Evening star., 1933-09-26
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

It Is only when some one attempts to
make a flower garden out Of a living
room that the good observer will feel
| inclined to believe that flowers should
always be left in the open air.
He knows that few are good In
doors. not only for special occasions,
but at all times.
When restraint in group Is determined
upon, 1t follows that the same quality
in arrangement is equally essential.
One vase crammed with flowers will
never do.
Neither unity nor balance nor sym
bolism Of any sort can be carried out
in hodge-podge.
There must be relation Of some sort
not only between the bowl and the
room, but between the component
flowers Of the grouping.
One system calls for three stalks, one
standing up somewhat straight, the
other two lower, one dropping con-
siderably, the other not quite SO much
The relation Of these three stalks, OF
ideas, must depend upon the individual
judgment, even after the basic idea OF
this type of extremely simple grouping
is learned.
The flower arranger is thrown back
In the last analysis, upon what artistic
sense he possesses.
No amount of reading or rules will
take the place of this.
That is why the average person, who
perhaps has no particularly developed
artistic sense, sometimes manages tc
create a bowl of flowers which satisfies
him, and at other times fails dismally
He may not know how or why, but
at least he has. enough common sense
to be able to detect the difference.
If he will take the trouble to analyze
some of his failures, rather than his
| successes, he may discover that they
resulted baSically from attempting tc
cram too many units into the basic
unit, the vase or bowl.
\ X
It Is here as with home auuariums
most Of the failures come from irving
to keep too many fishes in given mum
ber of gallons. From this basic error
usually follow too much food, too few
plants, not enough oxygen, with result
ing disease. In an attempt to have toe
many fishes, disaster follows.
The flower vase offers no such prob
lens. The need for oxygen Is here
over. There is but one real error here
and that is overriding, or lack of re-
straint.
1t must be admitted, in all fairness,
that not every one feels this lack
To some persons a big bowl of flow
ers crowding the vessel to bursting is
all that is required.
1T looks NICE" the say.
4 X X
To that statement there is no answer
If higgledy- -piggledy is as good as re-
straint, with its attendant balance and
symmetry. then there is no art at all in
flower arrangement. and the authors,
both men and women, who have written
the various big books. have wasted their
time.
There is an old japanese legend to
the effect that a famous grower of
morning -glories was informed the En-
peror was coming to visit his display.
Forthwith the man removed every
vine and every flower except the most
perfect specimen he could find in all
his garden.
This he placed In a bowl. and 1t was
to this bowl, with its single flower. on
a little table by itself, that the Emperor
was led. At first he was angry, the
story goes, but shortly he realized that
the man had taught him lesson. And
maybe he has a lesson for all Of us, in
more ways than one, a lesson which
America sadly needs.