WINDOW GARDENING. 75 



sun, or in good light, an entirely different class of plants 

 is needed, for with the light we get flowers. As drooping 

 plants for the edges of these, may be named Alternan- 

 theras, Peristrophe angustifolia var., Lobelias, Tropseo- 

 lums, Mesembryanthemums, Petunias, single and double ; 

 Passifloras, Kondeletias, Torrenias, etc., while for up- 

 right or center plants, Achyranthes, Coleus, Begonias, 

 Geraniums, Zonal, double, single, and variegated leaved, 

 or any plant of not too large a growth, and which has 

 brightness of foliage or flower. If hanging baskets are 

 exposed to the full rays of the sun, or even partially so, 

 covering the surface of the soil with moss from the woods 

 will protect it from drying too quickly, and will also give 

 the basket a neater appearance. The soil used for hang- 

 ing baskets need in no way differ from that for plants 

 grown in pots. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 



WINDOW GARDENING. 



"Window gardening during the summer months is much 

 more successful in England than with us, owing to 

 a more temperate climate, and hence is there al- 

 most universally practised. In the cities especially, 

 where space is economized by placing story upon story, 

 and the buildings are so close that there is often no 

 room for even a spear of grass to be grown, the only 

 garden that is possible is one formed in a box on the win- 

 dow-sill; this is limited in its extent, as the space afford- 

 ed is only some 4 or 5 feet in length, from 8 to 10 inches 

 wide, with a depth for the soil of about 6 inches. These 

 boxes, are made of a great variety of materials, such 

 as wood, terra cotta, iron, etc., according to the 



