Los Angeles herald., 1907-04-22


@ hardly n flower garden in SOUTH @
% ern California that cannot furnish @
@ busbel or more flowers every @
O. day. W. Blanchard, secretary @
o Municipal Art commission. g
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Hard-headed business men and ideal
istic artists combine to express their
appreciation of The Herald's campaign
for floral decorations during the Fiesta
week, which is so near at hand.
From Acting Mayor Pease and Sec
retary Zeehandelaar of the Merchants
and Manufacturers association, down
to the obscure artist who sees in the
field flowers of Southern California
beauties far beyond the golden treasures
of the business houses. the plan for
using Los Angeles natural decorations
in beautifying her streets during Fiesta
has met with an enthusiastic reception.
The scheme as outlined in yesterdays S
Herald is briefly as follows: In addition
to spending thousands of dollars on
lighting the streets and INTERVIEWING
thousands of yards of gay and gaudy
bunting around the business houses,
which any other city in the country can
equal, The Herald suggests that this
city provide decorations which no other
city in the world can equal, the glory
of her almost tropical profusion of field
and garden flowers.
Have Flowers Everywhere
Rustic vases, beautiful in their sim
plicity, attached to the ornamental lamp
posts and filled with cut flowers and
foliage; store windows banked with
masses of the glorious blooms, and
doorways of the business houses Ver-
dant with palm and green branches;
balconies of the business blocks made
beautiful with great masses of ferns
and green; cafes odorous with the
scent of carnation, rose and violet mus
tard, pepper and asparagus inter-
twined around the black wires that
support the special illumination, or hung
in graceful festoons from the fronts of
buildings. Such briefly is The Herald s
ideal of a Fiesta de los Flores, and
such is a scheme that would make Los
Angeles and Southern California the
most talked of and widely advertised
spot on the globe.
Possibly the highest recommendation
of the scheme is that the sober busi-
ness men who manage the city govern
ment approve it, almost without reser-
walton. That the artistic cult would fail
in line is to be expected; but the i'm
mense value of the scheme as an ad-
vertisement of Southern California S
natural beauties is what appeals with
particular force to the business ele-
ment of the city.
Pease Favors Project
Niles Pease, acting mayor of the city
during Mayor Harper's absence, said
last night: II would heartily approve
of The Herald's plan. To me it seems
very proper and attractive. Besides its
intrinsic beauty, it is right in line with
Southern California and the eastern
tourists conception of what this coun-
try is.
'If the plan outlined by The Herald
were employed it would attract the at
tention of the entire country to Los
Angeles. 1t is something distinctively
original and characteristic of this city
/ think it would be a very nice thing
to do
The idea was enthusiastically ap-
proved by Mr. Zeehandelaar, secretary
of the Merchants and Manufacturers
association. The keen-sighted secre-
tary recognized at once the immense
advertising value of the scheme, and
while he saw a few objections to GER
tain features of the plan, on the whole
he was enthusiastically in favor OF
bringing Southern California's flowers
more prominently to the fore in the
coming feast of flowers. He said:
Idea a Splendid One
'I saw The Herald's editorial and !
think the idea is splendid one. 1t is
by far the most novel scheme advanced
in years, and l think would create a
wonderful sensation. The use of the
flowers as The Herald proposes would
make decorations far preferable 10
bunting and infinitely more artistic and
beautiful.
1T has seemed to me all the time we
should show more flowers in our Fiesta
de los Flores, and we hope that the
people will turn out in full force to
make the floral parade a success.
1.-The only obstacle L see TO the plan
is the fact that the Fiesta will continue
for a whole week and it might be diff
ficult for the merchants to keep the
flowers looking fresh that long. The
idea of using rustic vases Is a good one
The flowers could be kept fresh a long
time if they were in water, but doubt
whether the scheme of using garlands
is feasible. l am heartily in favor OF
using more flowers and less bunting in
the Fiesta decorations"
ITS bully plan" exclaimed f. w
Blanchard, secretary of the municipal
art commission. For years 1 have
wished that Los Angeles would display
her flowers instead of the Fiesta bunt-
ms"
Asked for advice on the scheme, he
said: about the best thing to use Is
the asparagus plumosus. There are 10,-
900 plants of that beautiful foliage In
this city and vicinity controlled by one
firm, and it win keep green and attrac-
tive month. Carnations can be worked
in with this and will also keep fresh.
Il would urge all the merchants to
decorate with cut flowers and renew
them every day. This Is an important
point keeping a continual supply of
fresh flowers. If they are allowed to
become wilted they are worse than
none. 1t would be simply dandy" he
exclaimed enthusiastically.
There is hardly a flower garden in
Southern California from which you
cannot pluck a brshel or more flowers
a day, and the fields are full of mus
tard, that makes beautiful light dis
play.
california boasts Of her flowers. 1t