CHAPTER XXXV 

 WINDOW BOXES AND HANGING BASKETS 



Strictly speaking, window boxes do not come under the category 

 of planting or designing the grounds, but in a vital way they serve to 

 tie the house to the lawn and gardens and thus help to produce the 

 immediate effect of a harmonious whole. Particularly are they 

 valuable in imparting a cozy and "lived-in" atmosphere to a new 

 house. Many otherwise uninteresting houses have been made very 

 attractive through the use of window boxes. A severe type of archi- 

 tecture demands a window-box treatment developed with the heavier 

 kinds of foliage plants such as English ivy, geraniums, and fuchsias, 

 while a lighter architectural design requires vincas, snapdragons, and 

 ageratums. The selection of plants for successful window boxes must 

 be the result of some study of the effect to be produced and the kinds of 

 materials necessary to produce the effect. 



Not all of our plants can be used in window-box planting. Plants 

 for this purpose must retain their foliage throughout the summer, the 

 period of bloom must continue for a number of weeks, and the normal 

 growth of the plant should not be impaired by crowding the root 

 development within a small area. 



Two cardinal principles apply to the design and use of window 

 boxes. Never put window boxes on a building unless the architectural 

 composition requires them, and do not select for them plants which 

 are out of scale with the architectural detail. When planning the 

 window boxes the effect of the colour scheme should be considered 

 from the inside of the various rooms in the house as well as the effect 

 upon the aspect of the house itself. 



There are numerous possibilities outside of the conventional boxes 

 planted with periwinkle, geraniums, and daisies. Almost any of the 

 showy dwarf-growing annuals may be used and the opportunity for 

 various colour schemes with them is practically endless. 



If bright colour is needed the dwarf, giant-flowering snapdragon, 

 which comes in many brilliant shades and grows about twelve inches 



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