Part 12

No. 4.

Dark Crotons. Dark Crotons. Dark Crotons. Light Crotons. Light Crotons. Adlumia. Lotus Peliorhynchus. Adlumia.

No. 5.

Light Crotons. Light Crotons. Light Crotons. Dark Coleus. Dark Coleus. Trailing Abutilons. Trailing Abutilons. Trailing Abutilons.

No. 6.

East Window-box.

Scarlet Tuberous Begonia. White do. Scarlet Tuberous Begonia. White Tuberous Begonia. White Tuberous Begonia. White Thunbergia. Scarlet Nasturtium. White Thunbergia.

No. 7.

Pink Justicia. Pink Justicia. Pink Justicia. Heliotrope. Heliotrope. White Maurandya. Solanum Jasminoides. White Maurandya.

No. 8.

Yellow Tuberous Begonia. Yellow Tuberous Begonia. Yellow Tuberous Begonia. White Tuberous Begonia. White Tuberous Begonia. Yellow Thunbergia. Yellow Thunbergia.

No. 9.

Pink Double Petunia. White Antirrhinum. Pink Double Petunia. Wild Cucumber.

No. 10.

Heliotrope. Heliotrope. Heliotrope. Duke Zeppelin Begonia. Duke Zeppelin Begonia. Solanum Jasminoides. Solanum Jasminoides. Manettia Vine.

No. 11.

North Window-box.

Fancy Caladiums Fancy Caladiums Fancy Caladiums (dark). (dark). (dark). Fancy Caladiums (light). Fancy Caladiums (light). Vinca Var. Vinca Var. Trailing Fuchsia. Maurandya. Trailing Fuchsia.

No. 12.

Fuchsia Phenomenal. Begonia Angel’s Wing. Fuchsia Phenomenal. Dwarf Ageratum. Dwarf Ageratum. Ivy Geranium. Trailing Fuchsia. Ivy Geranium.

No. 13.

Rubra Begonia. Asparagus Tenuissimus. Begonia Velutina. Farfugium. Feastii Begonia. Variegated Vinca. Manettia Vine. Variegated Vinca.

No. 14.

Asparagus Sprengeri. Boston Fern. Asparagus Sprengeri. Russellia Grandis. Cissus Discolour. Russellia Grandis.

Nasturtiums make an attractive window-box, but need abundant root room, and not more than three plants should be put in a box having three other erect plants. Morning-glories, on the contrary, require but little room, and one may be put in each end of a north window-box and trained over the window. If strings are provided they will reach the roof by midsummer, blooming every step of the way; other vines may be grown in the front of the box. The Centrosema—when it can be persuaded to grow—is a charming vine for a north or east window, but it is a very shy plant, hard to get started, and refusing to grow in an uncongenial situation, though quite hardy when once established.

The best support for the window-box is the wooden bracket made by nailing to the side of the house, thirteen inches below the window-sill, a strip of inch stuff the length of the window-frame and three or four inches wide; on top of this and at right angles to it nail three similar strips of wood one foot long, the outer ends resting on strips of wood attached to the sill of the house; these last strips must have the ends bevelled sufficiently to fit snugly against the baseboards and the bottom of the horizontal pieces and be securely nailed together. If the measurements are carefully taken the box will slip into place, on the supports, just under the window-sill. Paint boxes and supports to match the house. Window-boxes may be kept in the cellar through the winter, or emptied, dried and stored in a dry place, according to their contents. Always empty and thoroughly scald the boxes before using.

In stocking window-boxes never put plants received by mail directly into them; they should be ordered early enough to pot and become established (the pots full of roots) by the time they are needed for the window-boxes, when they may be slipped into place without disturbing the roots or checking their growth. Placed at once in the boxes, in a sunny position, they would probably be lost.

Very fair window-boxes may be obtained at trifling expense by using the boxes in which grass scythes are packed, which may be purchased at the hardware store for five or ten cents apiece. These are not as wide nor as deep as one could wish, but have the advantage of cheapness and availability. Preference should be given to those having close seams. If warped or open they must be tightened by driving in extra nails, or nailing thin strips of wood over the cracks on the inside. The longevity of the window-box is greatly lengthened by keeping the windows above them—especially on the south and west sides of the house—open as much of the time as possible. If the sun beats on the glass of the closed window and is reflected on the plants, it is literally confining them between two fires and they cannot be expected to come through uninjured. Let the wind sweep through and over them and they will stand any reasonable amount of heat or moisture. This is the reason plants do better in the open than when placed against the side of a wall or building—the air must not only have free access, but pass beyond, carrying off noxious vapours and excess of moisture.