Miniature and window gardening

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Miniature

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Window Gardening

Miniature

AND

Window Gardening

BY
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PHOEBE ALLEN anv Dr. GODFREY

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NEW YORK
JAMES POTT & COMPANY
1902

Press of J. J. Little & Co.

Astor Place, New York

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CONTENTS

PAGE
WHAT TO Grow. ; : d : SYR

How To Grow PERENNIALS AND ANNUALS 17

ON THE SOWING AND GENERAL ARRANGE-

MENT OF BORDERS . ‘ y : Ania 4-
BULBS . } US
ROCKERIES, ARCHES, SCREENS, ETC. . Pi)
ROSES, CREEPERS, ETC. , ‘ ; . 45
HeEpDGES, PATHS, GRASSPLOTS . } WOE
WINDOW GARDENING . ; ; Se
WinDow Boxes . - 3 : : : 69
On CUTTINGS, ETC. . : } ‘ NSO
A FEw GENERAL HINTS . 4 ; a eyo)

Or GARDENERS’ FRIENDS, FOES, ETC., AND
OF TOOLS 2 i ; : ; - 95

INTRODUCTION

““ GARDENS were before gardeners, and but Intro-
some hours after the earth,’’ says the quaint duction
old author of ‘* Medico Religio,’’ and in-

deed, from all time, love of gardening, in

some form or another, has prevailed amongst

men.

*“The suburban gardener is a latter-day
creation,’’ declares a writer of to-day; we
would like to remind him of many and sun-
dry Londoners of two centuries ago, who
were enthusiastic horticulturists in their
** close-by-town’’ residences. But whether
of ancient or modern creation, there is no
class of flower-growers with whom we feel
a greater sympathy than with those dwellers
in cities and suburbs, to whom a “ plant of
my own growing,’’ a ‘‘ shrub of my own
rearing,’’ mean a whole world of pride and
enjoyment.

bh)

Intro-
duction

“* Sow labor and patience upon stones and
roses will spring forth,’’ runs the Eastern
proverb, and without undertaking to rival
this performance quite literally, we do main-
tain that with industry and perseverance,
not merely roses, but all manner of “* faire
flowres’’ may be produced.

And this, we hold, is possible, even in a
miniature garden, where every inch of the
soil, every brick of the walls, and every
available window of the house must be
pressed into the service of horticulture.

The suburban gardener’s greatest external
foes are, no doubt, the fogs of winter, the
dust and glare of summer, and destructive
winds pretty nearly all the year round. As
to his minor trials, in the shape of invading
dogs and cats, possibly even fowls, all these,
and many more, are probably so present to
our reader’s mind, that we forbear to dwell
further upon them.

But what may be called the “‘ foes of his
own household,’’ are generally the miniature
gardener’s want of space, coupled frequently
with want of knowledge. There is so much
he would like to plant and sow, and so little

6

room to do it in, and he is so painfully aware Intro-
of his ignorance as to how to make the most duction
of that little, that it is with a view to help-
ing this heavily-handicapped horticulturist,
that we have attempted to compile this little
book.

7

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PAYS:

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ONG

MINIATURE GARDENING

CHAPTER I
WHAT TO GROW

““T HAVE a tiny slip of ground—a neighbor
unfeelingly describes it as a ‘ toy garden ’—
with a small patch of grass and three very
narrow borders. With this amount of ‘pleas-
ure ground’ at my disposal, I am told that
I could, with proper treatment, secure a
good display of flowers. But I’m so igno-
rant, I don’t know the very A BC of gar-
dening, and so ashamed of my ignorance
that I don’t want to expose it by asking any
foolish questions. Pity such a distressed
ignoramus.”’

The above confession reached us not so
long ago, and (lamentable as such a plight

o

cc Toy

garden ”’

Over-

crowding

may seem to those who have always enjoyed
the luxury of a garden as a matter of course)
it is by no means such a very uncommon
one amongst dwellers in cities and city
borders.

And so it is with the needs of the “ dis-
tressed ignoramus’’ very present to our
minds that we begin this chapter.

In every undertaking, it is well to know
clearly what object we wish to attain, and
then set about discovering the best means
of attaining that object.

Now the great ambition of the miniature
gardener is, we take it, to make the utmost
of the limited space at his command.

It is always a great temptation to the
amateur to overcrowd his borders, for where
room is so precious and so scarce, it seems
a sin to allow space for even a caterpillar to
walk between the plants.

But overcrowding is a grievous mistake.

Plants require light, air, and elbow-room
as much as we do.

Another pitfall, into which the unlearned
often stumbles, is in the selection of his
plants. He generally soars too high.

10

Now the list of both perennials and an- Annuals,
nuals include so many lovely and fragrant biennials,
blossoms, that to produce an abundance of and per-
gay flowers, there is no need to aspire to ennials
those plants which cannot be sown in the
open ground, and which may require more
than quite ordinary care and soil.

There are several ways of making a gar-

den pretty. Besides the cultivation of bulbs
—we shall speak of them later—there are
what are termed ‘‘ bedding-out plants.’’
These are Geraniums, Verbenas, Fuchsias,
_etc., but these are (comparatively speaking)
expensive, and though we do not go so far
as to place them altogether beyond the reach
of our readers, we strongly advise them—at
starting, at any rate—to give the preference
to perennials, biennials, and annuals.

** But what do you mean by perennials
and annuals?’’ we hear our ‘“* distressed
ignoramus’’ ask.

By annuals, we mean those plants that
last for one year only. They blossom, seed,
and then die down.

Biennials are plants that last for two years,
making leaves the first year, and flowers and

II

Hardy
and half
hardy

seed the second. Sweet Williams and Holly-
hocks are biennials.

Perennials last for many years in succes-
sion, but, like the biennials, do not flower
the same year in which they are sown.

Again, there are hardy annuals and half-
hardy annuals, hardy perennials and half-
hardy perennials.

In garden seed lists, you see the letters
h.a. and h.h.a., placed against the two
former, and h.p. and h.h.p. against the lat-
ter. And these indications are very valu-
able to the unlearned, because the seeds of
hardy and half-hardy plants require, of
course, different treatment. Now hardy an-
nuals, such as Mignonette, Larkspur, Pop-
pies, and Lupins, Marygolds, Cornflowers,
Nasturtiums, and many others—to be men-
tioned later—may be sown fearlessly in the
open ground in April and May.

(Some hardy annuals, indeed, as we shall
show later, may be sown “‘ overnight for the
summer,’’ as a quaint old gardener used to
say, by which he meant might be put in the
ground in the late autumn for early spring
blooming.)

I2

To the half-hardy annuals belong Asters, Sowing -
Stocks, Balsams, Lobelias, Phlox, Linum—
that pretty scarlet-flowered Flax—and many
others.

The seeds of these, being only half hardy,
must never be sown out of doors until the
beginning of June, or at any rate, till all
fear of frost is over.

Folks who are the lucky possessors of a
tiny hot-bed may sow half-hardy annuals in
pots and boxes as early as March, so as to
have stout young seedlings for planting out

in June.

_ Hardy perennials, such as Pansies, Cow-
slips, Double Daisies, Pinks, Polyanthus,
Lavender, and others, may be sown in the
ground any time from March to September, »
whilst the same rules for sowing the seeds
of half-hardy annuals apply to those of half-
hardy perennials.

Heliotropes, Petunias, Salvias, Verbenas,
Begonias, are some of the latter.

Now there is no doubt that hardy peren-
nials are by far the most satisfactory plants
for little gardens.

In the first place—and this is an important

13

Grouping consideration with most miniature gardeners
—the expense incurred in growing perennials
is very small. When the seeds have once
been bought (they can mostly be obtained
for ten cents a packet), all expense attach-
ing to their cultivation is hardly worth the
mention.

Secondly, they are permanent.

Thirdly, owing to the natural grace of
their growth, no class of plant lends itself
so well to grouping, and there zs scope for
grouping even in the smallest slip of ground.

Fourthly, perennials are better than any
other plants for supplying flowers for cutting.

It has been aptly said that ‘* Hardy per-
ennial gardening is equally open to the mil-
lion and the millionaire.’’

Still, we would by no means exclude an-
nuals. If ‘‘ variety is the spice of life,’’ it
certainly is needed to make the charm of
even little gardens complete. Therefore,
where most of the ground is devoted to per-
manent plants, a sprinkling of bright an-
nuals, here and there, is a very welcome
form of variety.

Where should we be without our gorgeous

14

Poppies, our flame-colored Nasturtiums, our Variety
dainty Sweet Peas, our fragrant Mignonette,
and a dozen other favorites ?

Only let these ‘‘annual fireworks’ be used
ina much smaller proportion to the peren-
nials. And in laying out our little borders,
it will be well to regard them in the light
of those guests that tarry but a season, and
to devote our best attention to the peren-
nial residents.

Now here are the names of some peren-
nials that are specially suitable for a town
garden border.

Pansies, Double Daisies, Carnations, Poly-
anthus, Stocks, Phlox Drummondi, Asters,
Canterbury Bells, Lily of the Valley, Japa-
nese Anemones, Iris Germanica, Paeonies,
Sweet William, Verbenas, Wallflowers, Snap-
dragon, Chrysanthemums.

As anactual border flower for a town gar-
den, none is better than the old-fashioned
Pink; whilst the Double Daisy, either red or
white, beloved of cottagers, makes a charm-
ing edging to a border, and being perennial,
when Daisies have once taken root, they are
permanent.

15

Border
plants

The Thrift too, with its pretty heads of
pink blossoms, makes a capital border plant
for a town garden.

In almost every town garden the following |
annuals will do well and give little trouble:

Sunflowers, Nasturtiums, both tall and
dwarf; Cornflowers, Marygolds, Sweet Peas
—if the border be sunny enough—Mignon-
ette, Lupins, Nemophilas, etc., etc.

16

CHAPTER II
HOW TO GROW PERENNIALS AND ANNUALS

WITH a view of ensuring a bright spring gar- Prepar-
den, it is well to sow, either in September ing the
or early in October, those seeds which are border
sufficiently hardy to stand wintering in the
open ground.
Before putting in your seeds, however,
you must prepare your border. Set to work
to dig it over rather deeply, breaking up all
the clods. Pick up every stone and pull up
every weed and durz zt. Don’t follow some
folks’ advice and dig the pulled-up weed into
the soil. If you do, they will most surely pay
you out by reappearing to blemish your
flowers. Fork ina dressing of manure, either
hot-bed manure or decayed leaf-mould, or, if
you can get them, road sweepings. These
latter are especially good for your purpose,
as they contain sand and grit. Beware, how-

2 17

Over-

manuring

ever, of overdoing the manure. In many
cases plants do better in poor rather than rich
soil, and the result of over-manuring is seen
in too profuse foliage and scanty blossoms.

In sowing your seeds don’t bury them.

The largest seed should never be put in at
a greater depth than one inch, whilst some
of the smaller seeds should be merely dusted
over. An excellent plan is to have a little
soil previously prepared, and, after scatter-
ing your seeds on the surface of your border,
to sift this soil over them.

For autumn sowing, here is a list of the
seeds we should specially recommend for a
town garden:

Mignonette, Larkspur, Nemophila, Venus’
Looking-Glass, Cornflower, Esscholtzia,
Candytuft, Erysinium—the well-known
orange variety of Candytuft—Sweet Wil-
liam, and Virginia Stock.

This latter is especially valuable for town
gardens, as no amount of smoke seems to
affect its growth. Moreover, it can be sown
at any time in the year, so as to ensurea
succession of bloom, and its red-rose or
white flowers are very effective.

18

All these plants must be so familiar, even Autumn
to the “‘ distressed ignoramus,’’ that it is sowing
needless to attempt any description of them.

(The seeds of all can be obtained at any
seedsman’s at the rate of ten cents a packet.)

In addition to the above-mentioned flowers,
we recommend the following for autumn
sowing, and these having less well-known
names, we will give a few particulars with
each, so that when sowing their seeds our
readers may know what they may expect to
be the result in each case:

Alyssum Compactum—height, 9 inches;
flower, bright yellow.

Godetia—1 foot, white or crimson.

Collinsia Bicolor—t foot, purple and white.

Viscaria—kind of Corncockle—g inches,
bright rose.

Whitlavia Grandiflora—1 foot, dark pur-
ple.

Xeranthemum—2 feet, hardy everlasting,
purple and white.

Ditto—crimson cerise variety, very beau-
tiful.

Scabious—18 inches, purple, scarlet, or
white.

19

Aspect
of your
borders

Calliopsis—2 feet, yellow, maroon, crim-
son.

Leptosiphon Densiflorous—1 foot, rosy
purple.

L. Albus—pure white, the most profusely
blooming annual.

Calendula Marigold—1 foot, yellow and
orange, and pure white.

Clarkias—1 foot, white, rose, red.

Clarkias are specially suited for autumn
sowing. If the seed is put in in September,
it flowers quite early in May, and is one of
those early growers which never fail to bloom
freely. Make the second sowing for succes-
sion in April.

All the other hardy annuals and perennials
may be sown, as we have said before, in the
open ground, in April and May; the hardy
perennials from March to September; the
half-hardy annuals and perennials not till
the end of May.

In sowing your seeds consider the aspect
of your borders. For, whereas for some
flowers a sunny position is almost a neces-
sity, others will really only do well in a com-
paratively shady one.

20

For instance, Sweet Peas love the sun, so Sun and
do Cornflowers, Annual Chrysanthemums, shade
Scarlet Flax, Sweet Alyssum, Mignonette,
and many others.

On the other hand, Foxgloves, Prince’s
Feather, Solomon’s Seal, Oriental Poppies,
Godelias, Marigolds, Love-lies-bleeding,
Nasturtiums, and others, do far better if
sown in the shadier part of a border.

We once saw a shady border with a north
aspect very successfully treated. No con-
dition could be much more unfavorable to
flowers, so the owner of that unpromising
border was justly proud of his achievements.

He started by planting ferns, just the
hardiest sort, taken from a country hedge,
together with the common blue Periwinkle
and some Foxgloves, both of these wild re-
cruits also from ashady wood. As these did
well, he became bolder, and added London
Pride, Solomon’s Seal, Creeping Jenny, and
Musk, until this border, which his friends
had assured him was practically useless to
cultivate, became quite one of the prettiest
little strips in his very tiny garden.

21

Lines or
masses

CHAPTER III

ON THE SOWING AND GENERAL ARRANGEMENT
OF BORDERS

Now there are two ways generally in use of
sowing a border.

Seeds are either sown in lines or in masses.

Where space is sufficiently abundant to
make the possible failure of one border of
little account, the sowing of different colored
flowers in rows, so as to produce a ribbon
border, is a very pretty experiment, and
may result in a very good effect. But we
would never counsel the owner of tiny gar-
dens to attempt it. The lines are so apt to
be broken, owing to the failure of some par-
ticular seed, or to the ravages of slugs or
other garden pests, that the risk of having
a spoiled border for a whole season is too
great in their case.

22

A single row of, say, Double Daisies, or Color
Clove Pinks, or Thrift, at the edge of a bor- effects
der is well enough, and gives a character to
the rest of the border, but let the remainder
of the seed-sowing be done in masses.

Don't sow in little dabs. However narrow
your border may be, don’t let any plot meas-
ure less than six inches in diameter (where
you can manage it, one foot is the best);
and don’t repeat the same plant at intervals
along your border. If you do, you will
probably destroy what is of great importance
in grouping flowers, namely, color effect.
Even in a miniature garden, good effects, as
well as harmony in color, should be aimed
at.

For, just as a room, no matter what its
size, may be pretty, or the reverse, by the
choice and disposal of its furniture, so the
whole beauty of a border may be made or
marred by the arrangement of its flowers.
Given two people with the same seeds and
the same ground at their disposal, one may
sow the border so as to make it a perfect
little picture, whilst the other may compass
such violent contrasts in color that the

23

Harmony
rather
than con-
trasts

result is either absolutely vulgar or gratingly
hard.

Again, others, with the object of avoiding
formality, will sow the seeds more or less at
haphazard, with the natural result that the
border looks, at best, a meaningless jumble.

““Monster effects in grouping,’ and
“* splendid harmonies in color,’’ as the land-
scape gardeners have it, are, of course, quite
out of the question for any ordinary small
garden; still, there are certain elementary
rules in this direction to which even a “‘ dis-
tressed ignoramus’’ would do well to adhere
at starting.

(Very soon, we feel sure, the knowledge
gained by his own experience would be
enough to guide him on that point.)

First of all—though tastes may differ on
this point—we would advise our readers to
aim at securing harmony in their color ar-
rangements rather than contrasts.

All warm colors, such as the different
shades of red, crimson, scarlet, rose, pink,
etc., are easy to deal with, such as we find
in the Phloxes, which include scarlet, crim-
son, rose, and salmon tints; and Sweet Wil-

24

liams, Balsams, Poppies, Carnations, Pens- Blending
teums, and many others. These all har- colors
monize. So arethe varying hues of yellow,
primrose, sulphur, orange, and creamy-

whites. The yellow and orange Daylily;

the sulphur and golden Violas; the orange

and yellow Nasturtiums, Marigolds (both the
lemon-colored and the red-gold), the deep

yellow and lemon-colored Polyanthus and
Auriculas will all group well together.

All these will blend and mix well. But
blue, purple, or lilac tints are best grouped
together, or if brought into the neighbor-
hood of scarlets or pinks, it is well to inter-
pose patches of sulphur or silvery white—
the Achillea is excellent for this purpose; so
is the Dwarf Double Bronze Wallflower, or
the old-fashioned cream-colored Stock—or
a rich bronze between them and the warmer
coloring.

As regards the treatment of blue flowers,
the greatest care is needed. The soft azure
tint of the Nemophila, and some of the vari-
eties of the Forget-me-not, as well as the
rich purple blue of the Salvia, may be more
fearlessly dealt with; but it is extraordinary

25

Whites in what absolutely hideous effects may be pro-
the border duced by the use, for instance, of the full
blue of the Lobelia.

Who cannot recall to his mind’s eye some
border where a mass of glaring scarlet Gera-
nium, edged with full blue Lobelia, has made
our eyes positively ache with its crude hard-
ness ?

The combination of violet tints with blue,
however beautiful the flowers may be zz
themselves and dy themselves, may thus pro-
duce quite distressing effects.

Whereas, mix blue, sky blue, turquoise,
full blue, hyacinth blue, with pale yellows,
rosy whites, and even faintest pinks, and
the result is lovely. To give blue, as artists
say, its full value, let it stand by itself with
only a setting of rich foliage.

Dead whites, too, such as the Candiiealt
and Stocks, require management. One or
two, at the most, patches of white are quite
enough for a small border.

We would advise a beginner to settle in
his own mind exactly what perennials he
means to have in each border, and having
made his choice with due regard to the re-

26

spective seasons for flowering, to proceed Permanent
next to the consideration of his annuals that residents
he means to intersperse amongst them. Let

him regard the perennials as his permanent

residents, and group the annuals around and

about them.

27

Soil

CHAPTER IV

BULBS

IT has been truly said that bulbs are the
citizens’ friends.

They will do equally well in the smokiest
town garden as in any country one, and
almost any soil will suit them.

Winter Aconites, Crocuses, Snowdrops,
Hyacinths, Daffodils, Anemones, Ranuncu-
lus, Narcissus, Tulips, and Scillas will all
flourish, provided they be properly planted,
and at the right time.

October and November are on the whole
the best months for putting bulbs in the
ground.

(Daffodils may be put in in September.)

Prepare your border as advised in Chapter
II., but in digging in the manure be careful
not to allow any particle of it to come
actually in contact with the bulbs.

28

As regards the planting of the bulbs, we Planting
reverse the advice that we gave concerning bulbs
perennials, for we recommend planting them
in rows. In fair-sized beds and wide bor-
ders, beautiful color effects can be obtained
by forming masses of Crocuses, purple, white,
and golden, or by grouping other bulbs to-
gether in handsome plots; but the owners
of narrow borders do better, in our opinion,
to content themselves with the row system.
For tiny beds, also, a better display can be
made by planting the bulbs in rings or geo-
metrical patterns than by clumping them.

Three great essentials to their future suc-
cess must be kept in mind when bulbs are
to be planted.

first, put them inthe ground early. Bulbs
planted too late in the season are very liable
to rot in the ground.

Secondly, they must be planted closely
together.

Thirdly, the soil below them should be as
light as that above them.

Bulbs placed on too firm a basis will fre-
quently fail to strike root. Each one will
like to arrange his bulbs to his own taste, so

=

Protection we will only give a few directions as to the
from frost actual planting of the different kinds.

Hyacinths and Tulips should be planted
from four to six inches apart, according to
size of bulb, and the crown should be put in
the soil from two to four inches below the
surface.

Daffodils, Narcissus, and Jonquils should
be planted four inches deep, and the same
distance apart.

Crocus, Scillas, and Snowdrops shout be
put in two inches deep, and Winter Aconites
should be planted one inch deep and one-
and-a-half apart.

Plant Anemones and Ranunculuses two
inches deep and three inches apart.

Litter to the depth of two or three inches
should be strewn over the surface of the bor-
der, after the bulbs have been put in, to
serve as a protection from the frost, but
should be removed in spring, as soon as the
first leaves have pushed their way through
the soil. It must be replaced ae at nigh
during frosty weather.

As regards aspect, it must be eee in
mind that whilst Snowdrops, Hyacinths,

30

and Aconites do equally well in sun or shade, Summer
Crocus and Tulips must have plenty of sun, display
and Daffodils and Narcissus do better on the
whole in the shade.

Besides these bulbs, which are so indis-
pensable for spring flowering, there are
others, which, when space will allow, may
be grown for summer display.

There are very few town gardens where
Lilies will not grow, while the lovely purple
German Iris—though, strictly speaking, this
is not a bulb—seems positively to thrive and
flourish in the smokiest parts of smoky cities.
Nor does even a miniature garden seem quite
complete without at least one clump of
Dahlias.

As, however, Dahlias raised from seed
require to be sown in a hotbed, our readers
will have to beg or buy their plants. A
great variety of these may be had at fairly
moderate prices—fifteen cents a bulb or
$1.50 a dozen is, perhaps, the lowest sum.

Any garden soil will suit Dahlias, but in
buying them for spring planting out of doors,
be sure to ask for “‘
are known in the Dahlia trade as ‘‘ dry

31

green plants.’’ What

Lilies

roots ’’ are those which must be grown on
heat. May and June are good times for |
putting in Dahlias to ensure autumn flower-
ing. Place them from three to five feet
apart, and, if possible, put a spadeful of
manure under each bulb, remembering, how-
ever, our caution not to allow it to come in
direct contact with the bulb. Water them
well, and as soon as each plant puts out its
leading green shoot, tie it to a stake. In
November, lift the bulbs out of the soil, cut
off all the shoots, and store out of reach of
the frost. Don’t choose either too damp or
too dry a place for storing, as the bulbs must
neither be allowed to shrivel or grow mouldy.

The German Iris is so easy of culture and
must be so familiar to every town dweller,
that beyond advising our readers to plant
the bulbs in November, and to remember
that Irises do best in sunny spots, it is need-
less to say more.

We now come to speak of Lilies. .

For stateliness of habit, beauty of form,
and variety of coloring, they are withcut
rival among bulbous plants. Many of the
species are delightfully fragrant.

32

Considering to what perfection the hardier Culture
kind of Lilies may be brought, even in a
tiny back city garden, how, with common
care, they will grow and flourish in ordinary
soil, and considering, too, what a variety
may be found nowadays amongst the ro-
buster kind of Lilies, it is really marvellous
that their culture is, comparatively speak-
ing, so neglected.

Prepare the soil as already advised for the
bulbs, and put them in the ground in the
autumn, from September to November is
the best time. Be careful to choose dry
weather, both for preparing the soil and for
planting the Lilies. If possible avoid giving
Lilies a fu/7 southern aspect, as they do bet-
ter if protected from the full mid-day sun.
Though they may really be called hardy, it
is well to protect them against frost in win-
ter by a covering of ashes or litter. They
all prefer a partial shade, and the taller
sorts must have protection from high
winds.

Put the large bulbs in at a depth of six to
eight inches, the smaller ones from four to
two, according to size. The distance to be

4 33

~~

Slugs and left between the bulbs would also vary from
other pests six to twelve inches.

As a rule medium-sized bulbs, neither too
large nor too small, are best for planting.

Slugs are mortal enemies to the young
green shoots, and will devour them merci-
lessly as soon as they appear above ground.
At the first sign of these marauders, dust
the soil with soot, or put a ring of unslaked
lime round the bulbs. It is also wise to stir,
not dig, the ground between the bulbs con-
tinually, in order to disturb the haunts of
these garden pests.

Here are the names of some Lilies, which
we consider the best for town gardens, and
which are most likely to prove successful
in the hands of a beginner in town or
country:

The Scarlet Martagon Lily.

The Davuricum—purple, orange, or crim-
son.

The Auratum—white, spotted with ma-
roon; fragrant.

The Panther Lily—scarlet and rich yel-
low, spotted with brown and purple.

Canadense—bright yellow, spotted red.

34

Longiflorum—lIarge, pure white, trumpet- What to
shaped flowers. choose
Trigrinum Splendens—scarlet, with black
spots.
Harrisii (Bermuda Easter Lily).
The Candidum—the tall white Lily.
One last hint to the unlearned in the mat-
ter of choosing bulbs.
Never take dried-up, shriveled, crinkled-
looking bulbs; choose only those that are
quite firm and plump to the touch.

oh)

The
shaded

corner

CHAPTER V
ROCKERIES, ARCHES, SCREENS, ETC.

EVEN in a miniature garden there is some-
times a spare spot fora little rockery. It
may be only an ugly shaded corner in a back
yard, or there may be an odd angle in some
sunny border, where with a little manage-
ment a small colony of rock-loving plants
may be established.

Weare, of course, aware that often in the
hands of the unlearned, attempts at rockeries
prove dismal failures. This is probably be-
cause they have not set about making them
properly. Some people fancy that to estab-
lish a rockery all that is needed is to collect
together a confused heap of rubbish, broken
pots and pans, smashed crockery—the more
disorderly the débrzs the better—and then
sprinkle this unsightly jumble with a little
soil.

26

But here the old, commonplace axiom Ferns
that there’s a right way and a wrong one for
doing everything, holds good. The above
method is certainly the wrong one.

The following plan is what we should ven-
ture to advise as being the right one, or at
any rate the one that, so far as our experi-
ence goes, may lay claim to giving satisfac-
tory results:

If you have only a shady corner at your
command, make up your minds to grow only
ferns. These will repay you best, not only
by always looking green, but they also make
a very pretty finish to cut flowers, and thus
supply a constant want in a small garden,
where suitable foliage for nosegays is gener-
ally scarce. (Stonecrop, Primroses, Snow-
in-Summer may sometimes succeed tender
ferns.)

However damp and dark a back yard may
be, ferns will flourish, but they will also
thrive well in the driest and lightest situa-
tion.

To make a rockery, start by forming a
mound of soil, the size that your space may
allow. Bank the earth up well together, so

37

How to
make the

rockery

as to make it as firm as possible. Then,
and not before, put in your rockery work.
As a rule avoid using any burrs, clinkers,
fragments of old crockery, or vitrified mate-
rials of any sort. Use just a few broken
stones, and be careful in arranging those that
are to appear on the surface, not to allow
any vacuum to exist between the soil and
the stones. Let them be firmly fixed in the
soil. Also beware of allowing any cracks in
your surface. Fill these in with earth as
soon as you observe them. When you have
embedded all your stones, cover them lightly
with alittle soil. Then set about putting in
your ferns. March is a good time for plant-
ing hardy ferns, and we strongly advise our
readers to content themselves with the com-
mon but very pretty wild sorts, which are
easily obtainable. If you have country
friends, ask them to send you plants of
Hart’s Tongue, Lady Fern, Male Fern,
Shield Fern, and Buckler Fern.

You should also have a Boston Fern, one
of the most useful and ornamental of the
** Sword Ferns.’’ It is excellent for plant-
ing in shady borders, and is also a fine plant

28

for hanging pots or baskets on the piazza in Flowers
summer and window in winter. specially
To make a fern rockery in a sunny spot, suitable
after constructing it on the plan already sug- for rock-
gested, sow Rock-roses, Rock-cress, Stone- work
crop. The Yellow Stonecrop is a hardy
perennial defying all city smoke and dust,
the Sedum Fabaria, bearing its blossoms in
rose-colored heads, the old-fashioned House-
leek, the Wallflower—the yellow and blood-
colored make a pretty contrast—the Cowslip,
Sweet Alyssum, and the Alyssum Compac-
tum, Golddust, beautiful yellow, the Au-
bretia, blue rosy lilac and deep purple, are
all specially suitable for rockwork. All the
Candytufts, crimson, scarlet, and orange,
are suitable, besides Hepaticas, and the dear
old-fashioned trailing Periwinkle, blue and
white, Creeping Jenny, etc. Nor should the
London Pride be forgotten; its feathery
plume of blossom will thrive everywhere,
and is always pretty to see.
Always be careful in watering rockeries to
do so gently ; otherwise, the soil gets washed
off the upper stones.
Another form of garden ornament which

39

Use of
the wire
arch

may beautify an ugly little spot is the trunk
of an old tree, sunk in the ground, and filled
in with soil. A few hardy geraniums planted
in this look very effective, while Sweet Peas,
Convolvulus, and Nasturtiums will climb
and creep over it grandly.

Another pretty feature may be introduced
into the most limited space, and that is a
wire arch. In using galvanized wire it is
better to give it a coating of paint, for it is
injurious for the young shoots of creepers
to come in contact with the galvanized wire
unless painted.

It is wonderful how really beautiful these
arches may be made, by sowing a mere hand-
ful of seeds of some hardy creeper on each
side of it. On the principle of having two
strings to one’s bow, it is always better to
put in at the least two different creepers, on
each side of the arch, so that if one fails to
grow satisfactorily, the other may be liter-
ally “‘ on the spot ’’ to hide the deficiencies.

The common Hop takes very kindly to
wire; so do the Canary creeper, Nasturtium,
Convolvulus, and some of the hardier Cle-
matis. The Jackmani, with its graceful foli-

40

age and rich purple blossoms, makes a very Privacy
lovely drapery for arch or arbor. Planted in the
at one end of an arch, with a Madame Ber- garden
ard rose planted at the other, the Jackmani
is very effective.

If the arch is to be an evergreen one, noth-
ing is really prettier or more likely to prove
a success in the long run than Ivy or Euony-
mus.

Next to securing a good display of flowers
comes the wish to secure as much privacy
in our gardens as possible. To enjoy the
feeling that we cannot be overlooked each
time we step out into our little pleasure
ground is a great desideratum.

As a rule the judicious use of wire netting
covered with hardy creepers will achieve this.

Here, again, if an evergreen screen is de-
sired, nothing beats ivy. It will grow in
any soil and adapt itself equally well to a
damp or dry situation. The best adapted
for screen purposes is the Irish Ivy. It is
a self-climber and requires very little atten-
tion.

The Giant Ivy is also good.

The propagation of common Ivy is a sim-

Al

Ivy

ple process, and for those wishing to practise
it we give a few plain directions elsewhere.
But if the screen to be covered is a fairly
large one, the most satisfactory way, cer-
tainly the quickest, of starting it, is to buy
a stout young plant and set it in the ground
at the foot of the screen.

Provided the weather be fairly favorable,
any time in the early spring will do for plant-
ing ivy. It pays well for manure, and if
watered plentifully in dry weather will make
prodigious growth.

In trimming ivy, April is the best time;
cut the straggling shoots off close to the
main stem, where it is attached to the wall,
orscreen. For the making of merely sum-
mer screens the same creepers that we ad-
vised for arches are suitable. Sweet Peas,
if the situation be sunny, may be reckoned
on for producing a lovely effect; the Com-
mon Clematis—‘‘ Old Man’s Beard ’’—also
answers splendidly. You may purchase
strong plants of this at any nursery for 25
cents a piece, but if you have a country
friend who will send you some good rooted
plants from a hedge, so much the better.

42

The Canary creeper makes an excellent Creepers
screen plant. Though it does prefer the for screen
sun, it will also thrive in the shade. April
is a good time for sowing the seed. Any
ordinary soil will suit it, and you may always
depend upon it for being a very rapid grower.
In good soil it will sometimes reach a height
of fifteen feet. In its earliest stages of
growth it requires a little care in the way of
tying and training the young shoots. If
these are neglected, their very luxuriance
will stifle their development, for they will
run into tangled masses, with the result that
you will see bunches of foliage in some
places and a length of bare stems in others.

If you have to suit a north aspect, sow
the Tropoelum Speciosum, the fire-colored
variety of the Canariensis—this does ad-
mirably if given plenty of water.

The Convolvulus Major is also good asa
screen plant, and often grows ten or twelve
feet high.

Our concluding suggestion for a good
screen creeper for a town garden will sound,
no doubt, very homely; namely, the common
Scarlet Runner bean. And yet there is

43

Small cost nothing, perhaps, which is grown so exten-

of seeds

sively, because so successfully.

And no wonder!

For not only does its fresh green foliage,
its brilliant blossoms, and its peculiarly effec-
tive habit of growth make the Scarlet Run-
ner most ornamental, but it can also be made
very useful.

Give the Scarlet Runner only a little good
soil and a position where it can enjoy a little
sunshine during some part of the day, and
it will yield a plentiful supply of beans as
well as blossoms in the most unfavorable
surroundings.

NOTE.—The seeds of all the creepers we
have mentioned in this chapter are very
cheap. Most of them can be bought for
five cents a packet, and a packet is an ample
allowance for one season’s sowing.

44

CHAPTER VI
ROSES, CREEPERS, ETC.

No one would consider even a ‘‘ toy-gar- What sort
den’’ worthy of its name if it did not hold to select
at least some roses.

Roses, of one kind or another, if rightly
selected, will lend themselves to most situ-
ations and treatment. The great point is
to know what sort to select, especially for
a town garden and a beginner’s cultivation.

For though there are many beautiful vari-
eties that will do well in or near a town,
there are also many that will zot.

Here are the names of some that are
known to thrive in town gardens. They
are all hybrid perpetuals, which do well
planted in the open ground, and need no
protection in the winter. They also possess
the great advantage of blooming freely from
June to November:

45

When and
how to
plant

Jules Margotin, a bright cherry red; Marie
Baumann, a light crimson; Prince Camille
de Rohan, a deep crimson; Magna Charta,
a bright pink; Madame Lang, pure white;
Marquis de Castellani, an exquisite rose,
pure pink, very large; Mdlle. Vercier, a car-
mine; General Jacqueminot, a rich crimson,
of fine shape and exquisite fragrance; Mad-
ame Plantier, a pure white; Augustine Gui-
noisseau, a unique shade of flesh white;
John Hopper, a bright rose with carmine
centre.

Any of these may be had for about fifteen
cents apiece as dwarf standards, which we
should advise for growing in a little garden.

Standards and half standards are more
expensive.

Roses should be put in the ground from
October to March, the earlier in the autumn
the better.

Dig the ground to the depth of eighteen
inches, and fork in manure with the same
precautions as already advised with respect
to bulbs.

Moss Roses generally do well in town gar-
dens. Three lovely varieties are Blanche

46

Moreau, a pure white; Marie de Blois, bright Climbing
rose; and Luxembourg, a dark crimson. roses
They flower during May, June, and July,
and are very fragrant. They like close prun-
ing and are the better for plenty of manure.
They cost about 15 cents each.

For climbing roses to cover walls, the vari-
ous Tea Roses are undoubtedly the best.
They require no protection during the win-
ter, and are really the true perpetuals
amongst roses.

Here are some of those we recommend
for a town or suburban garden:

Gloire de Dijon, too well known to need
description; Madame Berard, clear pink;
Belle Lyonnaise, lemon; Cheshunt, cherry,
carmine, a grand autumn climber.

To cover an east porch or wall, Madame
Berard is excellent. The Gloire de Dijon
does well on a north wall.

Amongst other climbing roses, not Tea
Roses, we should recommend Lord Pen-
zance’s Briar, perfectly hardy, with very
fragrant foliage and brilliant fruit, which
makes it very lovely in autumn; it does well
ona N.E. wall.

47

Pruning

For a S.E. wall, nothing could be better
than the Crimson Rambler, the Amadis, a
deep purple crimson; or the Ayrshire Rose,
either white or pink.

Cheshunt answers well on the east wall,
whilst for a west wall, Noisette Roses,
either pale pink or deep crimson, are good.

February and March are good months for
pruning roses; the weaker shoots should be
cut back rather closely, and the stronger
ones left longer.

In very dry weather roses should be wa-
tered.

As regards other creepers, very much can
be done in the way of beautifying the walls
of a town house or garden by sowing a few
suitable seeds. A mere handful of the Cana-
riensis seed sown yearly at the foot of a
wall, some tall growing Nasturtiums as well,
will do admirably together, and make a most
pleasing effect. |

Virginian Creeper will grow where every-
thing else fails. No amount of impurity in
the atmosphere seems to hurt it or affect the
permanence or abundance of its growth. It
does well on the same wall as a Clematis, or

48

climbing rose, but care must be taken that Varieties
it is not allowed to smother either. suitable
Besides the Virginian Creeper, the Am- for walls
pelopsis Hedera and most ivies may be fear-
lessly planted against a north wall, and being
self-clinging climbers, are to be specially
recommended. Pyrocanthus and Coton-
easter Microphylla are also suitable for a
north wall, both being evergreen and bear-
ing red berries in winter. They should be
put in in February.
For a N.W. wall, Ampelopsis Veitchi and
Reegner’s Ivy are good.
Clematis, Jackmani, and C. Montana do
well on a south wall; whilst fora S.E. wall
Jasmine Nudiflorum is a most charming
climber for winter, as it flowers freely, and
is a very rapid grower.
For a shady aspect, the Crataegus Lae-
landi, bearing red berries in winter, is very
effective.
For a whitewashed wall, either variegated
ivy or the Escallonia Macrantha, with its
pink wax blossoms and glossy foliage, are
excellent.
The American Allspice, with its fragrant

: 49

Training, deep maroon flowers, will sometimes do well
tying, and on a north wall.

thinning
climbers

For porches, nothing equals the graceful
drapery and rich coloring of the Clematis
Jackmani. A passion-flower—the P. Caeru-
lea—will sometimes do on a south wall or
porch, but it needs a warm atmosphere.

The Common Honeysuckle, flowering from
spring to autumn, and the sweet White Jes-
samine are too well known to need descrip-
tion. (One drawback to the former is its
fatal liability to green-fly. In Germany it
is called the ‘‘ green-fly’s sanctuary.’’) Both
these, as well as ‘‘ Old Man’s Beard,’’ do
well in an exposed position.

The shoots of Clematis and other climbers
need much attention in June, in the way of
thinning and tying,so as to prevent them from
growing in tangles. June is also the right
time for nailing Clematis and Honeysuckle.

Again in September they should be care-
fully trained.

One last bit of advice. If you are plant-
ing climbers in a shady position, choose only
those which are good for foliage, and leave
the flowering ones alone.

50

CHAPTER VII
HEDGES, PATHS, GRASSPLOTS

ALTHOUGH a very few remarks on each of Garden
these subjects will suffice for our present boundaries
purpose, yet we feel that our volume on
miniature gardening would be incomplete
without some allusion to them.

To begin with hedges.

Every garden must be bounded either by
wall or fencing of some kind, either of which
can be improved, sometimes even super-
seded, by a good evergreen hedge.

In small town gardens, nothing answers
so well as Evergreen Privet. It is very
hardy, will lend itself to any soil or situa-
tion, and is a very rapid grower. Moreover
—and this is a great point where space is
limited—its growth can be easily restrained
by clipping. The young plants of Ever-

51

Evergreen green Privet can be put in the ground at any

hedge

time between September and April. Plant
them about a foot away from the wall or
railing, and leave six inches between each.

Don’t prune them for the first year, and
don’t over-manure them. If, in your zeal
to hasten their growth, you neglect the lat-
ter caution, your young plants will sicken
and die. The best time for clipping Privet,
after the first year’s growth, is April and
May.

Young plants of Evergreen Privet cost
about 50 cents a dozen.

If you want to secure a high evergreen
hedge in the shortest possible time, plant
Thuia Lobbi.

Not only is its foliage extremely pleasing,
being a rich green in summer and showing
beautiful bronze tints in autumn and winter,
but it is a very rapid grower, and will stand
any amount of pruning to suit the size of
either a broad or narrow border.

Get some good young plants, about three
feet high, and after preparing your ground
with a little manure, put them in eighteen
inches apart. They frequently make a

52

growth of three feet in one year, and their Paths
increase in denseness is equally satisfactory.
February and March are good months for
planting Thuia Lobbi.

Plants of about three feet high cost about
¢1.00 the dozen.

The Euonymus Jap. forms a capital hedge
near the railings of a town garden, but it is
a very slow grower, though most satisfac-
tory when grown.

Whilst we are on the subject of shrubs,
Persian Lilac, the Ribes, the White and
Yellow Broom, the Weigelias, and the hardy
Ghent Azaleas are all suitable flowering
shrubs for little gardens in or near towns.
They are very ornamental, are easy of cul-
ture, and not costly to buy in the first in-
stance. Good-sized plants of each may be
had for about 25 cents apiece.

We now come to paths.

When a gravel walk is once made, it is
easily kept in order. But to keep it in order
is very necessary.

No matter if the path be on such a small
scale that it only shows like a tiny thread,
yet the single gravel walk in a miniature

53

Eradica-
tion of
weeds

garden is a very important feature. If it is
ill-kept, sloppy, or weedy, it is enough to
spoil the effect of your garden.

The old axiom that the first trouble is al-

_ ways the least, applies to the treatment of

weeds on gravel. Pull up every weed you
see.

Never leave a weed long enough to flower
in your pathway. If you do, seed is formed
as a natural consequence, and in the place
of the one weed of to-day, you will shortly
have a whole colony.

Many gardeners confidently recommend
the use of patent weed killers, to be easily
obtained at any druggist’s.

But in the hands of the amateur they may
do more harm than good, if they are not
very carefully applied; if, for instance, they
are suffered to come in contact with flower
borders or turf, destruction to either is cer-
tain. To the owner, therefore, of a minia-
ture garden we should recommend the sys-
tematic and merciless eradication of every
weed.

Sprinkling salt on paths answers well some-
times as a weed killer; but if your path is

54

liable to be damp or sticky, avoid salt—it Mending
will make it ten times worse. An applica- and keep-
tion of salt is really advisable only where the ing in good
paths are very dry, and, even then, it should condition
only be used in quite dry weather, for ap-
plied in rainy seasons, salt acts like manure
upon weeds.
There is a troublesome little moss, which
is often apt to invade paths and disfigure
them. To get rid of this it is a good plan,
during the severe frost, to scrud the path
violently with a hard broom.
If you want to mend a gravel path be
careful to choose wet weather, and, after
adding a little fresh gravel to the worn place,
beat it firmly down with the back of your
spade, and roll it well.
To avoid those puddles which are caused
by the settling of rain water, be sure that
your path slopes upwards on each side
towards the centre.
For a back yard or garden, where appear-
ance may be sacrificed to comfort, there is
nothing like a good cinder path for ensuring
a dry and pleasant walk.
_ These are made easily enough, at very

ap)

Preparing little cost. They are composed of Macadam

the lawn

and ashes, with a coating of hot tar. Once
made, they will last for years, will always re-
main dry, and never be weedy. In severe
frost the surface should be looked to, and if
cracks are found in it, a fresh application of
tar, with a little sand or grit, should be
made.

Grassplots.—Some owners of even quite
small gardens prefer the enjoyment of turf
to flowers, and are content to turn all the
tiny space at their command into what we
should call, perhaps, a grassplot, rather than
by the ambitious word “‘ lawn.”’

Here are a few hints which may prove
useful to this class of ‘‘ lovers of the turf.”’

If you wish to make your grassplot in
the cheapest and easiest way, sow grass
seeds. March is the best time for this
operation.

Before sowing your seeds, however, dig
over the ground deeply, breaking the soil
thoroughly, and getting your surface per-
fectly smooth and even. The soil ought
not to be too rich, as a rapid growth is not
wanted in the grasses of a lawn; but the

56

surface should be as much alike in quality How to
as possible. Choose a dry day for sowing sow the
your seed, and, above all, a calm one. seed
Otherwise the seeds, being very light, are

liable to be blown far afield. The seeds

should be raked in, and then lightly rolled.

After sowing them, the next point is to
protect your seeds from sparrows and other
feathered marauders. This is best done by
tying threads across the freshly sown ground,
with scraps of paper or rag attached to serve
as scarecrows.

As soon as the first blades appear, roll
constantly to keep down the worm casts.
When the grass is rather older, frequent
sweeping with a hard birch broom is also
good for the same object.

Whenever you detect a bare place, gently
loosen the soil with a rake and put in fresh
seed.

For a miniature lawn you would probably
require at the most one quart of seed, which
is usually sold for 25 cents a quart.

A sprinkling of soot, or sand and cinders,
in the spring, is good for checking worms
and destroying weeds.

57

Cutting

All turf-forming grasses are improved,
both in vigor of root-growth and in fineness
of texture, by frequent mowings. It is im-
possible to say just how often the grass
should be mown, as that depends upon the
rate at which it grows. Too close cutting
should be guarded against, however, espe-
cially during the hot summer months, when
the roots require some top-growth to pro-
tect them from the burning sun. A good
top-growth is also necessary to protect the
roots from severe winter frosts. Mowing
should therefore be discontinued in time to
let the grass grow pretty long before winter
sets in.

53

CHAPTER VIII
WINDOW GARDENING

IT has been said that every one who can call Of remote
a window-sill his own may bea gardener. antiquity
And that people have found this to be the
case in various times and places, one cannot
deny, for there is ample proof that the taste
for window gardening is both universal and
of very remote antiquity.
In his **‘ Gleanings from Old Gardens,’’
Mr. Hazlett reminds us of a story in “‘ Pas-
quile’s Jests’’ (1604), where a landlady of
a country inn tells her customers of a new
art that a stranger in London had taught to
the citizens “‘ of taking in their gardens every
night at their windows, and letting them out
again in the morning.’’
These rustics agreed to go up to town
to judge for themselves of the truth of this

59

Extensive marvellous tale, and after traversing divers
choice of parts of the city, the story goes on to tell

window
plants

how at last in a little lane they did see a
widow putting out of a garret' casement a
box, in which she arranged pots of Gilly-
flowers, Carnations, and herbs.

Now that our choice of window plants is
so far more extensive than was that worthy
widow’s of nearly three centuries ago, it is
marvellous what can be done by flower lovers
in the way of window gardening to brighten
their homes, both inside and out.

For window gardening means literally the
growing of plants in rooms, on window-sills,
in window boxes, and plant cases, either
inside or outside.

To be successful in this line must involvea
certain amount of constant care and trouble,
but it need not necessarily involve much
expense.

To ensure the welfare of pot plants, we
must be careful to select those that are
specially suitable to that form of cultivation,
and we must also learn what is specially
beneficial to them, and what the reverse.

One great essential to their success is to

60

avoid using over large pots. Plants never
flower so freely as when their roots are some-
what cramped.

Another is to be careful to have the
soil well pressed down round the roots of
the plants; a third is to give them regular
and systematic treatment. By this we mean
avoid violent changes from heat to cold,
from light to darkness, water them regu-
larly, not by fits and starts, and don’t starve
them of air. Plants kept without air grow
tall and weakly. The majority of indoor
plants are the better for being in a room
where the window is kept open about an
inch from the top.

An easy and very effectual way of pro-
tecting window plants from frost is to put a
sheet of brown paper between the pots and
the glass.

Another great point is to keep the leaves
clean with soap and water. Sunlight soap
answers well, being a good insecticide.

The pots should each one be turned a little
every day, so as to allow every part of the
plant an equal share of light and sun.

The culture of bulbs in pots and glasses

61

Great
essentials
to success

Bulbs
grown in

fibre

is so simple that many directions on this
subject will be needless.

Perhaps some of our readers may not
know how excellently well bulbs answer
when grown in cocoa-nut fibre refuse.

Cocoa-nut fibre can be obtained from any
seedsman for about 30 cents a bushel.

Any ordinary jardiniére or bowl filled with
the fibre will answer the purpose. Indeed,
bulbs grown in this way require no drainage,
and as the cocoa-nut fibre makes no stain,
a china bowl may be used fearlessly.

Ordinary flowering bulbs, notably Hya-
cinths, Narcissi, and Tulips, do remarkably
well under this treatment.

Put the bulbs into the fibre in the autumn
and keep them in the dark, being careful to
push the bulbs down firmly as soon as the
roots show signs of growth. When they
have grown about an inch, they may be ex-
posed to the light, but very little water should
be given until the flower stems appear.
Then give as much as the fibre will absorb.

Very pretty effects may be obtained by
planting Crocuses in shallow saucers filled
with cocoa-nut fibre.

62

To secure a display of Roman Hyacinths Varieties
for Christmas, put the bulbs, in September, specially
in six-inch pots—not more than six bulbs in recom-
each—and cover them over either with fibre mended
or ashes. Keep them in the dark for a
month.

After that, they can be brought into the
room, but it is well to shade them for a few
days at first, by keeping a reversed pot over
them till they have become accustomed to
the light.

Besides the ordinary bulbs, such as Crocus,
Snowdrop, etc., those we should specially
recommend to our readers are the following:

Early double white Tulip, and scarlet
ditto; these are very hardy and most orna-
mental.

Scilla Sibirica; beautiful blue flower.

Glory of the Snow; also blue and white.

Winter Aconite; bright golden.

When the bulbs have done flowering, if
there is no spare space in your gardens
where they can be temporarily placed, keep
them in a box filled with mould till their
growth is quite finished. Water them as
long as their leaves last, but as soon as these

63

Window
plants.
Cactus

die down, take the bulbs up, dry them, and
stow them away in some cool dry place till
the autumn.

Amongst the flowering window plants,
those that last the longest and require the
least attention, are Geraniums, Fuchsias,
Balsams, Begonias, Primulas, Myrtles, Cac-
tus, and Musk.

All of these, with rare exceptions, will do
well if the commonest care is bestowed upon
them.

The increasing of Geraniums and Fuchsias
by cuttings is a very interesting branch of
window gardening.

We refer our readers on this subject to
Chapter X.

As regards the cultivation of the Cactus,
few indoor plants are so ornamental or so
easily grown. Being dormant during the
winter, all that they need is protection dur-
ing the frost. From November to March
they should be kept very dry. From that
time onwards, however, they require just
the reverse treatment. Water them plenti-
fully with tepid water, and place them as
near the glass as possible, so that they may

64

have abundance of light. They will then The
develop buds quickly and will soon show a hanging
magnificent display of their lovely scarlet or basket
creamy tassel-like blooms.

The surface of the soil in the pots should
be stirred occasionally with a stick, and a
little fresh soil added. A periodical water-
ing with thin soot water is also good.

Of the simplest possible culture also is the
dear old-fashioned Musk.

All it needs is ordinary soil and abundance
of light and water.

Cuttings are easily rooted in spring, and
will do splendidly if planted in the bowls of
cocoa-nut fibre, when the winter bulbs are
taken out of it.

The Scarlet Musk and tall Orange ditto
are very handsome varieties, and do well in
pots, but they have no fragrance.

Walnuts may be easily grown in pots
placed in a sunny window, and their rich
colored foliage make them very handsome
ornamental table plants.

A hanging basket makes a very pretty
ornament suspended in a window.

It may be filled with bulbs for the winter,

5 65

The
India-
rubber
plant

and afterwards planted with ivy-leaved Pelar-
goniums, Creeping Jenny, and Lobelias.
The Fuchsia Procumbens, bearing large ma-
genta crimson derrzes through the winter, is
good for baskets, if the room be kept fairly
warm.

Also the Alba Campanula, pure white,
trailing, is good.

Do not attempt ferns; they rarely answer
in a basket.

In order to keep the soil moist, dip the
basket bodily into tepid water about every
third day.

Of course, under the head of window
plants, we should mention the well-known
Indiarubber plant, the Aspidistra—the par-
lor palm—a grand foliage plant for rooms,
as it needs very little attention, and is in-
jured, apparently, neither by gas nor drafts.

They may be had for about 25 cents each.

The New Zealand Aloe, with its zebra-
striped sword-shaped leaves, the Dracenias,
all ornamental foliage plants, are excellent
for rooms.

The Indiarubber plant is more often
wrecked by carelessness in watering than

66

from any other cause. In winter, it should Palms
be kept fairly dry, and never at any time
allowed to stand in water.

The Aralia Sieboldi Var—called some-
times, but wrongly, the Castor Oil plant—
is well suited for indoors’ culture.

The foliage of the true Castor Oil plant is
far more handsome than the Aralia, and is
sometimes grown indoors with success; but
it should never be exposed to gas, or it will
languish at once.

For those who may wish to aspire to
palms, the Kentia Belmoreana, Kentia Fos-
teriana, and Latania Borbonica we would
recommend as being most useful half-hardy
palms, and all very effective ones.

In conclusion, we repeat our advice to
keep indoor plants scrupulously clean. Be-
sides keeping the foliage well washed with
warm—not hot—soap and water, pick off
every dead leaf, and suffer not an insect to
live!

“Don’t be persuaded,’ says a writer in
the Amateur Gardening, ‘“‘to water your
plants wlth cold tea, coffee, beer-dregs, or
any other nastiness. Byso doing you make

67

Care of
the foliage

your soil sour, and as a natural consequence
your plants become unhealthy.”’

To make the foliage look glossy, it is
sometimes good to sponge the leaves over
with milk and water; but we do not person-
ally commend the use of lamp rags—impreg-
nated with paraffine—for the same purpose.
No doubt it may make the foliage glossy,
but we leave it to our readers to decide as
to the fragrance which must result from this
proceeding!

When pot plants look pale and sickly, a
rusty nail put in the water of the saucer is
good.

68

CHAPTER Ix
WINDOW BOXES

WE come now to outside window-sill gar- The fur-
dening. nishing
The furnishing and subsequent maintain- and main-
ing of window boxes requires care and con- taining of
sideration, but will repay all trouble amply.
Here again the choice of suitable plants
for different aspects is of the first impor-
tance.
In a window facing either due south or
south-westerly, the heat in summer—owing
to the masonry surrounding the window—is
often so great as to prove fatal to some
plants, whilst for the sill of a window facing
north, sunshine is so scarce all the year
round, that flowers are far better left alone,
and only foliage plants cultivated.
But first, as regards the actual boxes.

69

Simplier
ones pre-
ferred

Of these there are a great variety, some
being very decorative.

For our own taste, we prefer the simpler
ones. Those faced with virgin cork are
nice, or painted with some sober color, which
will preserve it against weather, and will not
offend the eye.

We once remember seeing the houses of
a tiny Dutch village decorated with window
boxes of a flaming red color, and a more
hideous effect it would have been hard to
produce.

The least ambitious form of window box
we have ever seen, and which, we are bound
to say, answered its purpose perfectly, was
constructed out of an old wooden box ob-
tained from the grocer’s, and faced with
pieces of rough bark. These—"‘ tell it not
in Gath ’’—the owner had annexed to him-
self, to use no stronger term, during certain
predatory excursions amongst the trees of
a neighboring wood.

The whole cost of this box was under 10
cents.

But this was altogether an unorthodox
way of proceeding. Indeed, we only men-

70

tion it for the encouragement of those of Drainage
our readers who may not, perhaps, be in the

way of getting anything better in the shape

of a sill garden.

A good plan for securing drainage for the
plants, and, at the same time, securing a
due amount of moisture, is to line the
wooden box with zinc, and then to have an
inner zinc tray, perforated, to fit in at the
top. This allows the water to filter through,
but keeps a damp subsoil for the plant.

Window boxes should always be movable.

Another plan, recommended in Amateur
Gardening, is to fix rough cork on to the
boxes—this keeps the roots cool—and to
cover the surface soil with moss. This should
be kept continually damp by watering with
a rosed watering-pot.

For winter, that being the time when, of
all others, we appreciate greenery, window
boxes are specially valuable.

Even in smoky towns, hardy wallflowers
will make a brave show along with various
Conifers, Euonymus, and Variegated Ivies.
Beside these, such shrubs as the Aucuba
Japonica, with its large carmine fruit, and

71

Good soil. broad, handsome foliage; the Japanese
Necessary Cypress, and the Skimmias and Pernettyas,

watering

both bearing bright berries, and costing each
about 25 cents, are all suitable for winter
window boxes.

But these shrubs should not be turned
out of their pots for the winter. It is bet-
ter, in putting them into the box, to sink
them either in sand or soil up to the rim,
and cover over the surface with moss.

A very pretty effect may be produced by
putting in small, hardy bulbs, such as Snow-
drops, Crocus, etc., in the intervals between
the pots, which often come into flower about
Christmastime. Roots of primroses, planted
between the pots to flower in early spring,
also look charming, their pale, silky petals
showing well against their mossy setting.

Good soil is necessary, but judgment must
be used as to the amount of watering neces-
sary. If window boxes are kept too moist,
they are sure to suffer from the frost, so
that, on the whole, it is safer to keep them
too dry in winter than the reverse.

In very severe weather it is well to lift the
boxes indoors for the night, or, at any rate,

qe

to give them protection by covering them Winter

with brown paper or matting of some sort.

shrubs in

Do not neglect your winter shrubs in the the sum-
summer. Put them out of doors in a fairly mer

sunny position, so that they may harden
their wood, and whilst the buds are forming
give them plenty of manure.

For spring planting, nothing is more effec-
tive than bulbs.

They should be planted very thickly in
October and November; and here the arrange-

ment affords grand scope for the display of |

taste. Exquisite effects can be produced
by the mingling of Snowdrops and scarlet
Tulips, and golden-flowered Daffodils, toned
down into a harmony of color by the intro-
duction of the different shades of Hyacinth,
which contribute nearly every imaginable hue.

When the glory of the bulbs decline—you
will remember the directions already given
for treatment of bulbs after flowering—it is
time to think of summer flowers.

Here there is such a wide field for choice
that we shall mention but a few of the very
many plants that our readers might safely
cultivate.

73

Suitable
for sum-
mer boxes

For town windows in the summer, noth-
ing, perhaps, answers better than the ivy-
leafed Pelargonium. Not only do their suc-
culent leaves defy heat, but the habit of
their foliage being to hang well over the
box, they keep the latter cool, and thus
serve as a protection to the roots. The
semi-double blossom is the most effective
of the many varieties.

For a house with gray walls, Madame
Thibaut’s clear rose blooms very well; the
white variety of Joan D’Arc suits red bricks;
whilst Gordon’s Glory, a deep red, looks
magnificent against stone walls.

The middle of May is a good time for
putting them into the boxes. It is well to
syringe them frequently before they actually
come into flower. |

Lobelias, blue and white; Musk, Mignon-
ette, Calceolaria, ten-week Stocks, Petunias,
dwarf Asters, and Mimulus Tigrioides—
monkey flower—are all most suitable for
summer boxes. So also are the very bril-
liant blossoms of the crimson Jacobaea, the
American groundsel.

The French Marguerite—the pure white

74

and the rich yellow—are most effective, Shady
especially when mixed with the Henry Ja- windows

coby, which latter is the only zonal Pelar-
gonium which we would advise beginners to
grow. (Geraniums love the sun, remember,
so that a window which only gets the morn-
ing sun is not suitable for Geraniums.)

The Salvia Patens, with its exquisite blue
blossoms, and the Salvia Coconiea, with its
brilliant scarlet bloom, are both good for
boxes. The latter is a half-hardy annual,
the former a half-hardy perennial.

For a window where there is not much
sun we recommend Fuchsias.

Like Musk, Fuchsias always last longest
in bloom in the shade.

Fuchsias have been rightly called “‘ every-
body’s flower,’’ for they are so easily raised,
either by cuttings or by seed. Zonal Pelar-
goniums may also be raised by seed.

To raise Fuchsias by seed, fill a shallow
box or well-drained pot of good, light mould,
moisten well with tepid water; the temper-
ature of an ordinary living room will do, say
from 55 to 65 degrees.

March is a good time for putting in the

15

aE Up
Rit. 73
Danese” SC

Fuchsias
and
Begonias

seed, so that by the summer the plants may
flower freely. A good plan for producing
those long, trailing sprays of Fuchsia which
produce such a pretty effect, drooping down
from boxes, is to procure an old plant and
cut it down almost to the soil in February,
and then, directly the first new shoots show,
re-pot it in good soil.

The best kinds for window boxes are, we
have’. found, ‘‘ Aurora’ Superbay77 ee
City,’ “‘ Charming,’’ ‘‘ Avalanche,’’ ‘‘ Abun-
dance,’’ ‘" Frau Emma Topfey,’) and?) Er
nest Renan.’’

Any soil is good for Fuchsias, but they
should be taken indoors and stored before
the frost comes on.

Fibrous-rooted Begonias, Nasturtiums,
Convolvuluses, and Canariensis do all well
in boxes.

The Begonia, however, with its pink blos-
soms and very handsome foliage, requires
shading in great heat, otherwise its flower
becomes quite pale. Nasturtiums answer
well, if a few seeds are put in at the end of
each box, to climb up the sides of a window
and form a miniature archway.

76

Flere are some simple directions for pro- Window
ducing a very effective window drapery: drapery.
Sow the seeds at either end of the box, Chrysan-
then train the creeper up a stout string, themums
which should be fastened to the wall with
rather long nails, so as to keep it a fair dis-
tance off the wall. A nail should also be
put into the centre of the stonework over the
window, two nails on either side, about a
foot from the top of the window, and two
more nails on either side of the stonework,
just above the box.
When the summer flowers are going over,
Asters, Chrysanthemums, and the Helich-
rysums—everlasting flowers, golden, white,
and crimson—come in very well.
The double white and double yellow Chry-
santhemums are both hardy annuals, and,
with Asters—these require treatment as half-
hardy annuals—do excellently for autumn
boxes. The Chrysanthemum Burridgi is
very beautiful, having white petals with
bright crimson ring. Itis quite hardy. The
Chry. Carinatum is also a capital dwarf an-
nual for box culture.
For quite late autumn boxes, when we

7

Fertilizers. are on the threshold of winter, nothing is

Insect
extermi-
nators

prettier for town windows than the Laures-
tinus, with its pretty bunches of pink and
white blossoms, or the Barbaris Darwini,
with its scarlet berries. We add a few gen-
eral remarks in conclusion.

Remember that however much rain may
fall, very little usually reaches the window
boxes; consequently, they must be always
well watered.

Good soil is also necessary for the main-
tenance of so many plants in such a limited
space. The plants last longer in flower if
some stimulant, such as soot water, is ap-
plied to their roots about twice a week. We
give directions for this most valuable and
easiest home-made fertilizer elsewhere.
Ready prepared fertilizer can be obtained,
however, at little cost, of any seedsman.

Beware of allowing any insect pests to
establish themselves in your boxes. In spite
of all the many and much-vaunted insecti-
cides, we have found that pure water is as
effectual an insect exterminator, when prop-
erly applied, z.e., with a syringe, as any-
thing else.

78

Where this fails, however, soft soap, dis- Jadoo
solved in water—about two ounces to half-
a-gallon of tepid water—and applied with a
syringe for several days in succession, will
answer well. |

Smoking over plants will destroy the
green-fly, and the old-fashioned dusting with
snuff is also a good remedy.

Where rich soil is not easy to obtain,
jadoo, tightly stuffed into window boxes, is
an admirable substitute.

It can be purchased at any seedsman’s at
the rate of about 25 cents per box.

79

Usual
method

CHAPTER X
ON CUTTINGS, ETC.

GERANIUMS, Fuchsias, Carnations, Pansies,
and many other plants are usually propa-
gated by cuttings.

As the name implies, a cutting is a shoot
or twig cut off from the parent plant to be
grown as a separate individual.

Though taking cuttings is reckoned by
gardeners a comparatively easy operation,
yet to do so successfully demands a certain
amount of skill and painstaking.

We will suppose that you are going to
take cuttings from an old plant of Geran-
ium, which after having bloomed freely has
become straggling and what gardeners call
leggy.

In this condition the plant will furnish a
number of shoots for cuttings. (The old

80

plant will be all the better for being closely Propagat-
pruned.) Withasharp knife sever the long- ing box
est shoots from the plant and then proceed

to divide each of them into cuttings of about

three to five inches in length. Be careful

to trim each one to a joint.

After making your cuttings you will do
well to let them rest for half a day before
putting them into soil, so as to allow them
to get rid of all superfluous moisture.

If the cuttings are made in, say, August,
you may fearlessly dibble them into some
sunny border, watering them well with a fine
rosed can. After they have rooted, take
them up and put them into pots before there
is any chance of frosts.

If, however, the cuttings should be made
at the close of the winter, you will be obliged
to have recourse to a propagating box.

As we take it for granted that our readers
have no greenhouse, and only a window at
their disposal, we are suggesting the sim- .
plest method of plant propagation to be
employed under such conditions.

Provide yourself with a common deal box,

not less than twelve inches deep and about
6 81

Manage-
ment of
the pots

eight or nine inches wide. Procure also
some pieces of glass to lay over the top.
You need not be particular about these fit-
ting very closely, as a small aperture at the
corners is very desirable, in order to allow
the steam to escape from the box.

Fill in the bottom of your box to the
depth of about three inches with a layer of
well-sifted coal ashes. These ashes must be
kept damp, so as to promote an artificially
moist atmosphere.

A little experience will soon teach you
how to maintain this by watering enough
and yet not too much. And remember to
use tepid water.

The next point is the management of the
pots.

Select pots about five inches in diameter,
and fill with sandy loam. These should
hold four or five cuttings. Insert them in
the soil with the help of a blunt-pointed
stick, and arrange round the edge of the
pot. For the first few days very little air
should be allowed to reach the cuttings, but
the glass covering them should be carefully
wiped every morning, otherwise the steam

82

formed during the night will run off and Light and
drop on the young plants, thereby produc- air
ing mildew.

Directly you observe that the cuttings are
beginning to grow, you may feel sure that
they are making roots, and you must then
give them a gradual increase of light and air.

If your window is very sunny you must
give them shading during the first few weeks.
A sheet of newspaper spread above the box
will be quite sufficient protection.

As your cuttings grow stronger the glass
may be dispensed with altogether. You
may begin to pot them singly about April.

As regards the culture of Geraniums for
pot plants, you must bear in mind that they
do better in comparatively small pots, and
do not require rich manure.

Fuchsia cuttings can be taken from the
parent plant when the young shoots are
about three or four inches long.

Put about nine such cuttings into a four-
inch pot and treat as advised for Geranium
cuttings. As soon as they have rooted, pot
them off into small pots, with good loam,
mixed with alittle leaf-mould and silver sand.

83

Cuttings
from
Pinks and
Pansies

During their growth keep them near
the glass, in order to make them what is
termed short-jointed, a desirable feature
in Fuchsias.

Keep the soil fairly moist, and recollect
that young Fuchsias require plenty of air
and light to promote their growth.

They are all the better for having their
main stem trained to a stake.

In taking cuttings from Pinks and Pansies
—July is a good month for this—be careful,
in the case of Pinks, to select the bottom
shoots from the old plants, cutting them at
the third or fourth joints.

For Pansy cuttings, take the young shoots
also that spring from the base of the old
plants.

Remove all their lowest leaves, choose a
shady spot in your garden, and prepare your
soil by sprinkling a thin layer of silver sand
on the surface.

Put the cuttings in, fairly closely together,
water freely, and cover with a hand-light.

They will need little more attention until
they are rooted, when they can be trans-
planted.

84

Pansies, raised from cuttings, make the Layering
best plants for pot culture.

Carnations can be raised by cuttings, and
also by the process known as layering.

Cuttings should be made early in July,
but as they require considerable attention
when rooting, we are inclined to recommend
our readers to try layering in preference.

This operation, which should be under-
taken during August, or thereabouts, is per-
formed as follows:

With a sharp knife remove the lowest
leaves, then cut the stem half through from
the lower joint, upwards for about an inch.
Then bend the stem downwards to the soil.

(Before beginning the layering, you must
sprinkle a little light soil round and under-
neath the plants, as this will promote the
quick rooting of the layers.)

After bending your stem down, insert the
kind of little tongue, which was formed by
your upward incision in the stem, into the
soil, and pin it down with a crooked peg.

(Pegs made from the common bracken are
excellent for this purpose.)

Care must be taken to avoid two dangers

85

Dangers

to avoid

which may beset the beginner in performing
this operation.

One is to cut the stem too deeply; the
second is to break the joints in bending them
downwards.

The layers should be watered through a
rosed can, so as to settle the soil around
them, and in dry weather you should water
them every evening until they have rooted.

If your layering is successful the shoots
should be sufficiently rooted at the end of
about five or six weeks to make it safe to
detach them from the parent plants. This
should be done close to the joint from which
the layering started.

Be careful to take them up with plenty of
soil hanging to their roots. If your border
is fairly sheltered you may transplant them
to some open border at once, giving them
protection during frosts in winter; but if
your climate is a cold one, you will, perhaps,
do better to keep them indoors till the spring.

Carnation cuttings should not be more
than two inches long, and should be dibbled
into the ground about two inches apart from
each other every way.

86

_They will require to be kept under hand- Division
lights, and need more care and attention in of roots
the matter of watering and shading from
light than we think that many of our readers
may be able to give, so we repeat our advice
as to the wisdom of selecting the layering as
the simplest process for beginners.

In the case of most perennials the easiest
and best method of propagation is by the
division of the roots.

Christmas Roses, Autumn Daisies, Peren-
nial Sunflowers, Doronicums, and Perennial
Phlox specially lend themselves to root
division.

It should be done as soon after they have
done flowering as the weather will permit.

A sharp knife is as good a tool as any for
the operation, but a new tool that we have
lately come across, known as the ‘‘ Cham-
pion Weed-killer,’’ is very handy for this
purpose.

Except for the sake of dividing their roots,
Christmas Roses should never be disturbed
when they have once been planted.

87

CHAPTER XI

A FEW GENERAL HINTS

Pot-bound IN putting in plants, be always careful to

plants

tread down the soil firmly round them.
When you are moving a plant from a pot to
a border, see if the plant has become pot-
bound. By this is meant the case of a plant
whose roots, owing to lack of room, have
been unable to spread themselves out, and
have therefore become curled and hopelessly
entangled.

When this is the case, proceed as follows:

Start with the main root. Uncurl and
straighten this out as much as possible,
grudging neither time nor patience in the
operation. Then the fibrous side roots
must be dealt with. Sometimes one’s own
fingers are the only effectual tools; but if
not a very desperate case, a blunt-pointed
stick will be of much service in disentangling

88

the network of fibres, and combing them out, Treatment
so to speak. for new

If you neglect these precautions and trans- plants
fer a pot-bound plant in that condition to
the soil, it will certainly never thrive.

On receiving plants by mail, or indeed any
that have been out of the ground for any
time, lay them in tepid water for an hour at
least, before attempting to plant them, for
vou must remember that they require to

-plenish their evaporated moisture.

Above all things, in the case of planting
iewly removed plants, avoid the fatal mis-
take of dosing them with fertilizers or ma-
nures of any sort. Being more or less in an
exhausted condition, and having no roothold
in the ground, they only require water, and
if given such rich food before they have re-
covered their powers of assimilation, will
probably die outright.

Asa cardinal rule, never give sickly plants
manure. It will ensure their destruction as
certainly as if you fed a much enfeebled in-
valid on alderman’s diet.

Never attempt to plant anything when
the soil is either very wet or frozen.

89

Frost

After a long frost, look well to your out-
door plants. You will probably find the soil
in such a loose condition that it will require
careful treading round the roots of your
plants. If you neglect to do this you runa |
good chance of losing them.

“For the frost,’’ says a quaint old gar-
dening chronicle of the last century, ‘‘ by
separating the particles of soil, doth open
doorways and passages for the entrance of
cold air to the tender roots.’’

If you happen to have a plant frozen in
a pot, beware of putting it near heat. Give
it a cool dark position, and sprinkle it with
hot water.

Wait till it is quite thawed before you
bring it into the warmth.

Keep weeds under at all costs.

Our old calendar of 1758 declares that
June is the best month for extirpating
weeds, for ‘‘ each weed that ripens then will
breed one thousand.”’

In small gardens we recommend weeding
by hand, or with a small weeding fork.

If you wish to save seeds from any of your
plants, say Wallflower, as soon as you see

gO

the pods are inclined to burst, cut them off Saving the
and lay them on a sheet of newspaper to seeds.
ripen on some sunny window-sill. Clipping
If you have no window available for this
purpose, put the pods into a bag, and hang
them up in some sunny place.
In planting Canary-Creepers, Petunias,
and Verbenas, be careful to peg them as
you plant them.
Otherwise, the wind will make havoc of
your young plants.
In staking and tying up the stem of plants,
remember to allow sufficient room for their
stem to swell, as they generally increase
rapidly.
To protect Snowdrops from being eaten
by slugs, dust the plants well with soot
before the flowers open.
You may clip Box, Yew, Privet, and Ivy
with hand-shears, but use a knife to trim
your Laurels.
Ivy, growing against walls, should be
clipped back quite close to the stems, dur-
ing April, to ensure a heavy foliage later.
In planting Ivy, dig a hole eighteen inches
deep and three feet wide for each plant;

gi

Home-
made
fertilizer.
Cinders

mix old mortar and well-decayed manure
freely with the soil.

In staking Sweet Peas, place your sticks
perpendicularly; don’t follow the usual plan
of slanting them inwards. The stakes placed
perpendicularly give the pea shoots a better
chance of developing, and also afford greater
scope for air and light to the plants.

The cheapest and most effectual home-
made fertilizer is soot water.

Put a quart of soot into a coarse canvas
bag, and steep it for three days in a pail of
water. Put a heavy stone into the bag to
Keep it at the bottom of ‘the pail: )Agiehe
end of three days, throw away the bag, and
use the soot water as you would ordinary
water.

Before applying it to your soil, however,
it is well to make sure that it is moderately
damp, by giving the soil a thorough soaking
with fresh water.

Make use of your cinders. lf properly sifted
they are most valuable even for a small gar-
den.

For protecting delicate roots during the
winter, dry, clean ashes are invaluable.

Q2

Moreover, there are very few soils that Flower
are not the better for having ashes dug into pots.
them. And even a tiny ash-pit in a small Over-
back garden is a veritable treasure for receiv- watering
ing the winter flowering plants during the
summer.

And here are a few hints about pots and
pot plants:

Always use small pots for small plants, for
if a plant cannot imbibe all the water poured
on it, the surrounding soil becomes stagnant
and sour, and the plant does not thrive
well.

Remember that all pots required for use
must be carefully washed and dried before
using.

New pots should be soaked some time be-
fore filling, otherwise they will absorb all
the moisture of the soil.

Overwatering plants in rooms is a com-
mon and very great mistake.

To ascertain whether a plant requires
water, tap the outside of the pot, and only
if it emits a clear, ringing sound, give water.

Do not water in dribbles; give enough to
soak through the pots.

93

Treat-
ment for
dropping
petals

Never leave water standing under pots in
saucers.

Rain water is, of course, the best for
plants, but where this cannot be had, water
that has been exposed for some time to the
air is the next best substitute.

In watering Cyclamen in pots, pour the
water at the sides of the pot, never over the
corm, and the water should never be left in
the saucer.

Single-flowered Geraniums have the great
drawback as a window plant of dropping
their petals so quickly.

To obviate this, it is a good plan to drop
a little liquid gum at the end of a pointed
stick in the centre of each single flower
directly it is opened.

We have found this plan answers admira-
bly, also, in the case of cut flowers. These
will last twice as long in water under this.
treatment.

94

CHAPTER XII

OF GARDENERS’ FRIENDS, FOES, ETC., AND
OF TOOLS

REMEMBER that large garden spiders, as Slugs and
well as a certain yellowish slug that always beetles
carries a small shell, are both to be reckoned
as the friends of gardeners, and to be re-
spected accordingly. They prey upon some
of the most destructive insect pests.

The spotted Lady-bird is also a valuable
ally, for she makes war upon the aphides or
sreen-fly, so hurtful to roses.

Again, there is a certain longish, very
sooty kind of black beetle, popularly known
as the ‘‘ devil’s coach-horse’’—the Ocypu
Olems—who renders good service by feeding
chiefly on earwigs.

These latter are very troublesome pests.
They can, however, be caught by trapping

95

The best

them in inverted pots filled with straw or

insecticide paper.

Wood lice may be caught by placing bits
of boiled potatoes about your flower borders.

The larve of the Crane-fly, commonly
known as Daddy-Long-Legs, are very trou-
blesome foes. Theyare about an inch-and-
a-half when fully grown, and wriggle rather
than crawl along the soil.

The best insecticide for these pestsislime. .

A mixture of strong ammonia, containing
not more than one tablespoonful to a quart
of water is a very good remedy for slugs on
flower borders. Not only does it prove fatal
to all slugs with which it comes in contact,
but it also serves as a manure.

Amateurs, however, had better begin with
avery weak solution, as we have found from
experience that ammonia as supplied by
the ordinary druggist varies very much in
strength.

Above all other foes make war on the wire-
worm. It is most mischievous to seedlings.
It is easy to recognize, being of a yellowish-
white color, and having three pairs of legs
near its head.

96

It should be trapped by scraps of carrot Other
or potato put on the end of a stick, which trouble-
should be inserted just under the soil where some pests
its presence is suspected.

Beware also of the red spider—that is, the
real red one.

This insect is exceedingly small, to the
naked eye only measuring one-sixtieth of
an inch.

They attack leaves of almost any plant.

Their presence may be suspected when the
foliage of a plant becomes pale and seared.
Asa rule they prefer the under-side of leaves,
and should be hunted for in that position.

Water, freely applied, will be very effec-
tual in putting them to flight, but where
Roses, Carnations, and other flowering plants
are attacked we have found great benefit by
dusting the under-side of the leaves with
flowers of sulphur.

To get rid of another troublesome pest,
which besets Fuchsias especially, namely,
thrips, we have found sponging the leaves
and stems with fir tree oil most successful.

It destroys all plant insects without injuring
the plant.

97

Getting
rid of
earth-
worms

In the case of pot plants the earthworm
is a terrible foe. Their casts on the surface
of the mould always betray their where-
abouts.

As soon as you detect them, you must
get rid of them, for they are most destruc-
tive.

Amateur Gardening gives the following
directions for achieving this:

*“ Make lime water by pouring four gal-
lons of water on two pounds of fresh lime,
then stir well, and let the liquid stand forty-
eight hours.

‘“When ready for use, stop up the hole
at the bottom of the pot with clay or putty,
and then soak the soil thoroughly with the
clear lime water only.

‘‘The worms will come to the surface,
and should all be removed. |

‘* After six or eight hours the putty may
be removed, but if the worms have been
working in the soil for any time the plant
should be turned out of the pot to allow the
drainage to be cleared and put right.”’

To come to foes on a larger scale than in-
sect pests, but often quite as much or more

98

destructive, namely, cats, it is said that Tools
orange peel thrown on the beds and borders

will effectually drive them away. Possibly,

but it is at best a very unsightly remedy,

and we have found from personal experience

that a sprinkling of chloride of lime answers
perfectly, and acts, moreover, as a scare to

rats and mice.

And now one last word about tools.

For window gardening, a trowel, a minia-
ture hoe, a small three-pronged fork, anda
pair of garden scissors are all the tools re-
quired.

A fine-rosed watering pot is, of course,
indispensable.

For outdoor work, besides the spade, rake
and hoe, and trowel, we recommend the
Dutch hoe as very useful for working within
borders and lightening soil, as well as the
** champion weed-killer’’ already mentioned.
Its divided points, with their sharply bev-
elled edges, are excellent for stirring the sur-
face soil in planted beds and borders as well
as, as its name denotes, for spudding up
weeds. An edging iron is also useful.

Besides watering cans, a hand-light is al-

L. of C. 99

cc Neat,
clean, and

orderly ”’

most a necessity, if you have any intention
of pursuing plant-propagation and rearing
rather delicate seedlings.

One about two-and-a-half feet square, and
costing about a dollar, would be quite large
enough for your purpose.

In conclusion, let us remind our readers
that to be a successful gardener, even ona
miniature scale, you must be neat, clean,
and orderly. Never work with dirty tools, for
you will never do good or satisfactory work
with them. To avoid this, never put them
away without cleaning them; and when op-
portunity occurs, say a wet day, when no
work can be done out of doors, it will be
well spent time if you devote this enforced
leisure to burnishing up your tools. Rust
should never be tolerated to settle on them.
Keep your borders tidy, and never suffer
dead leaves to remain amongst your pot
plants.

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