The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-12-22
TREES AND FLOWERS AS GIFTS.
WHAT THE FLORIST OFFERS FOR
THE HOLIDAY TREES.
BOX and Evergreen Bushes for the Doorway
sent In Handsome Holders Rose
Most Popular OF cut FiOwers-HOlly
and MistletOe brought From Abroad.

The Increased use OF box and evergreen
bushes at the sides Of the front doors of
private dwellings has brought beauty to
New York and incidentally money to the
florists pockets, The custom, il il said,
comes from Belgium, and seven or eight
years ago il would not have been easy 70
find as many houses whose main entrances
were fanked with trees,
1t was in the Murray Hill section that the
trees first appeared, and the then new house
Of James Speyer was one Of the first OF
the Madison avenue dwellings to be thus
decorated. In another year many other
persons Of wealth had similarly adorned
their front doors, and the custom was high
In favor. Instead OF two bushes many
householders used four, two without and
two within the vestibule, and soon miniature
box trees began to appear in the small
ornamental balconies and window pro-
iections Of the newer style houses.
Madison avenue florist at the beginning
OF the fall season ordered %, 900 small trees,
and only a small supply. barely enough to
meet the Christmas holiday demand, re-
mains in the storerooms of his shop.
Box and evergreen trees have q place in
the Christmas trade, the florist explained,
because Of the opportunities they give Of
sending with handsome holders or jar
DINERS and also because the custom OF
having a box tree in the private entrance
halls of apartments is gaining.
Any price may be paid, Of course, for
| these holders, but a fine tree Of four or five
feet costs only ss-some are half that price.
Il is not the height but the symmetry OF
the tree, the florist pointed out, which
determines its value.
One Of the smarteet of the jardiniers,
either round or oblong. shown by the florists
is of old Italian design made Of a plaster
composition, a disoolored yellow In tint,
with small figures in relief.
The oblong holder filed with anything
in the nature Of a foliage plant Ia among
the Christmas gifts popular with a certain
class which turns to the florist instead Of
the book store when in doubt as to a suit
able holiday gift.
A man entered one Of the shops the other
day and ordered a pair of box trees in hand
some holders TO be sent to a given address
the day before Christmas and paid SIS for
them. One Of the boxes referred to. filed
with stove plant-a variegated foliage
plant, p~erishable but artistio-was the
order of an elderly woman who came in as
the man went out.
Orders for plants are placed ahead as
a rule by buyers of experience 80 that the
choicest will fall to their lot, 7" said the
| florist. "The eleventh hour buyer has to
| take what he can get. Foliage plants
and hanging baskets of Towering species
represent a very considerable part OF our
Christm AZ business, together with holly,
wild smilax and mistletoe.
Christmas trees among the wealthy
are out of fashion, except where there are
small children, and ever then the youngsters
often have to do without. But with holly
il is different. Orders for one, two or
three cases are placed many weeks before
hand, one case being enough to decorate
quite deliberately a good sized room, The
Virginia holly, not the English, which il
scarce this year. French holly is the best
and most beautiful of all, but l don't believe
| there il much of IL in tbs market.
Although English mistletOe costs vice
as much as the American variety some
people prefer it on account of historic
associations as we'll az because of its greater
beauty. The berry Of the English m~istletoe
is as large as a pea, that OF the domestic
growth is only n little larger than an ordi-
nary pins head. A fair sized branch Of
English mistletOe costs from 81 to s..
"The wild smilax. which comes from
Alabama and retails for SIS a case, H. one
of the quick sellers just now. Fol deco
! EtlADub u htH klNCA O. bloAh ONN' ~ ~
sneak, 20 evergrpeus, and there is no ques-
ton that it il more artistic because IL can
be dropped gracefully over any style
frieze, mantel, door or window.
And, so far IA | can zee, the ardesia-
the florist pointed to a plant with shining
green leaves and red berries-"holds the
! fort at present. | have more orders for
ardesias tn an for ANYTHING else in the plant
line, the preferred size being about twenty
four inches high, at about IS.
sThaVa iG a hriSk IpTnAnd for the Rm0u
orange trees, too, because they are so
decorative, ! suppose, a specimen whlcn
il we'll laden with fruit costing $40. Smallr
Well, few Of them at that price are taller
| than twenty-four inches.
Gu flowers are high this year. But
they are always high for that matter at
the HOLIDAYS. ] ast year, | remember, the
best American Beauties were sellirg in
some stores for Ss a dozen, So far this
season they have not touched that hRure
hut for the last consignment received
from the erower-there il is in that case
7 myself paid SIS a dozen, which means
that at Christmas the same grade will re-
tail for at least $50 a dozen.
1T is no thlng Tor older
men 20 order two, three or four dozen
American Beauties sent az a Christmas
gift to one and another of their women
friends.
~Younger mon buy v~iolets. the high grade
OF which Just now retail az 50 a hundred
and 100 makes a very neat little n
At Christmas from IS to $40 buys a very
nice bunch OF violets. Violets never go
out OF fashion, no matter what else does,
The New York woman never goes back on
~violets.
Carnations Leading in popularity l
have not found it so here. Roses and vio-
let's, although they come higher, always lead
in popularity. At the same time carnations
are so much handsomer than they used to
be that they are rivals Ofhhe roses, and as
they cost only 81 a dozen for a very fine
appearing blossom and 80 a dozen for the
show varieties, naturally the orders for red
carnations are three times what they used
to be at this time of year.
"A lot Of people ave the habi Of giving
a present of a handsome vase and having
il filed with bowers at a florists, who is
then expected to deliver it.. OF course il
liz only persons to whom a matter of a few
hundred dollars is Of no particular impor-
lance who do thiso often. h florist whether
he SHES or not az the responsibility of de
livering CTockery worth its weight in gold,
must, OF course. be obliging and do it.
zone Of my neighbors told me Of a bad
quarter Of an hour he had during holiday
week last year. A well known man popped
in late one afternoon carrying a package