries and jardi-
nieres show speckled leaves. the long green
| blades being thickly marked with white
streaks. Numberlesss varieties of the spiky
cactus are also fayorites of the season.
Very unique are the dwarfed shrubs and
| trees sent to us by the japanese. Fashion
able florists are selling these in oddly shaped
| porcelain jars, some of which are no larger
than an ordinary inkstand. Quite the most
recent importation Is q dwarfed handbook
tree that stands two feet high and II NO
1 bigger than small palm.