FEBRUARY 



1S99. 



The Weekly Florists' Review* 



227 



Covered Wall in Conservatory oi Mr. Samuel J. Tilden, Yonkers, N. Y. 



[Conservatory erected by Lord & Burnham Co. J 



COVERING GREENHOUSE WALLS. 



Lack of space in tlie greenhouse at- 

 tached to his city store often prevents 

 the retail florist from making the dis- 

 play of tasteful arrangement that he 

 otherwise might, and in addition to 

 this the location of such greenhouses 

 is frequently unfavorable for plant 

 growth, owing to the proximity of tall 

 buildings that may shut out the light 

 and air to a great extent. 



But we sometimes find in these 

 cramped greenhouses a side wall that 

 is bare and unsightly and the accom- 

 panying illustration may furnish us 

 with a useful idea for the adornment 

 of such a wall. The view referred to, 

 which shows a portion of the palm 

 house at "Greystone." the country 

 home of Samuel J. Tilden, at Yonkers, 

 N. Y.. illustrates the hiding of a side 

 wall with a most beautiful curtain of 

 living plants, chiefly ferns, the base of 

 the wall being built out to the edge of 

 the path with a mound or bank of ar- 

 tistically arranged foliage plants. 



And just here it may be admitted, to 

 avoid argument, that few retail florists 

 are blessed with the same abundant 

 means to gratify an esthetic taste that 



appertains to the fortunate owner of 

 "Greystone," but nevertheless this 

 decorative idea may be modified to 

 suit the circumstances. To return to 

 the wall. This is, of course, covered 

 with a strong wire netting that is 

 held away from the wall a few inches 

 by means of screw eyes, the space be- 

 tween the netting and the wall being 

 filled in with rather coarse soil, and 

 prevented from washing out by a fac- 

 ing of moss. 



In this soil the plants are set. this 

 operation being preferably done during 

 early summer, in order that the plants 

 may become well established before 

 the short days begin, and also before 

 the rush of trade about chrysanthe- 

 mum time keeps the greenhouse door 

 open half the day. After the plants 

 take hold of the soil, quite a good 

 deal of water will be required, espe- 

 cially at the upper part of the wall, 

 the water naturally draining away 

 from that portion very rapidly. 



By referring tn the ni,.t'Mv we read- 

 ily r.?cognize that several pteris are 

 well adapted for this work, notably P. 

 argyraea, P. serrulata and P. longifo- 

 lia: also Polypodium glaucum, Micro- 

 lepia hirta and M. strigosa, and neph- 



rolepis in variety, one of the best of 

 the latter being N. pectinata. On the 

 bank at the base we can use Adiantum 

 cuneatum or A. capillus-veneris. some 

 of the selaginellas, S. Martensi, S. 

 Brauni and S. Kraussiana being first 

 class, also Rex begonias, peperomias, 

 tradescantia and Panicum variegatum. 

 Some of the davallias may also be in- 

 cluded among the tern portion of the 

 arrangement, though avoiding those 

 of deciduous habit, of which D. Mariesi 

 is a type, the latter being one that is 

 largely trained into fantastic shapes 

 by our Japanese friends. 



The ciuestion of expense may arise, 

 and in regard to this it may be said 

 that none of the plants mentioned are 

 costly species, while there is also a 

 possible offset to the original invest- 

 ment in the fact that such a bank of 

 foliage will often furnish some useful 

 greenery to be mingled with cut flow- 

 ers. H. 



THE IMPERIAL VIOLET. 



Mr. W. L. Minor, Brockton, Mass.. 

 has sent us a bunch of a hundred 

 blooms of this new violet, and the 

 flowers certainly were superb. They 



