﻿16 



The Florists^ Review 



April 15, 192<» 



For Civic Decoration Nothing Beats these Boxes on the Big Bridge at Dayton. 



li()iiii<; so\('r;il lialf-iiK-h liolcs in the 

 bottom of tlio box and i'o\oriii<^ tlioin 

 \\itli coal (■iiiii(>rs, <^ra\el-stoiit's or pieces 

 of ludkcii pots, iilacoil witli the convex 

 yide up. This anan<,renu'iit will allow 

 water to escape, but retain the soil. If 

 t)ie box is to be located where water 

 drippiiifi; from it will be objectionable, 

 it may be set in a fjalvani/ed drip pan, 

 Avliich .should be about two inches wider 

 than the box. The box should be raised 

 from the bottom of the i)an by means of 

 cleats, so as to jiermit free drainage. 



Because of the restricted space in 

 these boxes, the soil sliould be one which 

 is quite rich in jdant food, yet one which 

 neither packs liard wlicn watered nor 

 contracts inucli when dry, but remains 

 porous and sprin<:^y. iSuch soil may be 

 made by mixing two parts of garden 

 loam, one jtart of leaf-mold or wood- 

 eartli and one ]iart of sand, with the ad- 

 dition of well decayeil manure, jjrefer- 

 ably cow nuunire, at the rate of one j>eck 

 to two bushels of soil. About one inch 

 (d" sp.'ice sluudd be left between the sur- 

 face of the soil and the toj) <d' the l)ox, 

 to afford room for watering, wliicli 

 should be done as late in the day as yos- 

 sible. After the plants have tilled the 

 box with roots, more jdant food must be 

 worked into the soil; a weekly watering 

 Avitli dilute liijuid manure is best, but a 

 light coating of bone meal, a thicker 

 layer of well rotted manure, or an appli- 

 cation of a complete commercial fertil- 

 izer will jirove adequate. 



Potting for Seasonal Changes. 



Wiieii |dants grow together so com- 

 I'actly as is the case in window boxes, 

 if one jdant dies tlie ijesired eft't'ct is 

 lost and it is practically imjtossible to 

 dig it out withcuit iii/)uring the other 

 jdants or to cut it out without leaving 

 a sjiace. This dilliculty may be over- 

 come by using jxdgrown plants, setting 

 the pots containing the plants in tlu' 

 boxes ami tilling in arouml the pots 

 with earth or moss; with that method, 

 any one j'l.-int can be renio\ed and an- 

 other substituted without ilanger of in- 

 jury to 1h<^ ot liters. This also makes it 

 jiossilde to (diange (jui<d\ly frcun winter 

 material to sjiringflowering bulbs, from 

 bullis to pansies, then to summer-bloom- 

 ing annuals and, once nujre, to autumn- 

 blooming jdants, or to make whate\er 

 other cliangos may be desired. With 

 few exceptions, a 4-inch or .1-inch pot is 

 sufliciently large for this i)urposc. In 

 using jiotted jdants in this way, it is 

 best to have two or three inches of rich 

 earth in the bottom of the box, on which 

 to place the jiots; the roots of the plants 

 will escajte through the hole in the bot- 

 tom of the j>ot and find suUicient food 

 for their develojtment. 



In sejccting the i)lants, attention must 



be jiaid to the exjiosure of tlie windows, 

 the color of the walls and the general 

 style of tlie exterior decoration. The 

 plants should harmoni/e, not only with 

 one anoth(>r^ but with tin- c(dor of the 

 building; if that is a neutral tint, like 

 the gray of concrete or of most stucco, 

 less care will be required than if it has 

 a distinct character, like the red of 

 brick. 



Selection of Plants. 



If the exposure is northern, the ciioice 

 is j)ractically confined to foliage j>lants; 

 these will be of the more (bdicate tyjjes 

 than woidd lie desirable if the boxes 

 were to be in full sunlight. For suu- 

 loving plants, geraniums, colons, achyr- 

 anthes, I'aris daisies and double jietu- 

 nias may be used, or, if more ilisjilay is 

 desired, crotons, colorcMl-leaved draca;- 

 nas, acalyj)has, asjiidistras or small 

 jialms. I'ossible low-growing plants for 

 the front of tlie )k)X are the dwarf white- 

 lea\ed geranium, Madame Saller(d; the 

 golden feverfew, lobelia, sweet alyssum 

 and the wliite-lea\ed cineraria. Excel- 

 lent drooj)iug vines are the variegated- 

 leaved vinca, nasturtiums, tradescan- 

 tias and German ivy. For window boxes 

 in shady locations, \igorous-growing 

 ferns, like the nej)hrolejds, a few of the 

 jiteris and the hardiest of the adian- 



Flowers for Factory Workers. 



lunis; narrow lea\cd di aca'iias'; gr. 

 leas, and K(>x begonias are good [d;t 

 to use. 



No set of rules can be given for 

 combining of thesi- or other suit;ii 

 jilants into ajq)r(q)riate box groi.; 

 but, as a suggestion, the following . 

 langenient s of common plants are i-i, 

 meiated: 



F()I£ SINNY IXH \ri(IN. 



1. Viiica iiiMjor front. 

 I'l'tiiiiia tiU<'r. 

 .Vncriitiiiii liUcr. 

 \inca nisoa |)(jints. 



L'. KncUsli ivy — front. 



.\s|iara^'iis Sprciiticri— front. 

 (IcrMMiiiiii lUlcr. 

 L.iiitaiia lillcr. 

 llU)is(Ms — jioiiits. 



.'!. Waiidcriii); .Ti'W front. 



.XsparaKiis Sprcnucri- front. 

 \<riiciia lilli'r. 

 I'ctiiMia- lillcr. 

 .Miirik'olil tiller. 

 Crolon lillcr. 



roll sii.vitv i,(»(\\'ii()N. 



1, .\s|)ar.-ii,'iis Spri'ii^rcri — front. 

 nr:iia'na ti'rniinalis - [Hiints. 

 r.osloii frrn- lilliT. 



L'. KnKlisli ivy- front. 



Colciis filler. 



Itoslon fern filler. 



I'andaiius Veiteliii- points. 

 .'!. Ceriri.oi ivy- front. 



-Asparanus Sfirentreri front. 



1 liiiisciLs -[loints. 



Wliitinanii fern tillir. 



I rotoii — filler 



After Summer Comes Winter. 



The matter of seasonal changes in i 

 Jilants has already been touched upui: 

 in the fall evergreens may be subs!' 

 tiiteil for tlie summer s(dection and wi' 

 these early sjiring llowering bulbs m 

 be jilanted, such as tulijis, daffod' 

 crocuses and snowdrojis. The win: 

 group may include a choice of sm: 

 conifers, broad leaveil e\ergreens, sin. 

 lri>h jntiijiers, low-growing junij)ers, . 

 lior-\itae and >()ung trees of spn. 

 hemlock or jiiiie. Of broad-leaved e\ 

 greens, dwarf box, mahonia, Evonyn • 

 I'adicans and jiachysandra or Vii 

 minor are good. To relieve the soinl 

 cITect (d' tlie dense green, small shr' 

 bearing bright (-(dored fruits may be 

 troiluceij. such as ilwarfed jilants of B 

 lieris Tliunbi rgii, ^vitll its bright scar) 

 berries borne along the gracefully ben 

 ing liraiudies. Priv(ds, either Ligustn. ' 

 \iilgare or li. liegelianum, are good 1 

 berries, both bearing clusters of bin 

 black fruits, which contrast well wi 

 the green of the conifers or the reds ■ 

 the barberry; these fruits are he 

 through the winter wii hoiit ■ change ■ 

 color. Hardy strains of Englisli ivy < 

 droojiiiig Jilants of J']\(inymus radica' 

 may be used to hide the boxes in winte 

 Kvergreens used for winter may be a' 

 ranged to produce a hedge-like ai)j)ea 

 ance or some jioints may be introduct 

 either at the ends or in the center or :^ 

 both ends and center. Customers ' 



