Mother Nature's Toy-Shop

ses in other parts of the house; what flowers and vines will keep fresh longest, and the kind that do not need water but are beautiful when dry. It means that you can learn not to

look its very best. All flowers do not appear well in stiff, straight vases; all do not look well in bowls. That is the first thing to learn, and the next is that while some flowers seem to smile upon

d Morni

glory? Of course, you have seen it and, perhaps, gathered some blossoms, only to find them in a short ti

he way the Wild Mo

m? Have you noticed their shape and beautiful color, and have you seen the great diff

ning Glory blossomed

nd the blossom just as lovely as the cultivated morning-glory, and all this beauty need not be

t the top and holding plenty of water. It is filled with a mass of wild morning-glory-vines, and

ercups, and wild mustard. Lifting themselves up into the light, where the warmth of the morning sun could open the buds and where th

cefully over the edge and hang down almost to the table-top. Only one or two flowers were in bloom when I found the vines, but there were quantities of green buds which I hope

h a long while when given plenty of water. Some have flowers, some have not

d Balsa

he leaves are pretty, too, being shaped almost like a five-pointed star. Sometimes this vine is cultivated and you will find it trained up on strings to shade the porch, or over the kitchen-door of a farmhouse. Wherever you find it, it is beautiful. A large jar filled wit

Cle

bering over fences and bushes along the country road. Its masses of wh

s of silvery fringe, the vine is lovely in a different way. Then you can gather great armfuls and take it home to hang over mirrors or picture-frames, letting it become quite dry. It is best to strip the leaves off the sprays at fi

ter

t covers fences and bushes as the clematis does, but instead of turning in

y split open and curl back to show the brillia

he green leaves, and hang the vine up dry or put it in a large v

on and W

eld, roadside, or even the village streets may be its home, but wherever it lives, it makes the spot shine joyously with its stalks of yellow blos

and put in the snapdragon and wild carrot in a loose bouquet.

d R

k of. Short-stemmed flowers do not belong in tall vases. The

; the roses won't like it; neither will you when

and Bu

any other flowers, unless it is the lacy wild carrot. Buttercups look well with the carrot, too, and butterc

d Flag,

should be put into a tall clear glass vase or pitcher, whe

hey are very beautiful when combined but not crowded. Alw

r Bou

ge, the rose-colored clover is especially beautiful in a clear, green glass bowl of water. The sprays

ing combination as a bouquet for almost any occasion. The name of the

n Bo

eces of green leaves, ferns, and vines, and you will be surprised to f

g while, provided you put them in a bowl or jar and keep them always wet. That does not mean to water them as you would any other growing pla

ellows, and I have made bouquets of nothing but leaves from the rose-bushes. These are often tinged with red and purple. Sprays of the barberry-bush wi

RT

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