CHAPTER XXIII 



GARDENING FOR SHUT-INS 



THERE are possibilities in the indoor cul- 

 ture of flowers, though it may seem to the 

 casual observer, that only open air culture would 

 justify one in undertaking the growing of a 

 flower garden on any extended scale; but open 

 air gardening, while it certainly makes for un- 

 limited area of flower beds and a great variety 

 of sorts has still its drawbacks of inclement 

 weather, insufficient or too much moisture, much 

 humbling of one's physical self on bended knees 

 and a summer-long fight with the myriad insect 

 pests, from the tiny aphis that colonizes itself on 

 the tip of every green shoot in early spring, to 

 the predatory mole that furrows up paths and 

 beds, making efficient drains to deflect all water 

 intended for the refreshment of the plants. 

 Such indoor plants as one may elect to grow 

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