98 THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



and white pansies round ; canary creeper trained as an arch over 

 from end to end. Scarlet nasturtiums trained up the window. 



Box 11. — Geraniums, heliotropes, calceolarias, and fuchsias; 

 mignonette, musk, lobelia, and echeverias round ; sweet peas and 

 convolvulus trained up the window. 



Box 12. — Stocks, asters, and geraniums ; with lobelia and migno- 

 nette round. 



Box 13. — Stocks, asters, chrysanthemums and mignonette ; with 

 echeverias and blue and yellow violas round. 



Box 14. — Green and variegated twigs of shrubs, such as ivy, 

 hollies with berries, aucuba, laurels, box, etc., with cut chrysan- 

 themums in vials of water intermixed, to be renewed as they fade 

 during winter. 



I have thus filled a few imaginary window boxes arranged accord- 

 ing to the flowering season of each class of plants. The examples I 

 have given will help you in your selection of plants, and give you an 

 idea how to arrange them tastefully and to the best advantage. Of 

 course, circumstances must rule your selection of plants to a great 

 extent. Every one caunot aftbrd to keep up such a selection of 

 plants as I have enumerated. Still it is wonderful what you could 

 purchase for a few shillings in Covent Garden Market, during the 

 season. And by replacing faded and out-blown flowers with fresh 

 plants now and then, and adding fresli soil occasionally, one box can 

 hold all or nearly all the passing seasons display. Directly your 

 autumn flowers are out of bloom you should refill your box with 

 fresh soil, and plant your spring flowering bulbs, such as tulips, 

 hyacinths, crocuses, snowdrops, etc. October and the first half of 

 November is the best time for planting them, and two inches below 

 the surface is the proper depth. Mice are very fond of these bulbs, so 

 you must take care that they do not get at them. The best way to 

 do tihs is to cover the box with something. Bulbs spring best in 

 the dark, so you should keep the box in a closet or anywhere from 

 the light till they have sprung up about an inch or so. After plant- 

 ing give them a moderately good watering. 



You can have very pretty flower-boxes by filling then entirely 

 with annuals, such as red and white candytuft, clarkia, nemophila, 

 larkspur, musk, mignonette, Virginian stocks, and many others. 

 They make a gorgeous display of bloom for a few weeks. Migno- 

 nette especially is a favourite with every one, for its delicate little 

 flowers and exquisite fragrance — really " a little darling," true to its 

 name. A box of annuals should be sown about the end of February, 

 in small patches or lines, as you may wish them arranged. Flower 

 seeds vary much in size, from the big scarlet runner to the very 

 small clarkia, and you must cover them accordingly. Scarlet runners, 

 nasturtiums, and sweet peas may be covered half-an-inch ; clarkia 

 and mignonette hardly covered. When the seedlings are up you 

 will have to thin them out as they grow ; thin them out well, leaving 

 only four or five plants in each patch. If left too thick you will 

 have poor bloom and a wilderness of weak plants ; while if properly 

 thinned, you will have nice strong plants and a fine display of 

 flowers. Annual boxes soon get weedy looking, and to make them 



