WINDOW GARDENING. 57 



WINDOW GARDENING, BASKET PLANTS, 



AND 



CARE OF PLANTS IN ROOMS. 



No one, unless engaged in the business extensively, as 

 we are, can have any conception of the extent to which 

 plants are used for window gardening, so-called, and also 

 for the decor -.don of the sitting-room or parlor during 

 the fall, winter, and spring months. 



WINDOW BOXES. 



Window gardening, as it is done in England and it is 

 yet there done much better than with us consists in 

 having boxes fitted so as to rest on the window sill out- 

 side the window ; these, of course, being used only at 

 those seasons when it is warm enough for plants to be 

 placed outside. Such boxes may be made of wood, terra- 

 cotta, iron, or wire patterns. The latter are probably 

 the best, as they give free drainage for water, and for 

 the easy admission of air to the roots. A simple and 

 cheap window box is often made of square slats an inch 

 or so in thickness. These are placed at from half an 

 inch to an inch apart at the bottom and sides. This, 

 like the wire window box, gives ample drainage, which is 

 always a great advantage to the plants ; for, besides 

 freely allowing the water to pass off, the spaces allow the 

 air to get through the soil to the roots, a most valuable 

 advantage to the health of the plants. As in wire boxes, 

 moss, or some such material, must be placed against the 



