30 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



February, 1909 



to the screw-eye or staples placed in 

 the windows should be used for this pur- 

 pose. The box should have at least three 

 inches bearing on whole length of win- 

 dow sill. A piece of galvanized sheet 

 iron may be placed on the sill to prevent 

 the sill from rotting. The following dia- 

 grams will perhaps be of service in the 

 construction of the box : 



A box constructed as stated will with 

 ordinary care last for nine or ten years 

 if given an occasional coat of paint. 



A more elaborately constructed box 

 can be had by having the bottom pro- 

 ject about an inch on the front and ends, 



the soil from drying out too rapidly. 

 These are some of the methods by which 

 window boxes can be made more artis- 

 tic and less crude looking than we often 

 see them, and also give the pjants the 

 best possible conditions for successfnl 

 growth. 



SOIL FOB WINDOW BOXiSa 



A good, rich, loamy compost, about 

 two parts loamy potting soil and one 

 part of well-rotted barnyard manure with 

 a little bone meal, makes a good soil for 

 window box plants generally. It is of no 

 use expecting good results in window 

 boxes if poor soil is used. I have found 



Ironl' 



o 

 o 



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o 



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Back" 



End Section of Box. 



Bottom of Box, showing Cleats and Holes for Drainage. 



and the edges nicely rounded. Beading 

 can also be used effectively for appear- 

 ance sake. All of these are of little use, 

 however, and only serve to help rot the 

 box. It is much better for the success- 

 ful growth of the plants to have a plain 

 box as described covered with virgin 

 bark, or even the bark or some of our 

 native trees. The bark should be nailed 

 on firmly. Flat pieces of bark are best 

 for covering window boxes. It may be 

 necessary to run a saw cut partially 

 through the corn bark lengthwise on the 

 inside, to make it more pliable and to 

 make it set closer. The bark of the hard 

 maple, ash, and walnut are particularly 

 well suited for this purpose, especially if 

 taken from a recently felled tree, when 

 the bark is pliable and easily placed in 

 position. The covering of the bark — or 

 bark and moss — as seen in the photos, 

 not only gives the box an artistic and 

 rustic-looking appearance, but also helps 



Box Corered With Cork Bark 



to prevent the soil from drying out as 

 quickly as it does in a plain wooden box, 

 a point worthy of consideration, espec- 

 ially if the box is to be placed in an ex- 

 posed sunny situation. Covering the out- 

 side with small pieces of split cedar 

 nailed on has a good effect from an ar- 

 tistic point of view, as well as preventing 



it a good plan to put a sprinkling of 

 bone meal or a thin one-inch layer of 

 well-rotted barnyard manure spread over 

 the soil about an inch from the bottom 

 of the boxes. This serves as a reserve 

 fertilizer when the balance of the soil 

 has become exhausted. 



WHEN TO FILL 



Window boxes should not be filled until 

 it is about time to place them in posi- 

 tion. In fact I prefer filling them after 

 they are placed in position, if possible. 

 Window boxes filled a few weeks before 

 they are placed in position may look bet- 

 ter at the time, but long before the sea- 

 son is over they begin to look shabby 

 from the soil having become exhausted 

 and filled with roots, a condition it is dif- 

 ficult to remedy even with the application 

 of fertilizers, or with copious applications 

 of water. Well-grown and well-hard- 

 ened plants of a good size and appear- 

 ance, and the box filled at the time of 

 placing in position, will give far more 

 satisfactory results for the season than a 

 box filled earlier that soon gets past its 

 best, even if the changed conditions 

 from indoors to outdoors does not at 

 once have a damaging effect, as it often 

 does on the plants, unless shaded for a 

 few days or placed in a well sheltered 

 position from the sun and wind. Good, 

 rich soil, large, well grown and harden- 

 ed plants are essentially necessary to 

 have a successful window box. About 

 the first week in June is a good time to 

 place window boxes in position. 



HOW TO FILL AND AERANQE 



No Other drainage is necessary beyond 

 the holes in the bottom of the box. Fill 

 in soil sufficient to fill box about one- 

 third full. Stand the plants, after they 

 have been knocked out of the pots they 



are in, in the position they are to occu- 

 py, and make sure that you have them 

 in their proper positions before filling in 

 any more soil. 



Place the tall plants at the back, and 

 place the drooping and trailing plants 

 in front and ends of box. Then fill in 

 any open or bare looking spots between 

 with medium height plants. In placing 

 the plants in position, due consideration 

 must be given to height and habits of 

 plants as well as color effect, and to have 

 the plants arranged so that height, den- 

 sity and color may be properly balanced 

 and harmonized, without their present- 

 ing a stiff formal appearance. The sur- 

 face soil of the ball of earth on the 

 plants when placed in the box should b. 

 about an inch or more below the toi. 

 edge of the box. 



When you are satisfied the plants are 

 properly set and arranged, fill in the soil 

 and pack it moderately firm around the 

 roots of the plants, filling in soil to with- 

 in an inch of top of box. Give water at 

 once suflficient to moisten all the soil. 

 Afterwards avoid over-watering at the 

 roots for a few days until the plants are 

 established in their new quarters. A 

 sprinkle of water overhead and the plants 

 shaded for a day or two will be bene- 

 ficial when first planted. When growth 

 has well commenced, water should be 

 given freely every day unless in very wet 

 weather. Give water so that it runs 

 out through the holes in the bottom of 

 box every time the plants are watered. 



Towards the end of the season some 

 liquid fertilizer may be given the plants. 

 Art application of fertilizer as used for 

 pot plants once a week from middle of 

 July until the end of the season will be 

 beneficial, or a top dressing of rich soil 

 may be applied about the end of July to 

 advantage. 



In the autumn many of the plants can 

 be taken out, potted and placed in the 

 window for winter. It is seldom that the 

 box is of any use for indoor decorative 

 purposes without being refilled. Window 



Box Covered.with Native Bark, Lichens and Fungi 



boxes filled with ferns, bulbs or plants in 

 the fall, look very nice, however, in a 

 window in winter. 



An article on the construction and 

 management of hotbeds for starting 

 vegetable and flower seeds will appear in 

 next issue. 



