Oxford Democrat., 1912-08-13
HOMEMAKERS COLUMN.

H0MEMAKERS COLUMN.
Correspondenos on topics Of i1tsrese % tie adiee
ID soiicitsd. Address: Editoe HonhAK1as'
COLUMN, Oxford Democrat. South Para. Ae.
Where do Brides Bouquets 90 ?
The brides bouquet was OF orange
blossoms, We used to hear, or lilies OF
the valley, or white orchids. or tiny
white rosebuds. But nowadays the
bouquets OF Q very fashionable bride are
counted BY the hundred. Every young
dame with whom she has gossiped over
tea and every young man With whom
she danced Q cotillon sends her flowers
on her wedding day. The people who
know her and love her send her flowers
for love, and tho people who know her
very little think of her happiness and
send flowers to share It With her. She
10 wakened very early BY the first gor-
geous bouquet, and oil day long they
come. And she loves them. None OF
her elaborate and expensive gifts has the
attention she gives to the bouquets.
Then she goes to the telephone:
"Chelsea 5S71? IL this the Flower
Guild? have loads of bouquets. Isn't
IL lovely? Come as early a. you can
the guests will be going at ten. You
are TO have the flowers from the church
too, you know; We arranged with the
florist to deliver all the church decora-
tion to you. There will be . hundred
plants, We had potted things on purpose.
they keep go much better. want peo-
pie who are sick at home to have them,
please"
You may know that this little bride is
a member of the New York Plant, Flow
or and Fruit Guild. You yourself may
be a member Of the National Guild,
which has branches In many large
city. Most of the country branches send
garden flowers cityward and most OF the
city branches collect the flowers from
winter parties and SO It happens that
flowers bloom the year round for Guild
beneficiaries.
There is probably no city which COM
pares with New York In the number and
gorgeousness of wedding flowers. The
orchid seems to bloom more splendidly
on Long Island than anywhere else 10
America, and 1t blooms by the hundreds
and thousands for church weddings.
Rare blossoms, each one valued by dol
lars, are decoration for home receptions
aud the fashionable bride can count her
bouquets of orchids literally by the dozen.
Very often In the tenements Of New York
you may find the rarest flower, grown 90
carefully under glass, packed and pro-
tecied at great expense during the jour.
ney to the city, so wonderfully ribboned
aud boxed to reach the first recipient.
Now tucked into the nose OF cracked
pitcher, standing on dirty table In
dirty room, 1t still makes brave show
ing. Probably it is receiving more At
tention than at any time during its
journey; it has an admiring audience
day and night and by its generous giving
Of hope and courage 1t justifies the
money and time that were spent in bring
ing it to fruition.
When Miss Vivien Gould married
Lord Decies In St. Bartholomew
Church in New York, details without
end were written of the wedding. But
the most interesting feature OF all had
little attention-that WAS the five thou.
sand bouquets which left tho residence
Of MIR. and Mrs. George Gould that night
bound for the poor Of the city. The
bride, journeying ON her honeymoon
next day, could scarcely realize how her
happiness had spread over the city until
tue upper and lower east side fairly sang
with it. Miss Dorothy Whitney, an
other famous bride of last summer, wai
one of the pillars Of the Guild.
The New York Plant, Flower and
Fruit Guild, now seventeen years old,
has constantly changing membership.
Every winter the debutantes Of the So
ciety season are added to the lists of the
Junior League. There are usually three
hundred on Its membership, made up oi
the debutantes who are much entertain.
ed and entertaining. Last winter there
were three debutantes who each sen,
after one reception more than two wagon
loads Of flowers. From the day Of their
coming out to the day Of their wedding,
the rarest flowers are grown for them.
The Guild Is notified beforehand Of the
members debut and at eight O'Clock 10
the evening, when the reception is well
over, the Guild Secretary appears with
messenger boys and packs the flowers
for various institutions. A great many
of them 60 to the Settlement for distri.
button in homes.
Every girl knows that her wedding day
will yield the largest crop of flowers for
the Guild. Yards upon yards OF ribbon,
broad white satin and chiffon ribbons,
the pink from roses, yellows and pur.
pies are carefully stored away for dis
tribution at Christmas time to little
girls for hair ribbons. Some of The
white satin finery goes to other brides
as sashes and some bits of 1t find way
to the christening robes of infants. The
gay pink roses are sent to the Hospital
for Crippled Children and each rose is 9
treasure TO some tired baby.
The Children's Hospital is just one oi
two hundred and sixteen institutions OF
the route list of the Guild. There are
also ak public libraries that are occa'
sionally supplied with flowers, and four
times a year in eight public schools
there 10 given flower exhibition. Hun.
dreds of thousands of bunches Uf flowers
were distributed last year, beside hun
dreds of glasses OF jelly, some forty. five
hundred bulbs and potted plants, foul
hundred bushels of fruit aud vegetables
grape juice, flower seeds, garden soil