WINDOW GARDENING. 



5 6 4 



WINDOW GARDENING. 



easily adjusted to vases for the hall and 

 drawing-room. But whoever would have 

 healthy plants in a sitting-room, of any 

 kind whatever, should provide either a 

 case or vase; the dry atmosphere which is 

 agreeable to human beings is unsuitable 

 for most plants. 



Window Gardening, Hanging 

 Baskets for. 



Another feature in window gardening 

 is the introduction of suspended baskets, 

 usually made of wire, for the purpose of 

 displaying to advantage the beautiful habit 

 \>5 trailing plants. These should be potted 

 in ordinary flower pots, and surrounded 

 with moss in the basket, the latter being 

 made to hook on to a support in the ceiling, 

 so that it may be temporarily removed 

 when the plant requires water. One of 

 the most suitable plants for the purpose is 

 Saxijraga sarmentosa, otherwise known as 

 " Mother of Thousands," which does well 

 under ordinary treatment ; it is of varie- 

 gatecl foliage and highly ornamental. 

 Another suitable plant is Disandra pros- 

 trata, sometimes called Sibthorpia pros- 

 trata, with bright yellow flowers, and 

 pretty foliage like ground ivy. ooth these 

 will trail 18 inches or more from the basket 

 in very graceful festoons. 



Planting Soil. In planting a basket, 

 if it is to be filled with ordinary soft- 

 wooded flowering plants, that is, geraniums, 

 verbenas, petunias, &c., the soil ought to 

 be two-thirds loam to one of very rotten 

 dung or leaf mould, and a little sand ; if 

 planted with ferns or hard-wooded plants, 

 as Myoporum parvifolium^ Monochcetum 

 alpestre, pultenccas, and the like, the soil 

 should be one-half turfy loam and one-half 

 peat, using rather more sand than for the 

 freer-growing plants. To those who are 

 not acquainted with soils it may be worth 

 while to observe that good loam is of a 

 yellowish hue, and feels soft and silky to 



the touch ; it is usually the top spit of 

 meadow land, while peat is obtained in 

 places where heath grows wild. If the 

 baskets are made of wire and lined with 

 moss, they are sufficiently drained ; if of 

 wood, there should be one or more holes 

 in each, to let out surplus moisture. As to 

 soil, those who cannot obtain it otherwise 

 may purchase it at the nearest nursery, 

 properly prepared for the particular kind 

 of plants it is intended for. In filling the 

 baskets, put some rough, lumpy soil at the 

 bottom. This should lie hollow, so that 

 surplus water may readily find an exit. 

 The soil should be laid in roughly, with 

 some broken pieces of potsherd mixed with 

 it, when it will keep sweet for years. 



Plants of Trailing Habit. Next to 

 fuchsias, the best plants for suspended 

 baskets are ivy-leaved geraniums ; these 

 being all of a trailing habit, they hang 

 down and flower freely. Petunias and 

 verbenas, also, which are of rich and 

 varied colours, are suitable for baskets, 

 with Saxifraga sarmentosa y of variegated 

 foliage and pretty trailing habit, and Dis- 

 andra prostrata, with its pretty yellow 

 musk-like flowers. The common musk is 

 also a very suitable plant; if a bit is 

 planted in the centre, or some small pieces 

 pricked about the surface, it will soon 

 spread out and hang down the sides. 

 Harrison's Giant Musk is also a good 

 basket plant. The common moneywort 

 (Lysimachia nummularia) does well and 

 is effective ; as is also the trailing snap- 

 dragon, or Toadflax (Linaria cymbalaria). 



Hard-wooded Trailers. Among hard- 

 wooded plants suitable for suspended 

 baskets we may reckon Myoporum parvi- 

 folium, a very neat trailing plant, bearing 

 small white flowers in autumn, winter, and 

 spring ; and Pultemea subumbellata, a neat 

 spreading plant, flowering in spring. There 

 are also one or two acacias, a? Acacia 

 rotundifolia a.nd j4. ovata, which are of n 



