THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 99 



last as long as possible in flower requires a good deal of attention in 

 picking out fading plants and dead flowers. 



As the spring advances and risk from frost becomes less, your 

 window boxes will begin to receive their summer occupants ; then 

 what a wonderful display you may have. The gay golden canary 

 creeper, nasturtiums, scarlet runners, etc., will convert your windows 

 into a veritable garden bower, while your boxes blaze like a jewelled 

 coronet. Creeping plants can be trained all round the window by 

 having small twine led round for them to cling to. A few small 

 nails in the crevices of the stones and the twine twisted round them 

 will do this. Your boxes will require regular attention with water 

 in the summer time, but you should not water your box overhead, as 

 watering thus spoils the bloom. When the plants are dirty you 

 will have to sponge the dust off leaf by leaf. Take care to have all 

 dead leaves and blooms cleaned away and nothing left to cause any 

 unsightliness. Thin and prune to keep the plants from over- 

 crowding too much. What beautiful specimens of window boxes 

 one sees in unexpected places sometimes. I happened on several 

 occasions to be in a small manufacturing town some time ago, and 

 nothing gave me so much pleasure as a box of flowers in one of the 

 windows of a large factory ; it was so tastefully arranged and so gay 

 that I could not but admire it. As far as I recollect now it was a 

 green painted box tilled with scarlet and white geraniums and 

 yellow calceolarias mixed, bordered with musk plant and lobelias. 

 What gave the crowning effect, however, was an arch thrown over 

 from end to end of the box and a canary creeper wreathed round it. 

 I used to think it like some gigantic golden crown sparkling with 

 gems. Whoever arranged it had good taste. 



Now, supposing you have got your window box in beautiful 

 array, and the graceful creepers twining bower-like around the 

 window, what would be prettier than a neat wire basket hanging 

 from the centre, with a creeper twining round the wire-work, and 

 hanging down in little festoons of flower and foliage ; a bright 

 scarlet geranium, and a plant or two of blue lobelia filling it up 

 within? Such a window would create quite a sensation in the 

 neighbourhood. A strong hook for the basket to hang from, driven 

 in above the lintel, would hold it up. To prevent the wind from 

 blowing it against the window, it need not hang far down, or, better 

 still, a wire may be stretched across from side to side of the window- 

 to fasten the basket to, and hold it steady. And to go a little 

 farther still— if you live in a cottage, or on the ground flat of a 

 house — why should you not have a tasteful little rockery built up 

 to your window-sill, so that your window-box may act as the crown- 

 ing point of it ? Thus you could have ferns, mosses, rock and 

 Alpine plants growing in conjunction witli your window display, 

 the whole forming a combination of flower and foliage that would 

 be the admiration of every one who had the pleasure of seeing 

 it, and reflecting at the same time no small amount of credit on 

 yourself. 



You will find the window boxes always one of the richest treats 

 in London. Some of the houses at the West End are veritable 



April- 



