File:American homes and gardens (1910) (18155909585).jpg

Title: American homes and gardens
Identifier: americanhomesgar71910newy (find matches)
Year: 1905 (1900s)
Authors:
Subjects: Architecture, Domestic; Landscape gardening
Publisher: New York : Munn and Co
Contributing Library: Smithsonian Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Biodiversity Heritage Library

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► HE spring and summer seasons mark an era of particular interest to the home maker. At this time, decorative touches may be contributed throughout the house with flowering plants and blossoms, often at no cost except the trouble of gathering and arranging them. The home garden naturally affords the largest choice in cut flowers, and it is the custom in many country places to cultivate a special plot of ground for this purpose. Here the hand of the invader may ply the shears on both foliage and blossoms without destroying the symmetrical effect of the garden proper. In the suburbs and country where wild flowers and shrubs are avail- able, one may keep a continuous bloom in the house, begin- ning with the quaint branches of the pussy willow, and following the ad- vancing steps of spring through the peach, cherry, pear and apple blossoms, and such ground flowers as blood- root, anemone, ar- butus and violets. Even cowslips and dandelions have a decorative interest if taken up with their roots about them and planted in a box made of birch bark. As frost approaches and the flowers dis- appear there is still something provided by nature for home decoration in wild grasses and branches of trees that are distinctive in outline. How many opportunities the flower season af- fords for home decoration can hardly be understood except by the sincere lover of nature. Someone has said that a specific note of refinement is contributed to a room by a jar of flowers, and it is undeniable that the attention may be diverted from obtrusively in- harmonious furnishings by the beauty of even a single rose. On the disposition of plants and flowers in the interior of the home, however, depends much of their artistic suc- cess. In the various illustrations some suggestive ideas are given as to suitable holders for flowers, and various ways for their placing.
Text Appearing After Image:
A set of glass vases In the first illustration a set of four small glass vases mark the corners of the lace centerpiece, with a larger holder of the same type in the middle. A decoration of this kind is desirable for breakfasts and luncheons in place of candles and candlesticks, and small flowers with ir- regular foliage adapt themselves to the slender vases better than large, stiff blossoms. The cost of these "corner" vases is inconsiderable compared with their usefulness (sixty-five cents each), as they may be distributed about the house when not in requisition in the dining- room. A simple treatment for the dining table is a fern, and its interest is enhanced if it is planted in a jar- diniere of pleasing shape and color. Some of the Jap- anese jars in a plain green, glazed or dull finish, may be bought for fifty cents. From our own American pot- teries there are also jardinieres of real merit. Some attractive holders for plants made from differ- ent materials are shown in the illu- stration. At the ex- treme left is a fern dish of pierced brass costing three dollars. The ham- mered brass dish next may be bought for the same price. These pieces have the advantage of linings that fit in- side the jardiniere for holding the earth, and also of being raised by little feet to prevent any moisture from injuring a table. The geranium in the center is planted in a common terra cotta pot which is slipped into the hand-woven Japanese basket. The copper jardiniere at the right of the basket costs the same as the two fern holders at the left. The more ornate holder at the extreme right is suited to a drawing-room or parlor ($7.50). A glass bowl with silver work on its outer surface ap- pears in another illustration as a holder for pond lilies. The metal and glass combined in this way do not detract from the delicacy of the coloring of the blossoms. Glass and silver are also united in making a flat plate or pla- teau, which is used as a mat for vase or jardiniere. Some- times a colored print Is covered with glass and bound with

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