The Washington times., 1912-04-06
SHOPS BURSTING
WITH FRAGRANT
EASTER BLOOMS
Sidewalks Alive With Color
and Air Filled With
Sweet Odors.

That faded phrase, "a riot of color"
is working overtime today. for this is
the height OF the Easter flower sales
season, and the streets are everywhere
lighted with splashes Of fioweing color.
Early in the week the florists began to
remove from greenhouses the Easter
stock. Zach day the quantity and
variety OF flowers on sale have In
creased until today every florists shop
has overfiowed the limits OF his shop
and has spread to near sidewalks, franz
ing nearby shops with a streak OF color
they present at no other time of the
year.
The florists count themselves lucky
on the weather of the last two days.
So warm and bright have been these
days that the sidewalks made quite the
best place to exhibit flowers, Offering
more room than any shop possesses.
Lilacs Bring odor.
The chief addition to the displays to-
day was the lilac, both the white and
purple shade, which bears the name Of
the flower These, with hyacinths Of
many colors, brought to the masses of
flowers new odors. Hothouse flowers,
the symbolic Easter flower, the lily,
azaleasA and the like, have not an odor
strong enough to fill the outdoors, but
| the lilac has done this, adding another
delight to the fine collections of flowers.
Hundreds of people went to Center
Market this morning to buy flowers
| only, while those thrifty housewives
who do their marketing there all carried
away a plant or bunch Of flowers with
their meats and groceries.
A floral Easter observance could p'
had today for 20 cents or $40. The smal
] Ter lilies, bearing two or three blooms
were sold at the lowest price; hyaclnth!
sold for 25 cents: fragrant llacs coult
be had for 70 cents and $l.OO' Whll'
blooming cherry and peach trees cos
as much as the working mans week
| wages.
| Azaleas that could be covered with
derby hat and azaleas that wouldd MI
| tub; hydrangeas that ranged from TN
| drons that were merely modest color Z
| rhoddendrons that dominated horlsts
shops; these were offered to satisfy al
requirements and all purses.
Florists Are Busy.
Florists are extremely busy and salts
fed; they haven't time to count thei
receipts, but they feel that the bust
ness has been as good as ever. IN
late winter possibly crowded the ordi
nary bulk of business into a shorte
period.
In some of the shops where expensiv
flowers are offered long festoons @
Towering wistaria may be seen. Thi
is an indication of how far growth ca
be forced under hot-house conditions
as the wistaria, II left to itself, wi
bring out its graceful flowers In sun
mer.
DeIiverymen expect to be busy eve
tomorrow morning making deliveries q
purchases tonight.
All Easter flowers are not in tn
hands of the florists A trip abou
Washington will show gold and purpl
blossoms springing up in lawns, pansie
are to be found in the parks, the firs
Japanese magnolias flowered during tn
week and in the northwest section win
dow boxes filled with daffodils add
note of live color to the austere brio
and stone houses.
The tinted buds of the maple and tn
; scarlet sprigs of red bud rise like trans
! parent flames along the countryside an
everywhere, with the sudden comm
: of spring, there is q spontaneous Easte
towering, quite as lovely as anythin
the florists have to offer.