WINDOW AND ROOM PLANTS 



THE cultivation of beautiful flowers in windows and rooms is one 

 of those delightful pursuits which appeal to all classes. The owner 

 of a dwelling loves to see it embellished with flowers, however 

 humble it may be. He or she (for the sexes take an equal interest 

 in this phase of plant culture) delights in decorating the windows. 

 As a rule, the town amateur gardener grows his plants on the 

 outside sill, and the countryman within the room. One does not 

 often see the interior of a town window packed with plants. The 

 main reason for this is that in towns every inch of house space is 

 utilised. If a town workman has a spare room he promptly lets 

 it, in order to help himself out with his heavy rent. The country- 

 man, on the other hand, always likes to have a spare room, which, 

 however small the dwelling, is rarely used. His little parlour is 

 generally a sacrosanct institution, only to be occupied on State 

 occasions. Truth to state, it generally smells very musty, from 

 want of ventilation and use. If you tried to open the window, 

 you would probably find that it was fixed too firmly in its frame 

 to be moved. But the chances are that you would never be able to 

 get near enough to the window to make an attempt at ventilation, 

 because of the huge barrier in the form of a plant-stand. 



One cannot very well condemn Hodge for cultivating plants 

 inside his windows, and advise him to grow them on the sill; 

 in the first place, because the cultivation of room plants is 

 beneficial; and in the second, because he has no sill. But it 

 is certainly desirable to expostulate gently when a window is 

 blocked. That is not good either for the plants or Hodge, not 

 to speak of Mrs. Hodge and the junior Hodges. 



