FLOWERS FOR DECORATION.

Otaki Mail, 18 September 1922, Page 3

FLOWERS FOR DECORATION.

SOME POINTS POll PRESERVATION. Row that gardens an- beginning to promise of the beauty of spring, gay with masses of violet and yellow, 1 varied with the moorland beauty of I'Oi’Otiia and heath, and the elusive picks of the. fruit blossoms, some information with regard to the cutting and care of flowers for indoor decoration may not come amiss. Points to be remembered, first of all, are that all flowers for cutting should be selected hi their late bud stage, or before they are full opened; that practically all, blooms last longer if the foliage is removed —separate sprays of foliage 3iiay be used and renewed if the blooms outlast them: and that the vases should be emptied each day and refilled with fresh water. If slime has collected around the stems, they should be washed carefully, and a piece about half an inch long cut off the stem. If this length of stem cannot be spared, the stem should bo split for a distance of half an inch the first day, more the second, and so sn. Flowers used for evening decoration only will keep fresh for nearly three times as long if during the hours of daylight they arc put. away in the vases in a dark cellar or kept closely confined in a box. VThen the blooms 'how signs of beginning to fade, will revive if the inside of the box is damped and the box made airtight, so that the air surrounding them becomes saturated with moisture. Flowers on hard steins, like roses, may be revived by putting the stems into scalding hot water, but the blooms should be wrapped in soft tissue paper to protect them from the steam.

Sweet peas should be gathered in the early morning while wot with dew. Daffodils, irises, and pansies should also be cut early, and the buds taken just as they are opening. On the contrary, gladioli last best if picked late in the afternoon, and spikes with three br four blossoms open should be selected. They should be left in the sun for ten minutes after cutting before they arc put into water. Poppies should be cut in the early morning, just as the blooms are opening, and the- end of each stem held in the flame of a candle or a gas jet. and charred thoroughly, not merely singed. The stems of roses and most blossoms- with hard woody stalks should be scraped : good way up from the cut end before putting them into water. Dahlias should be treated in the same way.

and the stems placed in hot water. When the. water has cooled they should be placed upright in a dark place for several hours before they are arranged in the vases. Violets, tulips, snowdrops, and all blooms with soft, sappy item:- last best if they are arranged m rales thai has been well moistened.