14 



H ORTICULTURE 



July i, 1905 



HARTFORD FLORISTS' CLUB 

 Report oj Committee on Window-box, Porch, 

 and Veranda Gardening 

 [Continued from last week's issue] 

 We have spoken of the influence that 

 parks have in any city on the public in 

 general, now let us consider what the influ- 

 ence will be by the introduction of window, 

 porch, and roof-gardening into the busy, 

 monotonous Ufe of a city. lm;igine window 

 and veranda-boxes loaded with foliage and 

 flo%vers on our schoolhouses, municipal, and 

 business buildings and residences, vines 

 growing over windows and hanging down 

 over window-sills and balustrades. What a 

 beautiful sight, worthy of a beautiful, pro- 

 gressive city. Imagine window-boxes in all 

 their glory of spring and summer flowering 

 plants, not only screening the unsightliness 

 of rows of tenement windows, but giving 

 them from the in and outside the cheerful, 

 cozy appearance, which plant hfe alorie can 

 produce. Imagine the pleasure and joy of 

 those under whose painstaking care the seeds 

 are germinating to a scedUng, the seedhng 

 to a fuU-grown plant, the plant producing 

 the flowers, and imagine the pleasure those 

 flowers give to all, and the feelings _ and 

 sentiments they will in their turn germinate 

 and bring into Ufe amongst those people 

 who, in the pursuance of their daily hard 

 labor, are not so fortunate as to know of the 

 pleasures of those that have their garden 

 and yards. 



Imagine the good seed that will be sown 

 into the hearts of the children of those 

 crowded tenement districts — a seed that is 

 bound to take root; for the soil in all human 

 hearts is more or less ahke, and it depends 

 upon the. cultivation whether the seed en- 

 trusted to said soil will grow to be a useful 

 plant. Everything that can be done to create 

 healthy, joyful life for the human race should 

 be advanced, through a continued and united 

 efl'ort of all citizens of a community. 



We horticulturists, florists, and gardeners, 

 following a time-honored profession, should 

 look upon our calUng not only from a pecuni- 

 ary, commercial point of view, but we should 

 take pride in the well-proven fact that our 

 accomplishments and our labors of progress 

 in our noble profession are bringing more 

 universal and wholesome enjoyment to the 

 human race in general than almost any 

 other profession, and we should do every- 

 thing within our power to further the good 

 work which is within our reach. 



The cultivaUon of taste, understanding 

 and love for plants and flowers means the 

 advancement of the people to a full appre- 

 ciation of our achievements, and with said 

 appreciation will come the commercial re- 

 muneration, which we are deserving by fol- 

 lowing such principles. The method of 

 bringing those desirable conditions about 

 are surely not as difficult as they may appear 

 to be. In fact, we beUeve that the florists 

 are mostly to blame that window-box, porch 

 and veranda gardening is not further ad- 

 vanced than it is to-day. We beUeve that 

 if the commercial florists would have com- 

 pleted window-boxes for sale, from the least 

 expensive up to the most elaborate, there 

 would be a ready sale for them within a very 

 few years. We believe that if the profes- 

 sional organizations all over the country 

 would pubUsh through the jjublic press, 

 articles giving plain instructions and descrip- 

 tions how to proceed in this and other lines 

 of horticultural and floricultural advance- 

 ment, a general awakening to those desirable 

 improvements would soon show itself to the 

 benefit of the community in general, and 

 the business interests of the florists in the 

 end. 



Wishing to practise what we want to 

 teach, the following plain instructions and 

 information for the people who may wish 

 to make a trial in window, porch, and roof 

 gardening, may be of use: 



Window-bo.xes are easily constructed and 

 can be made at a smaU expense. Taking 

 ordinary spruce or pine boards for the con- 

 struction, the box should be made the length 

 of the windows' width, 6-S inches wide and 

 as deep. A box 3 J feet long would there- 

 fore take about 12 feet of lumber, which 

 would cost about 35 cents. The cost of 

 labor, nails, and two coats of paint should 

 not be more than that much again, and the 

 result would be a very plain and well-con- 

 structed, durable box at a cost of 70 cents. 

 The box must have six J-inch holes in the 

 bottom, which should be covered with 

 broken pots, stones, or something that will 

 prevent the falUng out of the soil, but still 

 provide drainage. It vrill take about one 

 bushel of good composted soil to fill the box, 

 which coilid be deUvered by any florist for 

 50 cents. The soil should be rich, com- 

 posed in the main of rotted turf mixed 

 with well-decomposed cow manure, leaf- 

 movfld, and a httle sand. Now the box is 

 ready for planting. Suppose the box was 

 already on band in the fall, it could be 

 planted, say in December, with tulips, hya- 

 cinths and crocuses; planting the bulbs about 

 3 inches deep and keeping the box in a cool 

 room or cellar with a fairly good light. 

 Where the proper locaUty is not available, 

 however, it will be rather diflicult to obtain 

 good results, as the bulbs are apt to grow 

 too quick, stretching towards the Ught and 

 coming into bloom before they could be 

 safely put outdoors. The box could, how- 

 ever,' be placed at the inside of the window, 

 and you would have your bulb display in- 

 doors; as the bulbs will not require too 

 much watering, same could be given without 

 damage to floors or furniture, besides a tin 

 or zinc box on the in or outside of the wooden 

 box would take care of that. 



A box of the size herein described would 

 take fifteen tuUps, for the back row, ten 

 hyacinths 'for the middle row, and about 

 ten crocuses for the front and side rows. 

 Daffodils, jonquils, snow-drops, etc., could, 

 of course, be grown in such boxes. 



After the bulb display is over, the bulbs can 

 be taken up, and pansies, forget-me-nots, and 

 daisies can be planted. A good effect would 

 be to have the forget-me-nots in the back 

 towards the window, the pansies in front 

 of them, and a border of daisies in same 

 position in which we had the crocuses. Ten 

 forget-me-nots, fourteen pansies, and twenty 

 daisies will fill the box nicely. 



By about June the first it is time to estab- 

 hsh the summer planting, and for that purpose 

 we have an almost inexhaustible variety of 

 plants, and effects are obtainable by proper 

 selection of them to suit all tastes. 



The following planting Usts for window- 

 boxes may be of use: 



1. Cost of plants for one box $2.25: two 

 Pennisetum RuppeUanum, three heUotropes, 

 two calendulas, four sweet alyssums, four 

 geraniums, two Cobaja scandens, two mauran- 

 dyas, two Centaureas gymnocarpa, and two 

 fuchsias. 



2. Cost of plants for one box $3.00. 

 Plants: one Dracana indivisa, six geraniums, 

 four petunias, four Vinca minor variegata, 

 four German ivy, two fuchsias, two coleus, 

 two verbenas, six begonia Vernon, two mar- 

 guerites, two nasturtiums, and two lobelias. 



3. Cost of plants for one box, $5.00. 

 Plants: two Phoenix canariensis, four crotons, 

 two geraniums, two fuchsias, four Abutilon 

 Saritzii, six fancy begonias, four Vinca minor 

 variegata, four German ivy, and two Abutilon 

 Eclopes. 



Other plants besides those mentioned in 

 these three planting lists are, salvias, ager- 

 atums, hydrangeas, acliyranlhes, mignonette, 

 dwarf cannas, gladiolus, tuberoses, zinnias, 

 marigolds, stocks, etc., etc. The same 

 plants are of course also suitable for vases, 

 baskets and tubs. This means well-filled 

 boxes giving immediate effect. Planting 



thinner means of course a saving and a good 

 complete effect later in the season. 



The boxes herein just described are such 

 as would naturally require the planting 

 material to be furnished by the gardener 

 or florist, and as plain as they are constructed 

 and as reasonable as are the prices, consider- 

 ing the class of planting material used, they 

 are above the means of the poorer classes 

 of people Uving in the crowded tenement 

 districts. Just as well, however, as boxes 

 can be made more elaborate both in con- 

 struction and in planting for people of larger 

 means, so can also much cheaper boxes be 

 made and planted, bringing them within the 

 means of even the very poor. Where there 

 is a will there is a way. The man or woman 

 proud of their home, can nail a box together 

 of almost any kind of liunber, fill it with 

 loam from a garden or the fields and fill 

 same with annuals by planting seeds. Not 

 counting the cost of self-provided labor, 

 such a box can be made and filled vrith soil 

 for 25 cents or less, and the seed itself will 

 be still less expensive. 



Such seed-boxes can be sown outdoors, 

 beginning first week in April, and the fol- 

 lowing seeds can be used: petunias, nastur- 

 tiums, zinnias. Phlox Drummondii, sweet 

 balsams, portulacca, scabiosa, marigolds, 

 morning glory, asters, candytuft, co.xcombs, 

 godetias, poppies, snap-dragons, violas, etc., 

 etc. 



Each seed package gives information as 

 to height of plant, color of flowers, time of 

 blooming, and instructions for sowing, so 

 that it will be an easy matter for any one 

 to form proper combinations of plants. A 

 box can be planted with one showy variety 

 alone or with a combination of suitable 

 varieties, and the cost of seeds for one box 

 of one variety will be 5 cents, and for five 

 varieties, 25 cents; but the five packages 

 in the latter case will furnish enough seeds 

 for five boxes. Therefore window-garden- 

 ing is within the reach of all. 



To our brother florists and gardeners, 

 especially the commercial men, we would 

 earnestiy make the foUowing recommenda- 

 tions: 



First: To keep up to the times by growing 

 and introducing such plants as are well 

 adapted for such work, giving due recog- 

 nition to aU deserving varieties and novelties. 



Second: To encourage this Une of garden- 

 ing by having some window-boxes taste- 

 fully planted on exhibition in front of their 

 stores, ready for sale. 



Tliird: To set the price for those plants 

 at as low a basis as possible, so as to bring 

 them within the reach of all. 



Combined efforts along those lines will, 

 we beUeve, result in a general adoption of 

 window-gardening, will bring happiness to 

 numberless homes, and help to beautify your 

 city in no small degree — and that all to the 

 ultinjate benefit and satisfaction of the flor- 



GREENHOUSES BUILDING OR 

 PROJECTED 



I'imil Bucttncr, Park Ridge, 111., is ex- 

 tending three of his old houses 129 feet each. 



Poehlmann Bros,, Morton Grove, 111., have 

 unikr construction another large adcUtion to 

 their plant, 7 houses, each 27X195, to be 

 devoted to roses. 



THE GLASS SITUATION 



Greenhouse glass has been moving very 

 rapidly during the past few weeks, and 

 stocks in the hands of manufacturers and 

 jobbers are lower than in years for this 

 season. Factories are closed for the sum- 

 mer, and our advice to those who contem- 

 plate using glass during the summer or early 

 fall is to get their orders in at once and save 

 money, as everything points to higher prices 

 very shortly. 



