Page:Every Woman's Encyclopedia Volume 1.djvu/616

 WOMAN'S HOME 590 TABLE DECORATIONS FOR JANUARY By LYDIA CHATTERTON FLOWERS AVAILABLE Winter aconites Daphne mezereon Carnations Cht isttnas rose Berberis Iri<; Crocus JcipdV quince Cyclamen Violets Chrysanthemum Anemone It is difficult to define January flowers brings a wealth of blooms from abroad. Very lovely are these summer blossoms that come to us in dreary weather, but they do not possess the same delightful charm as the first snowdrop bravely peeping above the cold ground in our own gardens. The laurestinus is a brave shrub that never minds the weather but gives its pretty pinky-white blossoms when there is very littl3 else. One wonders that this shrub is not more generally grown, and that it is so seldom seen in use for home decoration. Clusters of it are very effective in tall vases or majolica bowls of a full shade of blue, and it is pretty, too, for table decoration. Its beauty is enhanced if used in conjunction with bright-hued ribbons or enamelled baskets. Enamel a table basket a bright shade of cerise, trim it with cerise and white ribbons, and fill with laurestinus blossoms. Place this in the centre of the table, and at the corjiers upstanding bows of ribbon, with clusters of laurestinus in the centre of the bows, which should be wired. A bright pottery vase with a country scene upon it is depicted filled with chrysan- themums and tiny daisies. Such a vase is also suitable for laurestinus. A charming arrangement of flowers is the subject of another illustration, that could be used either for drawing-room decoration or for the centre of the dinner- table. In the centre is a silver stand filled with large white lilies, and their leaves, around which are small Worcester ware pots in a basket design, containing growing ferns, the mould being hidden with moss. A square of Renaissance lace is placed on the table, with the silver stand in the centre. Put a spray of smilax leaves on the lace at each corner, with a line of smilax arranged just beyond the lace square upon the cloth, forming a diamond. With this centre use bright orange candle-shades, menus, and guest-cards, and cover souffle cases with frills of orange paper for the sweeties, filling them with white fondants. Roses in January sound extravagant, but foreign roses are not expensive, and as only five are required for the table, the outlay will not be great. A long, narrow strip of looking-glass is used as a foundation for this scheme. If you do not possess an odd piece that can be utilised, it is not a bad investment to purchase one. Laurestinus Spircea Narcissi Ferns Lilies Evergreens Snowdrops Mimosa Tulips French roses ' Roman hyacinths Smilax The edge here is hidden by sprays of preserved maidenhair fern, which will last perfectly fresh out of water. For the roses have five vases — one tall, slender one, two a little smaller, and two of yet a smaller size, and place them as in the illustration. For the candle-shades, cover asbestos shades with paper rose petals, using for the purpose I tissue paper of the same shade as the roses. Serve ices in the form of roses, or, if you cannot manage this, cover souffle cases with rose petals, and fill the case with a cone- shaped ice, coloured to match the paper, so that it appears like the heart of a rose. Roman hyacinths are very suitable for table decoration, with their delicate frag- rance and bell blossoms. For a dinner-i party mix them with bright scarlet tulips and tiny maidenhair ferns, and plant them in a set of gilded table baskets. Lattice- work the table with long trails of small pointed ivy, and place the baskets upon them. For a luncheon party, when a good daylight effect is desired, choose Roman hyacinths with Parma violets. Use a tall epergne of the kind that is meant for fruit, and arrange the flowers in the dishes in a bed of moss, having the violets forming a groundwork and the hyacinths standing up above. From the top of the epergne arrange a shower of Parma violets and white ribbons, and around the epergne on the cloth place miniature baskets that have been painted silver and filled with crystallised violets. To each basket-handle tie some ofi the ribbon strands. White narcissi are used for another table design. A diamond of scarlet ribbon is first placed upon the table, and other lengths of ribbon are placed across and across until the design is complete. At the corners of this bunches of narcissi are placed where the ribbons join. In the J centre a pretty vase filled with narcissi. I Narcissi blend well with mimosa, with its fluffy golden balls of scented blossom, but too great a quantity must not be used together or the perfume becomes oppressive. Various are the designs that can be worked out with the little narcissus blossoms' stripped from their stalks. Arrange on the cloth in a waved line down each side of the table, and in each curve stand a specimen vase holding a bright red carnation with some of its foliage, or fern. The following are good firms for supplying materialf;, etc., irentioned in this Section : Messrs. John Bond's Marking Ink Co. (Marking Ink) : K. C. Lynde (Sanitary Inspection of Houses) ; Potter & Claike (Asthma Cure) ; II. J. Searle & Son, Ltd. (Berkeley Easy Chair) ; Whelpton & Son (P.Us).
 * in these days of commerce, for this month