JAPANESE FLORAL CALENDAR.

Bruce Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 5, 21 January 1909, Page 8

JAPANESE FLORAL CALENDAR.

In Japan one does not sec "bouquets" of various flowers bunched together, or even masses of the same flowers. There, each spray and flower is treated as an individual, and every chance given it to show its beauty. A single branch of a flowering shrub, or one spray of flowers, will form the only floral decoration of a room, and very effective it is as the Japanese arrange it. The Japanese have 0 a floral calendar ,and each month is associated with some blossom. The pine, the emblem of lasting prosperity and life, belongs to January, and its houses on New Year's Day. To February belong the blossoms of the plum ,'tree ,which stand for purity; and the ■beautiful blossoms of the peach tree, to which the young girls are compared, are associated with the month of March. Next the cherry blossom, the most beloved of all flowers, is held to belong to April, and to May are assigned the gorgeous clusters of tho wisteria vine. The iris flower ,to which is compared strength and beauty of young boys, belong to June, and July has the glory and perfume of the water lily. The flowering hibiscus tree attaches its beauty to the month of August, while September lays claim to tho exquisite charm of the azalea. Tho royal flower of Japan, the chrysanthemum, which forms a part of the crest of the Imperial family, belongs to tho month of October, while in November is given the maple leaf, admired for its decorative quality. Finally, with December is associated the beautiful camellia, which blooms in the gardens even in the midst of snow.