—Phœbe Cary
Formerly when the furniture, pictures, and draperies had been arranged in our rooms, with perhaps a few pieces of bric-à-brac, we considered their decoration quite complete. But we have learned how much cheerfulness a few simple flowers, properly arranged, impart to the same rooms; and so flowers have come to be considered as almost essential to the complete decoration of the home.
A Lesson From the Japanese.—If we have learned much from the Japanese in regard to the arrangement and hanging of pictures, from them we have learned more about the artistic arrangement of flowers. They have taught us to value the stem and leaves of the flower as essential to an artistic arrangement, that flowers of the same kind should be grouped together, and that harmony and blending of colour are necessary to secure the most artistic effects.
Flowers of a Kind Grouped Together.—We may have been in the habit of putting several different kinds of flowers together and of being satisfied with such a composition; but the Japanese would tell us that when several different kinds of flowers are combined in one grouping the full beauty of each is lost; and after a few experiments we shall come to see the truth of this. Here is an illustration: At a summer camp with which I am familiar it was the daily duty of one of the younger boys to go for the wild flowers we used for keeping the camp gay. He often brought home snug little bunches of the flower of the wild convolvulus and the wild rose, to be used together. No pleasing arrangement could be made from such a handful, so he was asked to bring long pieces of the vine of the convolvulus and gather branches of the rose, especially those with the buds. The convolvulus we arranged in a flat dish at one end of a gray stone mantel, letting the vine hang over the mantel, and he quickly saw that it "looked prettier—more as though it were growing." When a few of the stalks of the wild rose were arranged by themselves in a green glass vase he pronounced them much "prettier than when mixed up with other flowers."
The Way of the Garden.—In our gardens we plant the sunshiny daffodils by themselves, the sweet peas grow in a mass together, and we have beds of roses. If we follow the same plan in the arrangement of our flowers indoors we shall realize their decorative qualities to the utmost. So we may consider it a safe rule to follow in arranging flowers,—to use only one kind of flower, with its stems and leaves, arranging them loosely, rather than to have many in a compact grouping. One single, long-stemmed rose, with its beautiful foliage, in a tall, slender glass is more decorative and gives us more pleasure than a dozen roses stripped of their foliage and crowded into a small vase.
Exceptions.—While the above rule should be generally followed, there are exceptional instances of the perfectly harmonious arrangement of flowers of two or more kinds together. Among these we may mention the combining of field daisies and buttercups, or buttercups with the grasses among which they grow. So, too, the lacy flower of the wild carrot may sometimes be effectively combined with some other flower. The spikes of the cardinal flower, for example, are gorgeous in colour, but very stiff and difficult to arrange; so the addition of a few sprays of the wild carrot softens the effect and makes it more pleasing.
COLOUR ARRANGEMENT
We have just considered the grouping of flowers by themselves. There is another element to be considered before we can have artistic results, and that is arrangement as to colour.
Colour Grouping.—We may not all be sensitive to colour ourselves, but in arranging flowers we should always keep in mind the pleasure that is to be given others, and so we wish nothing in our colour grouping that will offend those whose colour sense is keen. There are three colour schemes that can be followed with success and satisfaction to all. In one we group together only flowers of the same colour, as red roses, pink sweet peas, yellow iris, not red, pink, and white roses, nor all of the various colours of sweet pea.
Another arrangement calls for shades and tints of the same colour. With many flowers it is possible to get exquisite effects by following this scheme. For instance, pansies ranging from a pale lavender to deep purple are lovely arranged in a low basket of damp moss. Sweet peas have beautiful shades of pink that can be combined, as well as shades of red and of lavender. Nasturtiums are never so effective as when the various shades of yellow, orange and brown are used together. The garden aster of to-day is another flower that affords much pleasure in colour arrangement; for it has lavenders and purples, a variety of pink tones, beautiful reds, and perfect white ones.