Gardening for Amateurs 



A mid-winter display in an amateur's greenhouse 



The Greenhouse and its Flowers 



WHEN outdoor gardening is ren- 

 dered impossible, many a pleasant 

 hour may be spent in the green- 

 house, in bestowing that care upon the 

 flowers to which they so readily respond. 

 In the depth of winter a greenhouse having 

 a temperature ranging from 45 to 55 forms 

 a delightful retreat. What is more, by 

 means of a judicious selection of plants it 

 may be always bright with flowers. More- 

 over, the protection of a greenhouse enables 

 one to bring many tender plants safely 

 through the winter, thus preserving them 

 for use in the flower garden during summer. 

 To ensure the safety of such as Fuchsia, 

 Begonia, Heliotrope, Abutilon, etc., a mini- 

 mum of 45 temperature will suffice ; but 

 where a display of flowers has to be kept 

 up during the winter a minimum of 50 is 



really desirable. Another valuable feature 

 of the greenhouse is that it is available, 

 especially in spring, for raising seedlings of 

 such plants as need a little warmth in order 

 to have them ready for summer decoration 

 and for hastening the germination of in- 

 numerable others. The structure and the 

 arrangement of the plants therein is, of 

 course, conditional upon the space avail- 

 able and the pocket of the owner. At the 

 same time it may be pointed out that the 

 small greenhouse gives often quite as much 

 pleasure as a far more pretentious one. 



The Greenhouse in Spring. At this 

 season the various hardy bulbs that have 

 been forced slightly, such as Hyacinth, Tulip, 

 Scilla, Crocus, Narcissi of different kinds, and 

 others contribute largely to the floral display. 

 Such hardy plants as Lily of the Valley, 



