Take a piece of the spring used in hoop-skirts, or a rattan, and make
a small hoop about eight inches in diameter. Collect from the woods
a quantity of the long, feathery moss, and wind a heavy wreath of
this moss on a hoop, then cover a piece of the rattan or hoop-spring,
sufficiently long for the handle, with moss, and fasten it to the
hoop. Then take a solid bunch of this moss, the size of the centre
of the hoop, and push inside of this moss-covered hoop; this forms a
moss basket. Take a common plate, and place this basket upon it, and
sprinkle it thoroughly with water. This basket can be filled again and
again with bright flowers, casting away the flowers as they wither. The
wet moss will keep them fresh as long as if placed in a vase filled
with water. Now and then place this basket in a dish of water, and
sprinkle it, or let the rain fall upon it. This will freshen the green
tint of the moss.
Baskets covered with the knitted moss, which in our work department we
have given the directions how to prepare, are very pretty. A tin dish
should be made to fit it, and painted green; keep this filled with
natural flowers, or French artificial flowers, which imitate nature
perfectly, can be arranged in them, and if placed on a bracket, or in
some place where they will not be likely to be examined too closely,
they will easily pass for fresh flowers.
To form a pyramid of flowers, take three, four, or five wooden bowls,
according to the size you wish for your pyramid; let them be a regular
gradation in size; procure some round pieces of wood, like ribbon
blocks, graded in size, glue the tallest into the centre of the largest
bowl so that it will stand upright, and up on top of that glue the
bowl next in size, and so on to the smallest bowl. Varnish the inside
several coats; paint the outsides green, and cover with moss; some have
a stand made, and glued to the bottom of the largest bowl. When filled
with flowers it is a lovely sight. Baskets made of tin and painted
green, then covered with moss, make the prettiest hanging baskets
possible. Tin rings, large enough to surround vases placed inside, and
made to hold water, with little wires across the top and painted green,
when filled with flowers, form the prettiest mats in the world; the
wires keep the flowers in place. I saw one filled with only rosebuds,
blue forget-me-nots, and geranium leaves. It is an improvement to cover
the outside with moss. Crosses made in the same way are very beautiful,
and are appropriate to place on the grave of any beloved friend. In
that way flowers can be preserved a long time, if there is a sufficient
supply of water to preserve them.
There are innumerable ways of arranging flowers. The poorest person
can afford to purchase a tin basin, and with a little common paste
and moss, which can be found in all country places, a pretty dish
for flowers is soon made. Shells make lovely vases. The large shells
sailors polish so exquisitely to resemble mother of pearl, make elegant
hanging vases; bore holes on each side and hang them with strong cords.
The month of September is not too late to make a fine collection of
mosses from mountains and valleys. Mosses will have attained by this
time a luxurious growth. There are but few mosses that look well after
being pressed. The best way to preserve a collection of mosses is to
arrange them in some suitable box, as they grow, and in the order you
desire to keep them, and let them dry slowly. If you wish to cover any
box, basket, or vase, it is better to paste them on, before they are
entirely dry, with common paste. The dry white and gray mosses form
very beautiful receptacles for flowers, by covering the outside of any
rustic basket with the moss. Thread wire will fasten it firmly to any
basket, or rustic work. Paste or wire can be used to fasten it on to
boxes or bowls.
We have seen a lovely rustic stand for flowers, formed from a common
wooden box (a large bowl is the more desirable). The handle was formed
from a barrel hoop. The legs of the stand were made of gnarled branches
of trees. Then fine annealed wire was wound over the whole. This served
to hold the moss firmly to the box. The beautiful curled white, gray,
and green dry mosses were then arranged all over the box, legs, and
handle, so as to give grace and beauty to this inexpensive stand. This
box was then filled with rich loam, and planted with purple, white,
and pink Maurandia, and variegated Myrtle. These vines twined over
the handle, and festooned the sides of the box. Lobelias, Fuchsias,
Nierembergias, white and scarlet monthly Pinks, silver-leaved Geranium,
and King of the Scarlets, also one white monthly Rose in the centre,
filled the box with bright flowers all summer. This inexpensive
flower-stand was constructed by a boy during his school vacation, and
it formed a beautiful centre ornament to his mother’s front yard. In
the winter the good mother had her boy’s work carefully removed and
placed in her bay window. There it blossomed, and spoke cheering words
to her of her absent darling, as she sat day by day, during the cold
winter months, sewing by its side.