Wall Flowers .sx Daphne Vagg .sx The revived interest in styles of the 1930s means that wall vases for fresh flowers and foliage are set to make a comeback .sx What could be more appropriate in modern homes where rooms are smaller , hallways narrower , and moves to flats and retirement homes make space for flower arrangements doubly precious .sx Wall vases , or pockets as they are often called , were popular from the thirties to the mid-fifties .sx Anne Lamplugh , writing in 1937 , says that " big sweeping curves of rhododendrons are lovely ( and safe !sx ) in a wall-pocket vase " .sx Constance Spry's books written in the same period , show several wall arrangements :sx one of mixed ivies in a pottery vase ; a period vase of old roses and a gilded head container holding purple colchicums with vine leaves and peony foliage .sx Julia Clements' books of the 1950s show several wall decorations of gladioli , golden rod and dahlias in a copper warming pan and an oil-funnel , painted cream , filled with chrysanthemums .sx Then , in the mid-fifties , wall vases went out of fashion .sx Now they are coming back , so if you have not kept mother's or grandmother's wall pockets look out for similar ones in car-boot sales and junk shops or jumble sales .sx For present-day versions , garden centres are often happy hunting grounds .sx Most of them have china and pottery sections and here you may find flat-backed blue and white imported oriental ware or black and white Art Deco copies .sx Half-baskets are there too , but these will need careful lining .sx This is not too difficult as one can usually find a plastic carton , basin or beaker to fit .sx For some types of interior decor a terracotta wall vase ( intended for garden use ) is suitable and large enough to hold growing plants or a pot-et-fleur .sx Being porous , it will need sealing or lining for indoor use .sx Painting the inside and the back with several coats of polyurethane varnish will make it waterproof .sx Wrought iron , or similar , wall brackets made to hold flowerpots , or gilded cherubs holding up a half-round shelf can also be used .sx Obviously most wall arrangements have to be done in situ and this helps greatly in getting the arrangement the right size for the space , and fitting in with the style of the room .sx If you are careful there is no need to fear marking the wall , but extra care is needed with topping-up , especially if the pocket hangs by a small hole over a nail or screw in the wall .sx Do not fill up with water above the hole !sx Mist spraying is usually not possible unless you can wipe the wall and protect any furniture underneath .sx Keep the arrangement fairly flat where there is constant through-traffic in a hall , or on the stairs or landing .sx If possible avoid a position over a radiator in winter , but if that really is the best place , you may have to resort to dried and preserved plant material and perhaps fake flowers .sx The 1930's shell wall vase was recently found in a secondhand shop and has been arranged in the style of the era with crocosmia , marigolds , nasturtiums , hypericum and rowan berries in the orange colourings so popular at that time .sx Inevitably the arrangement is fan-shaped because the vase opening is barely two inches wide at the widest central part .sx For speed and convenience a wedge of Oasis was used to hold the stems , but a little crumpled wire mesh , or no mechanics at all , would have been more in period .sx On the desk below a copy of a Clarice Cliff plate accentuates the period style and repeats the other triangular shapes .sx There is no need , of course , to stick to this century for wall decoration ideas .sx The Victorian style 'cornet' was inspired by the 1900 catalogue of a Parisian florist who showed several such wall arrangements in cone-shaped basket holders .sx This one was made from a woven Malaysian fan soaked in water for several hours , then moulded and wired into a cornet shape .sx It is lined with a beaker to hold water and fitted with a piece of Oasis .sx Ferns and variegated snowberry foliage are arranged with late summer garden flowers in a fuller arrangement with more depth and flow .sx The holder of the third arrangement in greens and white is a homemade wall sconce in a Georgian style .sx The back is a piece of hardboard with stick-on decoration and fine cord to make an edging and a wooden shelf about 4'' x3'' is screwed to the bottom .sx On it stands a shallow tin .sx Everything is gilded to look like an 18th century brass candle sconce .sx A pair of these on either side of a mantelpiece or mirror is an inexpensive , but effective wall decoration .sx Fruit and Veg .sx Natalie Wheatley .sx Town and city dwellers may find it difficult and expensive to have a constant supply of fresh flowers in the house .sx Arrangements of fruit and vegetables can provide the perfect answer - delightful to look at , and delicious to eat once they have served their purpose as an appendage to a lunch or dinner party , or provide a pretty storage arrangement on the kitchen worktop .sx Today's supermarket fruits and vegetables are available year round , we have returned to the delights of the Victorian era when the cook of a large household could command the head gardener to produce strawberries and salads in winter , figs in February and melons at a whim .sx Gardens were huge , flowers plentiful and hothouses groaning with orchids and other exotic plants .sx Despite this , Mrs Beeton in her book 'All About Cookery' , which should have been entitled 'All About Entertaining' as she was full of ideas for table decorations , enjoyed using produce from the kitchen garden - berries , sheaves of corn , and other non-floral items .sx Not satisfied with one arrangement in the centre of the table , she suggested matching smaller ones at the corners and the sides .sx In the centre would be a tall slender grass-like plant set in the midst of coloured autumn foliage , varying from white or palest yellow to dark red at the base .sx The table was then strewn with flowing lines of berberis , red and green myrtle and brown ivy mingled with mountain ash and ivy berries .sx Tomatoes were mixed with white chysanthemums and poppies mingled with corncobs .sx Fruit and vegetables have been used as an art medium for centuries .sx Just as in a flower arrangement where shape , form and colour is of importance , the same goes for fruit and vegetables .sx There should be a dominating colour , be it red ( peppers ) , green ( apples ) or cream ( cauliflower ) , and the other fruits and vegetables used in the next stage should be in smaller quantities .sx Cylindrical and pointed shapes give height and width , and round shapes give weight towards the centre .sx Small vegetables and fruits can be bunched together , posies of flowers can be added for extra interest .sx Leaves , grasses , bracken , fennel and cones all give an extra dimension and blend well with the chunky shapes .sx Fruit tends to have a more formal air about it , grapes and plums with their silvery bloom , nectarines and peaches with their soft , velvety skins , and the interesting insides of kiwi fruits and melons .sx Vegetables are more raunchy , shiny , nobbly and tough - but one can complement the other if well blended :sx cucumbers and crabapples , cut melon and shiny green peppers , green bananas and courgettes , always remembering to use different sizes of the same variety .sx Floral foam is suitable to use as the 'mechanics' with items attached by wooden skewers or cocktail sticks , depending on weight .sx ( Wire will damage fruit and vegetables and render them inedible .sx ) Containers for such arrangements should be fitting - wood , basketware or pottery and , if flowers are used , lighter containers such as metal , china or glass can be considered .sx Covent Garden - Old and New .sx Diana Joyce .sx Buy a flower kind gentleman , I'm a good girl I am " .sx So cries Eliza Doolittle , the Covent Garden Flower Seller immortalized in Bernhard Shaw's 'Pygmalion' , as she stands in the porticoes of St. Paul's Church during the opening scenes of the play , and latterly the hugely popular musical 'My Fair Lady' .sx But the history of Covent Garden goes back over 700 years to when the Abbots of Westminster owned 7 acres of land situated between the Abbey and the City of London .sx Part of this land they used as burial ground for the Convent , another area they cultivated as a kitchen garden , where they sold their produce to the citizens of London .sx Following the dissolution of the monasteries in 1536 the land became the property of the Russell family , but the old gardeners still tended the orchards and vegetable plots and marketed their produce .sx Over the years neighbouring villagers got to know about the market and would bring their own produce to sell at the old Convent Garden , thereby creating for themselves an unauthorised but highly convenient market place .sx Eventually the architect Inigo Jones was commissioned to lay out the site for a new residential area .sx It was modelled on a spacious and airy Italian Piazza with the small parish church of St. Paul's on the western side , where we remembered Eliza , earlier , sitting on the steps , making her bunches of flowers .sx By 1645 Convent Garden had become Covent Garden and the area had mushroomed into a teeming environment of theatres , coffee houses , taverns and squalid cellars .sx No-one who valued his life would walk through the streets and alley - ways after dark .sx Often 'the garden' was the scene of nightly brawls and revelry .sx The night-life over-flowed into day as the revellers from the taverns mingled with stone cold sober mortals arriving to sell their produce in the market .sx Old women would sit on the kerb shelling peas and peeling potatoes , and the area was rife with pick-pockets and thieves .sx At Christmas time the women would sell ever-green foliage of all kinds .sx Merry faced farmers would arrive from the shires with their Christmas trees , and bribe someone in the market to sell them , then all would adjourn to the nearest tavern to drink away the profit .sx The flower sellers became very adept in making bouquets for the stars of the Opera House and Drury Lane theatre .sx Throughout it all the market prospered and grew .sx It was about 1900 when barrows arrived on the scene .sx They were originally called Coster mongers barrows because the first type of apples to be sold in the market were Costards or Custard apples .sx Market Porters could balance several baskets on their heads at any one time .sx They developed their own Cockney rhyming slang , and still to be heard in the market today are phrases such as 'April Showers' for flowers and 'Gypsy Warning' for early morning , together with 'plates of meat' for feet , and 'trouble and strife' for wife .sx In the subsequent years dramatic changes took place .sx Lorries replaced horses and because of something in excess of 1000 lorries arriving in the early hours to unload their produce the market traffic ground to a halt .sx The congestion made it impossible for the market to operate efficiently and after much argument it was decided to abandon the idea of re-building Old Covent Garden and to look for another site .sx Eventually Nine Elms , south of the river at Vauxhall was agreed upon and in 1971 work commenced on the 68 acre site .sx Today , new Covent Garden Flower Market comprises 70.000 square feet of trading area .sx First impressions are of huge , gaunt , electrically operated , see - through plastic doors , impersonally numbered and identically positioned around the four walls of the building .sx No barrows and head-balancing acts here , but fork-lift trucks and stern security men in uniform with walkie-talkies at the ready .sx But once inside , the cold , external identity of New Covent Garden is forgotten , for here is another world , and no disappointment in the comparison to the old .sx A vast riot of colour in massed profusion greets the visitor .sx Stalls abound with exotic blooms , rare and wonderful flowers and plants from all corners of the world , and the heady scent of lilies and roses fills the air .sx And yes , the friendly market porters and familiar names remain .sx