BASKETS. 



BASKETS. 



ferns and lycopods, and others with trailing 

 plants. These baskets require lining with 

 moss to make them hold the soil ; the moss 

 ought to be partially dried, but damped 

 again before using. Some are made of 

 wood, ornamented outside ; and some with 

 pieces of fir-cones tacked over them, which 

 gives to them a neat and rustic appearance. 

 Others, again, are ornamented with bark, 

 or different -coloured pieces of wood. 

 Terra-cotta vases, surrounded with wires 

 for suspension, are also in use for the same 

 purpose. When the baskets are of wood, 

 they should be lined with zinc, which 

 makes them more durable ; for wood, as it 

 decays, is sure to breed fungus, which is 

 injurious to plants. 



Baskets, Hanging. 



A very important feature in window- 

 gardening is the introduction of suspended 

 baskets, usually made of wire, for the 

 purpose of displaying to advantage the 

 beautiful habit of trailing plants. These 

 should be potted in ordinary flowerpots, 

 and surrounded with moss in the basket, 

 the latter being made to hook on to a 

 staple in the ceiling, so that it may be 

 taken away when the plant requires water. 

 One of the most suitable plants for the 

 purpose is Saxifraga sarmentosa, which 

 does well under ordinary treatment ; it is of 

 variegated foliage and highly ornamental. 

 Another is Disandra prostrata, with bright 

 yellow flowers, and pretty foliage like 

 ground ivy. Both these will trail eighteen 

 inches or more from the basket in very 

 graceful festoons. 



Baskets, Hard- Wooded Trailers 

 for. 



Among hard -wooded plants, suitable for 

 suspended baskets, may be reckoned 

 Myoporum parvifolium, bearing small 

 white flowers in autumn, winter, and 

 spring; Pultsnaq, sitbumbeUata^ a nefit 



spreading plant, flowering in spring. 

 There are also one or two acacias, as 

 Acacia rotundifolia and A. ovata y which 

 are of a pendulous habit. Monochatun 

 alpestre is a beautiful winter-flowering 

 plant, but will require tying down at first, 

 and training neatly over the basket. In 

 planting the hard- wooded plants, it should 

 be remembered that though it may be that 

 the softer plants are more easy to cultivate, 

 and thus safer to begin with, these are 

 more permanent, and do not so soon out- 

 grow their room. 



Baskets, Management of, &c. 



Baskets are sometimes managed in the 

 same way as vases, and even troughs. The 

 plants are grown in ordinary flower pots, 

 plunged in moss, placed in the baskets, &c., 

 when in perfection. This plan has its 

 advantages ; for as a plant gets shabby, it 

 can be instantly changed for another. All 

 window gardeners who are fortunate 

 enough to possess a frame, pit, or small 

 greenhouse would do well to adopt tbi 

 plan ; for a plant is not so likely to become 

 one-sided if grown in a frame ; the one- 

 sidedness of plants grown in winuovs 

 being evidence of the advantages to l>e 

 derived from the possession of other 

 means. But it does not follow that 

 window plants must be ill-looking because 

 one-sided ; nor should their tendency that 

 way be checked by turning them, as they 

 are weakened thereby. Whether inside 01 

 outside a window, plants naturally tmn 

 towards the light, as every one knows who 

 has had any practice with them. What- 

 ever means are at command, the main 

 points in window, as in all other plant 

 culture, are perfect cleanliness, a free open 

 soil and good drainage, a tolerably even 

 temperature, and uniform moisture. Where 

 there is a tolerably clear atmosphere, 

 window gardening in this style may be 

 Conducted without glazed coverings, but 'n 



