Introduction To Nanoscience

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Introduction To Nanoscience

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.
say fifty feet in width, several varieties of flowers may be grown in
short lengths of ten feet or more. They should be covered somewhat
more deeply than when sown in the hotbed or cold frame and the
ground firmed well above them, especially if the weather is dry at
the time of planting; when the seedlings appear they will probably
need thinning in order that they may not grow spindling, but will not
need the room they will require when in permanent quarters. Many
kinds of hardy perennials will give some bloom the first year, though,
of course, they will not be at their best, but they will be sufficiently
pronounced to make it possible to select those most desirable for
cultivation. Delphiniums, for instance, will give small spikes of bloom,
probably a foot high, the first season and if the Gold Medal Hybrids
have been planted some very lovely blooms will result. In the fall the
plants may be lifted and set in permanent positions, or they may be
left in the ground until spring and then transplanted; probably this is
the better treatment providing the ground is not to be ploughed too
early, as some of the perennials die down in the fall and may not
appear above the ground in time for very early transplanting.
Evergreen boughs make the best winter covering, especially
when rested against some support with the tips downward, so as to
shed rain. They do not mat down into a sodden mass as do leaves
which have a tendency to smother and rot plants with an evergreen
crown of leaves, but protect from sun and cold winds, at the same
time admitting sufficient air to the plants to keep them in good
condition.
When immediate effect is desired from hardy perennials which
must be produced from seed, considerable time may be gained by
planting the seeds in flats in the house in early February, giving
them as light a position as possible, a south window being
preferable, and transplanting the little seedlings to the hotbed when
that is started in March or early April. This will often force along the
blooms and will certainly produce strong, well developed plants by
fall, plants that should stand the winter and come out in spring in
fine condition, ready for a notable season of bloom.
 While hardy perennials are generally thought of in connection
with such herbaceous plants as die down to the ground in fall,
reappearing again in spring, and the few that make a crown of
winter foliage, like the hollyhocks and delphiniums, no perennial
garden could be considered complete without an abundance of lilies.
These may be planted here and there, singly and in groups among
the perennials and shrubbery and will need little attention,
increasing in numbers year by year. This is especially true of the
candidum or annunciation lily, which once planted continues to
increase for many years, but should have the clumps broken up once
in three or four years and spread out to give more room. Failure to
bloom successfully always calls for investigation of the condition of
the bulbs. Usually it will be found that decay has set in or that
worms or ants have invaded the bulbs. In either case the bulbs
should be lifted and cleaned and all diseased scales removed, saving
the scales for replanting; reset in clean soil, packing a handful of
clean, sharp sand and a pinch of charcoal about each bulb.
Candidum lilies should not be set more than an inch or two below
the surface of the ground, but most other lilies, especially the
auratums, speciosums, Brownii, and giganteums should be planted
six or more inches deep and well padded with sand. A little pad of
sphagnum moss under each bulb is excellent as it supplies the
necessary drainage. Auratum bulbs and bulbs of the Japanese lilies
are not as permanent as the candidums and tiger lilies, usually
lasting a maximum of five years, if left undisturbed.
It is not much use to plant lily bulbs, tulips and hyacinths in
ground infested with moles. The moles should first be eradicated,
and then bulbs may be planted safely but it is little satisfaction to
make an extensive and costly planting of bulbs only to have them
become food for the moles and ground mice. I have known plantings
of several hundred tulips to be entirely destroyed during a single
winter. In one such planting of five hundred bulbs only three
appeared above ground the following year. A good mole trap is
invaluable where moles are in evidence.
 CHAPTER XX
THE PLANTING OF FALL BULBS

T HE time for planting of hardy perennials and shrubbery is

optional with the gardener, many things doing quite as well
when planted at one season as at another, but in the planting of
spring blooming bulbs less latitude exists; these must be gotten into
the ground in fall if any measure of success is desired. The handling
of this class of plants is one of the luxuries of gardening, as they
come all ready to commence root growth, but in a perfect dormant
condition, and may be gotten into the ground very much at one's
convenience, and regardless of weather; the earlier they are planted
the stronger root growth they will be able to make before the
ground freezes, which makes for stronger bloom in the spring.
Crocus, scillas, narcissi, daffodils, tulips, hyacinths and the like
may be planted from the time they can be procured from the florist
(which is usually in September) until the ground freezes. They will
grow and bloom to perfection in any good, well-drained garden soil,
providing it is not infested by moles and ground mice but beware of
these, as they seem to possess an insatiable appetite for bulbs and
once they have entered a bed will seldom leave it until they have
exhausted its resources.
I recall that a few years ago I planted, in an empty canna bed
on the front lawn, some five hundred choice, named tulips. The
following spring just three tulip plants appeared above ground—the
moles having destroyed the other four hundred and ninety-seven. In
the flower garden where other hundreds of bulbs had been used to
border beds of hardy perennials, they fared somewhat better, the
greater part coming up, but many had been destroyed and still
others carried far from the place of their planting, coming up as
much as three feet away in the middle of paths and in sod.
One of the most satisfactory ways of using tulips is to plant them
as a border to beds of perennials or shrubs, setting them in single,
double or triple rows, along the edge and leaving them to ripen and
increase from year to year; in this way one gets the greatest good at
the least expenditure of time and space. When they are planted in
beds by themselves it is customary to lift them when through
blooming and to heel them in some out-of-the-way spot until the
tops have died when they may be lifted and stored in paper bags
until time to plant out again in the fall. This leaves the beds free for
summer annuals or bedding plants. If it is not desired to lift them,
then one may sow seed of some annual of light root growth such as
the myostis or forget-me-not, the schizanthus, pansy, verbena, or
phlox Drumondii, as these plants will not interfere with the maturing
of the bulbs and the protection afforded them from the heat of
summer will be of benefit.
The soil for any variety of bulbs should be rich, mellow and
thoroughly well drained and it is better in planting any but the
smallest bulbs to remove a few inches of the top soil and having
leveled off the surface mark it in straight lines from side to side each
way so that the lines cross each other and set a bulb at each
intersection of the lines. For tulips the lines should be five inches
apart each way and for hyacinths seven inches. Where solid beds of
hyacinths or tulips are planted small bulbs, such as crocus, scilla or
winter aconite, may be used for filling in the spaces between with
charming effect. White crocus and blue scillas are especially dainty,
or the lovely ixias may be used but in this case the beds must be
very carefully protected against the cold and covering removed with
discretion in the spring.
Narcissus, daffodils, jonquils and all that family appear to better
advantage when planted in long double or triple rows and should be
set a foot apart each way and about four inches deep. These bulbs
increase by forming new bulbs in a circle around the old bulb and
should be allowed abundant room to increase and once planted
should not be disturbed until they have become too crowded to
bloom well.
Crocuses are never so lovely as when studding the green of the
lawn in early spring and this is the simplest form of planting, it only
being necessary to lift a bit of sod with a trowel, slip a crocus bulb
underneath and press the sod back above it. Plant them informally,
singly, in groups. Scatter them freely about with the hand and bury
them where they fall. There is one precaution, however, to be
observed in this system of planting—the lawn-mower must be
withheld in spring until the crocuses have matured their leaves or
there will be no flowers the following spring.
All spring bulbs profit by a liberal application of old, well-rotted
manure but this should be either spaded deep in the beds below
where the bulbs will set or used as a top dressing after the soil
removed before planting has been replaced and not allowed to come
in contact with the bulbs. Manure is not only harmful in itself but it is
also the home of the little white wire worms so injurious to all bulbs
and especially to lilies, and almost always when bulbs are found to
be not doing well the trouble will prove to be either worms or poor
drainage.
A part of the winter covering of all bulb beds should be lifted as
soon as growth starts in the spring as a stockier, stronger growth
results but the finer portion should be left and in case of such tender
bulbs as ixias that removed may be kept handy to replace in case of
an unusually cold snap.
Many of the miscellaneous bulbs offered by the florists are
desirable when grown in well established groups, but lack effect
planted singly or in too small groups. One of the loveliest of
summer-blooming bulbs is found in the anthericum or St. Bruno's
lily. These should be set in colonies in the hardy border where they
may remain undisturbed for years. Plant about three inches deep
and four inches apart. Alliums, chinodoxia, and bulbs of this class
need grouping to be at their best, otherwise they are apt to appear
rather straggly. I like to see bulbs colonized among the shrubbery
and the edge of evergreens where they appear at their best in the
early days of spring and do not seriously interfere with the use of
the lawn-mower later on.

An effective treatment of ramblers

 CHAPTER XXI
ECONOMY IN THE PURCHASE OF SHRUBBERY

M AY often be achieved by a wise selection of varieties. Any

extensive planting runs up into dollars fast, especially if the
larger sized shrubs are selected. Fortunately successful planting
depends as much upon a number of plants of one variety as upon
the size and distinction of the sorts. A dozen plants of one variety of
spiræa, for instance, is far more effective than one plant each of
twelve varieties—try it and see if I am not right.
If, therefore, one has several strips of lawn to embellish with
shrubbery and wishes to economize the expenditure as far as
possible it will be found a most excellent plan to make a mixed
planting on the most urgent section, selecting those shrubs which by
their manner of root formation offer possibilities of rapid increase
and use the product for subsequent planting; taking all of the sort of
plant so as to leave as few varieties in the old bed as possible and in
this way simplifying the ultimate planting of the entire grounds.
When these new offspring have reached a presentable size they
may be retained and the other sorts which can now be spared may
be removed to a new location, planting out the youngsters in their
vacated positions.
There are three classes of plants which lend themselves very
readily to propagation through root division, layering and root
offshoots. The first is found in those plants which make an
exuberant root system of many fine feeding roots and many stems.
A good example of this class is found in the Hydrangea arborescens
which may be lifted, pulled apart and the several plants reset
without in any way disturbing its growth intention. In this respect it
differs materially from H. paniculata which, while making a generous
root system, has but the one main stem and so is incapable of
division but is easily propagated by cuttings thrust into the ground in
the shade of the plant early in June. H. arborescens is similar in
habit to many perennials which are increased by root division, as for
instance the Shasta daisy, English daisy, English violets, polyanthus
and others.
Often a plant of H. arborescens purchased from the florist will
admit of the removal of two or three smaller parts without seriously
injuring the appearance of the original plant and if these are set out
and well cared for they will quickly develop into blossoming plants
for this form is an early and reliable bloomer.
Spiræa Anthony Waterer is another shrub which may be
increased by pulling apart the roots; indeed this plant is benefited by
occasional treatment of this sort, doing much better and flowering
more freely. Planted in front of taller shrubs it is a very desirable and
reliable plant and if the faded flowers are removed after the spring
florescence it will continue to produce flowers throughout the
summer.
One of the most easily propagated shrubs is found in the
symphoricarpus or snow-berry; indeed, in the case of this pretty
shrub the difficulty is not to increase one's stock as the new growth
is usually prostrate the first year, lying supinely on the ground and if
left undisturbed will throw out roots at the joints and rapidly produce
attractive little plants as robust as the parent stock. Lifting the
branches occasionally will prevent rooting but usually one likes to
have the new plants form. I do. After becoming well rooted the
branch should be severed between the plant and the parent. As the
root growth is dense, consisting of a mass of fibrous roots, the
young plants can be lifted at almost any time and reset without
much check to growth. The pale, pinky-white flowers come in mid-
summer, followed by the white berries which remain on the bushes
well into the winter and are very attractive.
Somewhat similar in its way of increase is the Deutzia-Pride of
Rochester. That magnificent shrub which challenges our admiration
when covered with its drooping, bell-shaped white flowers late in
June and which, under favorable conditions, assumes the
proportions of a small tree. Like the symphoricarpus the lateral
branches are more or less inclined to a recumbent or prostrate habit
or because of their flexibility are easily pegged down and root easily
at the joint but do not make as vigorous root growth and the joint
should have a little earth drawn over it and be kept moist by placing
a stone on top. This shrub is so altogether desirable that several
branches may well be devoted to the increase of stock, one or more
plants being produced from each branch.
Of those shrubs which throw up suckers from the roots the lilac
will occur to most people as a well-known example, so if in buying
the newer, double-flowered sorts one will insist on purchasing plants
upon their own roots and not be satisfied with grafted plants one will
soon become possessed of a quite respectable planting of lilacs of
notable size and color of bloom. The suckers should be removed as
soon as they have had one season of growth for the protection of
the parent plant which will be much depleted in bloom by their
permanent presence.
One of the most beautiful foliage shrubs, the fern-leaved sumac
—Rhus typhina laciniata—forms root rhizomes which send up
volunteer plants at each joint. These should be removed and
replanted. This is one of the most beautiful ornamentals with which I
am acquainted, quite rivalling the Japanese maples. The leaves are
compound or pinnate, fifteen to eighteen inches long and of a dark,
rich green on the upper side, glaucous beneath and with a rich red
midrib—an elegant fern-like spray which is very useful in cut flower
work and in autumn turns to the most vivid crimson imaginable. It
does best when protected from severe wind, from which it seems to
shrink, distorting its symmetrical growth. In good rich soil a half
dozen offshoots may appear the second year after planting and after
one has once become familiar with its beauty all will be welcome.
Another small tree or shrub with similar characteristics is the
Aralia spinosa or Hercules' club as it is commonly called. This also
has the compound leaves somewhat resembling the black walnut but
of gigantic proportions, two to three feet in length and of equal
breadth, giving the tree a most tropical effect. It is very easily
transplanted and a few trees in a clump are very effective or it is fine
as a specimen tree and owing to its abundance of spines can be
utilized effectively as a hedge. Where only a single tree is wanted it
is easily kept in check by cutting out the rhizomes with a spade close
to the parent plant.
The euonymus, or burning bush as the Indians always called it,
propagates itself by means of its coral berries which appear in
quantities in late summer or early fall. One finds the volunteer plants
appearing every spring in places where one least expects them and
one can lift and transplant them wherever desired.
Another most attractive shrub which may be easily raised from
seed sown in spring is the Buddleya—a plant with long racemes—in
the newer form of B. veitchiaa, over twenty inches long, of violet
mauve flowers of a delightful violet fragrance. Spring-sown seed will
often produce blossoming plants the first season which in the second
will attain a height of from three to five feet and be a perfect
bouquet of bloom throughout the summer. The branches are
somewhat pendulous and in the young state are better for a little
support. They afford delightful material for cut-flower work and the
odor has that fugitive elusive quality of the violet, seeming to come
from different directions and to elude one's search.
It will be found an excellent plant to combine with Spiræa Van
Hutti as it comes into bloom after that splendid plant has rested on
its laurels for the summer and keeps the hedgerow alive with bloom
and fragrance.
 CHAPTER XXII
A CONTINUOUS SUCCESSION OF BLOOM IN
THE SHRUBBERY

HOW TO SECURE IT

T HE planting of shrubbery about the home is so important that it

may well take precedence of the flower garden proper or even
the grading of the lawn itself. Indeed, if one owns the site of a home
and the building is yet in the future, no better expenditure of one's
spare time and dollars can be inaugurated than such initial planting
as shall insure the presence of blooming shrubs about the home at
the time of its completion so that all may be beautiful and perfect
together, rather than that two or three years must elapse before one
can begin to enjoy the results.
Hardy shrubs vary very greatly in the precociousness of their
bloom, certain forms giving quite noticeable results the second
season, while others need two or three years' growth even to
indicate what their ultimate beauty will be.
The location, too, will have much to do with results. For a low
planting about the foundation of the house, in front of porches or to
top low terraces many plants may be employed which would be
unsatisfactory in places at a distance where a general effect is
desired more than an intimate relation. For masking a building,
hiding an undesirable view and the like, tall-growing shrubs and
flowering trees are usually preferred and these being of more or less
slow growth require time to develop.
In all shrubbery planting it will be found that a number of plants
of one sort is far more effective than one or two plants each of many
distinct kinds. The mistake is often made of planting only shrubs
which bloom together, producing a medley of more or less
inharmonious colors and form for a few weeks in spring leaving the
shrubbery bare and uninteresting for the remainder of the year. This
is a mistake I have often made in my own garden, but one which I
usually rectify by planting in other shrubs which will come forward
when the first have ceased to bloom.
For a number of years a very beautiful hedge of Hydrangea
paniculata grandiflora has separated the lawn from the flower
garden; only one objection could be urged against it—its flowerless
condition throughout most of the summer. To overcome this
objection, scarlet salvias were alternated between the plants and an
edging of scarlet and white phlox made a mass of color from mid-
June until well into October. This, of course, was not legitimate
shrubbery planting, so recourse was made to alternating Hydrangea
arborescens with the paniculata. These coming into bloom late in
June gave a very satisfactory arrangement, but this year Deutzia-
Pride of Rochester, which also blooms in June, was introduced and I
am anticipating much pleasure from the addition.
A hedge of Spiræa Van Hutti extending from the house to the
road is very beautiful in early May, but inconspicuous and
uninteresting the remainder of the summer. If it had been in a
situation demanding a heavier planting I should have alternated the
plants, setting them behind the spiræas, with forsythias—whose
golden yellow blooms make bright the garden in earliest spring—and
between the forsythias introduced the deutzias.
There are few more satisfactory and graceful plants for use in
front of a porch than this Spiræa Van Hutti; its gracefully curved
branches, though growing to a good length, curve away gracefully
from the building, bending with their weight of snowy bloom almost
to the ground and the growth is very strong and rapid, but never
coarse. It is the very best early blooming shrub to date.
Very lovely effects may be secured by alternating the spiræa
with the Weigela Eve Rathke, and keeping this down to a somewhat
prostrate habit; this will give a perfect sheet of bloom from early
May until the last of June and a less-pronounced show of flowers
throughout the remainder of summer from the weigela.
There is a strong tendency when purchasing shrubbery to select
a little of everything—one plant of each, perhaps. I do this myself—
not without excuse perhaps on my part, for we people who write for
the benefit of others have to get our knowledge by, often costly,
experience, and not by the mere reading of nursery catalogues. It is
sometimes a most excellent thing to gratify this inclination providing
one has a piece of land which can be devoted to experimental
purposes and where one can shift things about until one has gained
just the right combination and exposure for each plant. A strip of
ground twelve or fifteen feet wide and as long as available will give
room for a very successful planting of small trees and shrubs and
hardy perennials may be introduced to fill in until the shrubs have
reached an effective size. Ulmarias, hardy phlox, oriental poppies,
rudbeckias and the like will be found very useful and tall clumps of
lilies should always be interspersed in all permanent plantings.
It will often be found that some shrub which one has admired at
close range is entirely ineffective in the shrubbery border; take, for
instance, the Tartarian honeysuckle—a pretty enough thing close at
hand but ineffectual and insignificant at any distance.
For a long shrubbery border of twelve or fifteen feet wide no
better selection of shrubs can be made than these seven perfectly
reliable and hardy shrubs—Forsythia, April; Spiræa Van Hutti, May;
Deutzia Pride of Rochester, June; Hydrangea arborescens, July,
August; Hydrangea paniculata, September; Althea, October and
November. These are—with perhaps the exception of the althea,
which is sometimes uncertain—absolutely hardy and reliable plants
which increase in size and beauty from year to year and insure a
constant succession of bloom throughout the summer and fall so
that by their use the shrubbery border need never be without
flowers.
 In planting a border of these mixed shrubs attention to
arrangement will have much to do with success. Of course it will
occur to the most inexperienced that the taller shrubs should be in
the rear, but it is not necessary or desirable that they should be
planted in a rigid, unbroken line. Better that the line be somewhat
waved, dipping forward occasionally a step or two. Then it will, of
course, occur that the lowest forms will be in front, but this line, too,
maybe broken occasionally with advantage, allowing the second row
to step forward enough to prevent too much formality of outline.
Where immediate effect is desired, and this is invariably the
case, either large specimen shrubs should be used or, if the smaller
sorts seem more available, then these should be set as close again
as would be done in the planting of large specimens and after they
have made two or three years' growth and have begun to crowd,
every other plant may be lifted and used to start a new shrubbery
elsewhere.
This was what was done with my hydrangea hedge, started as a
border between the front lawn and a pear orchard. The plants were
first set three feet apart in a single row. When they had filled up the
intervening space they were lifted and used for a hedge in the rear
of the lawn, this time being set six feet apart, a distance which they
soon closed, and for weeks in the fall were a wonderful mass of
bloom. A hedge of Spiræa Van Hutti replaced the hydrangeas in the
front and these will probably remain undisturbed for a number of
years as, owing to the proximity of a magnificent maple tree, they
do not make the strong growth they do in more favorable situations.
Although I have suggested the forsythia, spiræa, deutzia,
hydrangeas and althea, etc., as the seven very best shrubs for
general planting there are very many more worthy of adoption.
Among these the various weigelas, especially the red varieties, the
syringas and the lilacs should not be overlooked. Of the latter, far
too little is known, most people being content with a bush or two of
the old-fashioned purple and white of their grandmothers' garden,
and perhaps, as a truth, these old sorts appeal to our hearts more
strongly than the newer, more showy varieties and it is in no spirit of
disparagement that I urge the adoption of some of the newer sorts
—not to displace, but to supplement and extend the lilac season
over a period unknown to the old-time garden.
Syringa vulgaris, alba and purpurea are usually through
blooming by the twentieth of May, or thereabouts, but Emodi, with
its rosy-white flowers, is ushered in with the early days of June and
Josikaea shows its first purple blooms late in the same month about
the time that the creamy-white panticles of Japonica appear. The
new double-flowered, named sorts come into bloom about the time
of the common sorts and are well worth the extra cost they involve.
Mme. Cassimire Perier and Pres. Grevy are two of the finest sorts
and should be in every collection.
In buying lilacs it will pay well to purchase those on their own
roots. Most of the named lilacs are grafted on common stock and
the suckers are annoying and worthless and if allowed to grow will
seriously interfere with the blooming of the graft. Such shoots as
come from true roots can be detached and used to increase the
supply of plants and are, therefore, most valuable additions.
One of the most beautiful small trees for planting where a light
and feathery effect is sought or against a background of evergreens
is found in the tamarix. I know of nothing so airy and graceful as
these at all times and especially when in bloom. The flowers, which
are very tiny, quite cover the branches at the time of blooming in
May, in mid-summer and in fall according to their season and there
is a marked difference in the foliage which in certain species shows a
decided blue tinge which is very beautiful. Unfortunately they are
not always entirely hardy at the north and require a somewhat
protected position. They are very useful at the seashore, being one
of the few things which can stand the salt air. As they make a rapid
growth one can afford to experiment with them until just the right
environment is found for they are well worth trying for and planted
in groups of the different sorts will give a succession of bloom all
summer. They are very useful for cut-flower work, making exquisite
bouquets when placed in dull green majolica or similar holders.
Very careful preparation of the ground for shrubbery is essential
as once planted they usually remain undisturbed for years; for this
reason the earth should be dug very deep, underdrained, if
necessary, and thoroughly fertilized.
After planting the ground should be kept cultivated by hoeing or
by the use of the scuffle-hoe—anything which will maintain a dust-
mulch, prevent the earth drying out and caking and retain the
moisture. The success of the planting depends upon this one feature
more than upon any other one thing. A plant insufficiently supplied
with moisture during the growing season is quite certain to succumb
to the rigors of the succeeding winter—not, indeed, on account of
the cold itself, but the condition in which it entered the winter.
The best season for the planting of all hardy shrubs is early
spring, before growth starts, the next best, late fall after the foliage
has dropped. Altheas and white birch trees, however, do better with
spring planting.
 CHAPTER XXIII
GARDENING FOR SHUT-INS

T HERE are possibilities in the indoor culture of flowers, though it

may seem to the casual observer, that only open air culture
would justify one in undertaking the growing of a flower garden on
any extended scale; but open air gardening, while it certainly makes
for unlimited area of flower beds and a great variety of sorts has still
its drawbacks of inclement weather, insufficient or too much
moisture, much humbling of one's physical self on bended knees and
a summer-long fight with the myriad insect pests, from the tiny
aphis that colonizes itself on the tip of every green shoot in early
spring, to the predatory mole that furrows up paths and beds,
making efficient drains to deflect all water intended for the
refreshment of the plants.
Such indoor plants as one may elect to grow are assured an
adequate and continuous supply of moisture, a soft and friable soil,
a reasonable freedom from insect pests and a certain amount of
protection from burning sun and drying winds. Moreover they are
not restricted in their season of bloom to a few months of the year;
the indoor garden may be in bloom the year around—a bewitching
succession of most of the seasons repertoire of bloom.
The indoor garden may have its beginning in the late days of
September, when the hardy spring blooming bulbs come into the
market. Nearly all of this class of plants force readily and pots and
window boxes may be filled with soil, planted to tulips, hyacinths,
narcissi, valley lilies, and the like and set aside in a cool dark cellar
for midwinter blooming, requiring no further care for weeks to come.
In the meantime their places need not be kept empty waiting their
time of bloom but boxes and pots of bright geraniums, cinnerarias,
primroses, cyclamen and the like will keep bright every nook and
corner one can spare. Nothing is more dainty and delightful than a
window full of primroses, and no plant will give a more generous
and constant succession of bloom from fall until spring.
As far as practicable, the growing of plants in window-boxes
instead of pots will be found more satisfactory. Inside boxes which
are narrow enough to rest on the window-sill are preferable and the
plants may be planted directly in the boxes or, if preferred, in pots
and the pots plunged into the boxes with moss packed between the
pots to retain the moisture. This gives a better moisture condition
than when the pots are stood on a shelf, exposed on all sides to the
drying air of the living-room. It has the added advantage of allowing
the pots to be lifted from the box for spraying the foliage, a great
help to successful growth, and to apply such insecticides as may
occasionally be needed. Plants grown in the dry air of the living-
room are apt to be affected by red spider; this is especially
noticeable with such plants as cinnerarias, calceolarias and a few
others. Those who are so fortunate as to possess that modern
essential of a well equipped house—a sun room—will find limitless
opportunities for floriculture, boxes beneath the windows, trellises
against the walls and hanging baskets, all affording opportunity for
much delightful work with flowers.
One of the most fascinating features of indoor gardening is
found in the growing of greenhouse and other flowers from seed,
and this is a feature especially suited to the invalid or shut in. The
little flats in which seed is started are so light and easily handled and
the plants grown from seed so sure to do well that one may depend
almost entirely on plants from this source. Almost any light, shallow
box may be used, as flat, half size cigar boxes, codfish boxes, or
boxes specially constructed to fit the window-sills and divided by
strips of wood into several compartments may be used. All require
the same treatment—a few holes to insure drainage, a fine mellow
soil of fibrous loam, leaf mold and a little sharp sand, filled to within
a half inch of the top of the box and well shaken down, and the best
seed procurable.
 All begonias, rex, fibrous and tuberous may be readily grown
from seed which should be lightly scattered over the surface of the
soil, and pressed down with a bit of smooth board, then set in a pan
of water till the surface looks dark, surplus water drained away,
covered with white paper, glass and set in a warm place till the tiny
plants break through the soil, when they should be given air and
light gradually and encouraged to make a healthy, sturdy growth
from the start.
A low, broad table with a large, shallow drawer and a shelf half
way down one side will be found the most convenient place to work
and this can be moved as the work progresses from place to place
so as to make as little walking and lifting as possible. Another work-
table that I have found most convenient consists of a broad shelf—
hinged to a strip of wood nailed to the window-casing, as wide as
the window-casing and deep enough to reach the floor when
dropped down out of use. This is held in place by two strips of metal
attached to the window-casing that hook over screw-heads in the
side of the shelf, but drop down against the wall when not in use.
Such a shelf affords an excellent working surface for starting seeds
in flats, bulbs and cuttings in pots and is indispensable for drawing
plants away from a window on stormy nights. If finished to match
the woodwork of the room it will be an attractive feature whether in
use or dropped down out of the way and may be used for papers
and magazines when not required for plants. For the latter purpose
a neat finish is a border to match the standing woodwork and a
center of green baize of felt.
There are a number of attractive vines and trailing plants—the
Asparagus Sprengeri, Manettia Vine, Thumbergia—that may be
grown successfully from seed and add greatly to the interest of the
indoor garden.
At this time of the year it will be worth while to start seeds of
certain garden annuals for use in outside window-boxes.
Nasturtiums, verbenas, candytuft, phlox Drummondii, petunias,
coleus, ageratums, daisies, lobelias, all make bright and charming
window gardens and when the sliding screens are used that may be
pushed up out of the way, the boxes may be planted and cared for
from the inside with little fatigue.
Hanging baskets add much to the charm of sun room and porch,
but are difficult to care for as usually arranged, but if instead of
hanging from a short chain from a hook in the ceiling or cornice of
porch or sun room, the basket is attached to a stout cord passed
over a pulley and the free end provided with a couple of rings to
hook over hooks in the side wall or pillars to hold it at the desired
height it can be lowered on to a table for attention with little trouble.
The moss-lined wire baskets are the best for this purpose; they
retain moisture and are free from danger of breakage. If a pail of
water is placed on the table beneath them and the basket lowered
into this and allowed to remain until the soil is thoroughly soaked,
then raised sufficiently by one of the rings to drain away all surplus
water, the plants will be in the best possible condition to grow and
bloom.
One of the most fascinating plants for growing indoors is the
little Japanese rosebushes, which may be grown from seeds into
blooming plants in from six to eight weeks. They make the daintiest,
most charming little plants imaginable. Shapely, many branched and
loaded with bloom they are the very daintiest "Favors" imaginable
for luncheons and other social affairs and are charming gifts at all
times. The blossoms are about the size of a ten cent piece, and
come in white, pink and red. The seeds may be sown in the pots—
three inch ones, in which they are to bloom or may be sown in flats
and pricked out into pots when large enough. I have found the seed
to germinate very freely and the plants to grow on finely from the
start. When planted in pots these should be plunged in a shallow
box of wet sand or moss in a sunny window. This is the way to
handle all young greenhouse plants, especially cyclamen,
cinnerarias, gloxinias, carnations, Lady Washington geraniums and
the like. To keep them growing vigorously they should not be
allowed to dry out, nor to become soggy with too much water.
 For starting summer-blooming bulbs the use of moss in shallow
boxes or baskets will be found more convenient than the heavier
soil. The sphagnum moss used by florists for shipping plants is the
sort needed and may be used again and again if necessary, the only
merit it has being its retention of moisture, exclusion of air and
lightness for handling.
If one wishes to grow from seed for outdoor planting the hardier
annuals and perennials, then somewhat larger and deeper flats
should be used, but none over four inches in depth should be
undertaken. In these such readily salable plants as asters, salvias,
balsams, cobæa scandens, Shasta daisies, pansies, and the like will
prove a veritable little pin-money mine and equally profitable will be
found peppers, cauliflowers, bush musk-melons and other of the
choicer vegetables, all requiring, practically, the same treatment.
The shut-in who wishes to specialize in the unusual might make
an attempt to imitate the dwarf trees of China and Japan. This is not
so impossible or difficult as it appears as the appearance of great
age is more often the result of skill than of many years.
 CHAPTER XXIV
THE POSSIBILITIES OF A CITY FLAT

T HE possibilities of the city flat will depend upon just how much
window space the flat affords and how much sunlight the
windows receive, for upon the amount of light will depend not so
much the quantities of flowers which may be grown, as their
character.
It may be possible that, in a restricted area, but one window can
be devoted to the growing of plants during the winter season and
where that is the case one will wish to realize as much pleasure as
possible from that one window. If it is a sunny window then it will be
an easy matter to fill it full of bright flowers. Now no flower so well
withstands the heat and dust of our living-rooms as the geraniums,
but it is by no means necessary that they should be of the more
common zonal type. The Lady Washington geraniums—pelargoniums
—are far more beautiful and even more prolific in their bloom. They
may be purchased all ready to bloom of the florist or easily raised,
from spring sown seed, to blooming size by fall. Heliotropes, the
sweetest of all flowers, will bloom freely in any sunny window if the
precaution is taken to spray or wet the foliage thoroughly every day;
without this refreshing bath the foliage will curl up and die and the
buds blast.
The carnation is an excellent plant for the sunny window but
must be sprayed frequently to keep in check the red spider, and all
the spring blooming bulbs can be depended upon for the winter
window garden and have this advantage that they can be potted in
the fall, tucked away in a dark closet somewhere and brought out
when ready to begin blooming, and again relegated to any out of
the way place as soon as their season of bloom is passed.
 The most convenient way of growing house plants where there
are only common windows to accommodate them is in boxes made
to fit the window-sills. The ready-to-use metal boxes are very handy
and satisfactory, but not as attractive as simple boxes made of wood
to match the standing woodwork of the room; these should have a
metal lining to protect the woodwork and if the expense of boxes of
hardwood in a rented flat seems undesirable, very simple boxes of
cheap wood may be made to imitate the hardwood finish by giving a
covering of the paper or wood pulp that comes in all the natural
hardwood finishes. This is simply pasted on the boxes and when dry
should be given a coat of sizing-glue dissolved in hot water to a thin
paste, and when this is dry a coat of varnish or jap-a-lac. This will be
so successful that few casual observers will detect the substitution. A
very pretty plant box can be evolved from a single cheese box, cut
down a couple of inches covered with the paper and supplied with
legs or mounted on a small lamp stand, or white enamel will be
charming, especially when the box is filled with blooming tulips or
narcissi, or given over to ferns, asparagus vines and the like.
Where one has a window opening on to an air shaft or a court
that gives no view but infringes one's privacy a delightful screen
which will not deprive one of too much light and air, but effectually
screen the window is made from a box the length of the window-sill,
fitted with double casters to allow it to be moved from place to
place. A long rod or wire, long enough to extend upright as high as
the screen is desired, cross over and return on the other side, should
be fitted into the end boards close to the back by boring holes with a
drill the size of the rod for nearly the depth of the wood and the
ends of the wires firmly sunk in them. The frame is then covered
with wire netting or twine and the box planted to some light,
graceful vine like the asparagus plumosus nanna, the manettia vine,
clarodendron, but the plumosus nanna is an excellent choice. Such a
screen is very convenient and artistic between two rooms where it is
desired to leave a door open for air, but desirable to screen the
contents of one of them.
 It is the summer flat, however, that offers the greater
possibilities of floriculture for in this season the boxes may be placed
outside of the windows if properly secured, and a much greater
variety of plants grown, for there is no exposure for which there are
not many delightful things available. A north window, that to many
would seem especially undesirable for plants, will often be found to
develop the most interesting boxes. All the hardier varieties of
cultivated ferns may be usual here, all the blooming and fibrous
rooted begonias, all the asparagus fern, especially A. sprengeri, the
various impatiens, especially I. sultani, the trailing fuchsias,
abutilons, variegated wandering Jew, aspidistras, farfugiums. Palm
grass, Pannicum Excurrens—a palm-like grass which one has to send
to southern florists for but which grows rankly at the north, either in
the house or in the open ground—is good. I bedded one out in
spring, intending to lift in the fall for interior decoration and found it
to have made so sturdy a root growth, and so immense a top that it
defied a spade to move it and had to be abandoned to the frost.
Within doors its long, curved leaves are most attractive and
interesting. It is a magnificent plant for the rear wall of a sun room
or conservatory.
If one occupies a flat with a rear outside staircase, then one may
utilize the top of the railing to place boxes of trailing nasturtiums and
bright flowers—a planting of nasturtiums in the rear, a middle
planting of geraniums, justitias, petunias, verbenas, phlox
drummondii, etc., and a fringe of sweet alyssum or other delicate
trailer along the front will give a succession of bloom all the summer
long.
Along the outer edge of the steps one may arrange small but
deep boxes of earth and in each plant blooming vines such as the
Japanese morning glory, the cobæa scandens, flowering beans, or
that gay little new vine—the cardinal climber. These may be trained
to run on wire or cord so as to afford privacy for the stairway, or if
this is not desired, trailing vines and erect plants may be used
instead, the trailers masking the unlovely architecture of the stairs.
 Possibly one may be in possession of one of those flats whose
side windows look out upon the roof of a lower building—a tin roof
expansion of ugliness which is a hindrance to spiritual calm and
mental cheerfulness. If this is the case, why not utilize it to create a
roof garden? If the area is small one can utilize all of it, if too large
then pre-empt the portion nearest one and draw a trellis of wire
across the boundary line on which one may grow in long, narrow
boxes of soil morning glories galore. It is not necessary that these
boxes be of anything but the roughest construction; home-made
boxes, evolved from old packing cases, are as good as anything as
they will be masked by the plants and vines; these should extend
around three or even all four sides of the roof, those in the rear and,
if it is desired to secure privacy, those on the sides, being planted
with vines or tall-growing plants like ricinus, cannas, cleomes,
cosmos and the like. It will not be desirable to leave too much open
space in a garden of this sort, unless it will be possible to cover the
roof with sand or sawdust that can be wet down with the hose to
create a moist atmosphere; but where this can be done a very
successful roof garden can be created with the principal expenditure
that for earth and sawdust. Most flowers of the summer garden can
be grown in such a position and one could arrange a very
satisfactory little lily pool and fountain by means of a big zinc tub, a
length of hose, two or three water lilies and some gold fish. A few
inches of earth in the tub will supply a footing for the lilies and a
mask of plants around the base will hide the crudeness of the pool.
When one has undertaken a garden like this it will be found
surprising how many things one will pick up in one's little excursions
out of town to add to it; all one's friends will take an interest and
pleasure in donating seeds and plants and if the roof affords room
for a hammock and a few chairs, the question of where to go for a
summer vacation will not take on such poignant interest, nor the
inability to afford one be so great a tragedy. Such an oasis in the
heart of a city will be a delight to a child and solve the problem of
keeping it off the street and from undesirable companions. I should
like to think that a good many such little oases will develop and that
I might know of them.
It might be that two or more people have homes overlooking a
roof who would join together in the making of a garden. In that way
a larger area could be undertaken and the expense would not be
seriously felt. If the roof is one exposed to much sunshine, then one
should select plants which revel in sunshine like the annual poppy,
the verbena, salvia, sweet alyssum, candytuft, ageratum, dahlia,
canna, California poppy, asters; all these are hardy, easily grown
plants, which will give an abundance of bloom all summer. Of course
geraniums' and coleus can also be depended upon to do their
prettiest, but one and all should have a daily or semi-daily showering
with a hose to remove the grime and dust of the day and freshen
the foliage as well as to provide the necessary water to drink.
Probably the entire success of the roof garden will depend upon just
this one feature of an adequate water supply at the roots and a
thorough cleansing of the foliage each day. Given this there is no
reason why a garden of this sort should not be a success.

THE END