622 GARDENING FOR BEGINNERS 



of the best way of growing Vines for fruit, and of affording pleasant shade over paths. 

 Even in England, though Grapes will only ripen against a wall, the Vine is still the best 

 and most beautiful covering for these pleasant, shady ways, and with other quick-growing 

 climbing plants, such as Aristolochia and Roses, will soon cover the skeleton of the struc- 

 ture, and give the cool shade that is so pleasant in the heat of full summer. The pergola 

 may be entirely of wood, preferably of oak, stems about 9 inches in diameter, and left 

 quite rough. The bark must not be stripped off. Where expense is no object it is better 

 that the supports should be of something more durable than wood. Nothing is better 

 than piers of 14-inch brickwork, standing 7 feet 2 inches out of the ground, with sound 

 beams of oak coupling them across the walk, and larch poles or branching tops of oak 

 laid along overhead. There are also some small trees that will soon cover a pergola, 

 such as Laburnum and Weeping Ash. These two, if grown together over a temporary 

 larch support, would in time take its place altogether. In quite small gardens rough 

 arches of oak across a path are pretty, and provide opportunities for the growth of 

 climbers; but never use galvanised iron frameworks or anything of a cheap "rustic" 

 character. Simplicity should be the watchword. 



Plants for Rooms. No book upon gardening intended for the beginner would be 

 in any sense complete without some particulars about Window and Room Plants. Many 

 lovers of flowers have no greenhouse or even garden to pursue their pleasurable inclina- 

 tions, and it is then the room becomes the indoor garden, where those things that will 

 succeed in this atmosphere are grown in as great a variety as possible. Dwellers in 

 " flats " usually lighted by electricity, not by health-destroying gas, may brighten their 

 apartments considerably by judiciously selecting a few good things. At present room 

 gardening is not always successful. There are more failures than successes, and unless 

 certain golden rules are unfailingly observed, it is hopeless to expect plants to live for more 

 than a few weeks, whereas with correct treatment their lives would have been of consider- 

 able duration. It is very easy to deal with insect pests, as the plants are under close and 

 constant observation, but the failures may be attributed to injudicious watering, draughts, 

 foolish applications of violent fertilisers, and dust. There are others, and one of them is 

 not purchasing the right sort of plant. Things forced in heat merely to sell, glistening 

 green-leaved india-rubber plants, glossy palms, and so forth, are invariably a failure. 

 We have no wish to say hard things about the hawker, but he buys from the marketman, 

 who puts things in the market that have been produced by unnatural forcing in heat. So 

 go to a good nurseryman who has grown the plants in about the same temperature as the 

 room, then, success, with correct after-treatment, may be expected. It is a mistake to 

 buy at all in the winter, unless, of course, for temporary decoration. 



Draught is a fruitful source of failure. The plants are stood about the floor in the 

 draught from doors when cleansing operations are going on in the early morning, or the 

 windows are left open, and the foliage flutters in the keen early wind. All this means 

 that in time (not very long) the deep green of the leaf changes to brown, and plant grow- 

 ing is given up in disgust. Then in the winter frost attacks the plants. The temperature 

 drops far below freezing point in an un warmed room, and the plants in the window have 

 an unhappy time, even in a room used during the day. Never fail to bring the 

 plants into the centre of the room when a sharp frost is expected, and this may be easily 

 managed with an iron or strong wire stand. Never leave the door and window open at 

 the same time or allow cold draughts to blow upon the plants. 



In large towns constant attention is needful. Dust accumulates on the foliage, 

 especially in the case of thick- leaved plants, such as the Aspidistra or Parlour Palm, 

 Aralia Sicboldi, Palms, and similar things. Free the leaf surfaces from dust with a 

 bit of sponge moistened in tepid water. Unless this important duty is frequently 

 attended to it is hopeless to expect healthy plants. Dust chokes up the pores and 

 suffocation ensues. 



Water should always be tepid. A fruitful cause of failure is cold water, which chills 

 the roots, hinders growth, and eventually kills the plants. This may seem a 

 trivial matter ; it is not so. Good room and window gardeners use water of the same 

 temperature as the apartment. It is also wise to let the water intended for the plants 

 remain in a vessel in the open air to soften, and where rain water can be used this is 

 better than that from tap or well. Never over or under water. The soil should be 

 kept in an equal condition of moisture, and when watering give a good dose at each 

 application, so that it runs through the drainage and out of the hole in the bottom 

 of the pot. In summer and warm spring days the plants receive considerable benefit 

 from pleasant showers, soft, gently falling rain, not violent downpours. 



Of course a greenhouse is an immense help to the room plants and flowers. When 

 the latter become out of health, take them to the purer air of the greenhouse, and under 

 more natural conditions, and especially after they have been repotted. The greenhouse is 

 also a nursery for bulbous flowers and other things as pointed out in the chapter about 

 greenhouse plants. 



