FLOWER ARRANGEMENT 361
WEED ARRANGEMENTS

Weed arrangements are especially creative because the materials
used are without obvious beauty of their own. Children particu-
larly should be encouraged to make weed and grass arrangements
so that they learn to see beauty and grace in the lowliest plants,
and, as James Russell Lowell said, "to win the secret of a weed's
plain heart." Roadside materials are a boon to those who do not
have flowers; some examples are plantain, Joe Pye, milkweed,
moneyworth, mullein, fox tail, squirrel tail, bergamot, thistle, sand-
burs, and snakegrass. See page 378.

In a certain exhibition of weed arrangements one successful
combination consisted of a column of crinkly dock shading from
red at the base to green at the top, with some yellow fennel for
variety, and grasses low at one side. Another grouping of cactus
and chartreuse yellow yarrow in sand portrayed the desert.

DRIED PLANT ARRANGEMENTS

Dried plant arrangements are satisfactory particularly for fall
and winter. The materials should usually be gathered in the sum-
mer or autumn and hung head downward until they are thoroughly
dry. To dry leaves well first place the steins in a solution of two
parts water to one part glycerine for two weeks. Branches of
colorful leaves or ferns can be pressed between newspapers under
a heavy board, after a light application of cooking oil.

A good collection should include dried materials of various sizes,
from lotus blossom seed pods to stalks of wheat or oats. Stems and
seed pods of okra, sunflowers, castor beans, poinciana, golden rain,
cotton, money plant, milkweeds, thistles, teasel, date palm, and
the tops of corn stalks are useful. Dry everlasting flowers, statice,
and coxcomb are specially interesting in color; baby's breath,
asters, yarrow, and acacia blooms can be dried successfully. A
root, driftwood, lichen-covered wood, birch bark, or a small dead
tree can add texture interest to some arrangements.

All'the rules of good composition apply to dry arrangements.
An entire arrangement may be painted white, gold, or silver for
variety. Dry materials like gourds and seed pods may be com-
bined into hanging decorations called charm strings or into Dellia
Robbia wreaths for Christmas decorations.