CHAPTER XII. COLDFRAMES FOR WINTERING PLANTS 



I. COLDFRAMES FOR THE COUNTRY HOME 



By J. N. Gerard 



BOUT coldframes I have always had varying opinions, some- 

 times considering seriously the arrangement of all borders 

 so that they could be covered, and then again loathing the 

 sight of sash. It is not so much that extraneous things in 

 the garden offend one's esthetic sense (for a gardener, 

 curiously enough, becomes oblivious to labels, stakes, and some other non- 

 ornamental things), but frames require constant attention, and in winter 

 we have too much wet and slush for comfortable work out-of-doors. Of 

 course, thousands of amateurs have frames of violets and pansies, usually 

 near the house, from which they gather pleasure as well as flowers — if they 

 have good luck. That is easy enough ; but speaking in a broader way of 

 the full use of frames in a garden, the problem becomes more difficult. 

 Any one who amuses himself with a general collection of plants will 

 find that frames or some sort of covering or protection are of use at all seasons. 

 Snowdrops and certain irises will begin to flower at the first thaw and while 

 the snow is on, and should have overhead covering. Later, some of the 

 small alpines are quick to welcome the rising sun, and if they can be pro- 

 tected for awhile they not only pass unscathed by the warm winds of the 

 season, but the open sash helps somewhat to keep them in a damp atmosphere. 

 Mountain plants do not usually suft'er from cold, but from the sun's scorching 

 rays in a clear sky. On the Alps, as in the tropics, the rays are tempered 

 by abundant vaporous moisture. If one has only a few plants, oftentimes 

 a single sheet of glass, supported overhead on wires, answers for plants 

 which cannot withstand excessive moisture. 



A.s the season advances, "summer-ripe" bulbs and plants have stored 

 up their food for another season, and are ready to rest for a shorter or longer 

 period. For these, frames are again the ready way to keep away wet or 

 moisture so that they will not be stimulated unduly. As the growing season 

 ends, the fram.es come m.ore into play, for we not only have to provide for 



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