Balcony and Area Gardening. 151 



pegged close round the sides, and a few other flowering 

 plants filling up the centre is just the thing for a 

 balcony. For the winter months when the flowers are 

 dead, a plant of Aucuba, or golden or silver Holly 

 in the centre would make it up again for the season. 



The basket should be lined with moss to prevent the 

 soil coming through the wires. The Ivy roots nicely 

 through the moss when pegged close round and forms 

 a green covering, not only hiding the wires and moss, 

 but protecting the roots of the plants inside from the 

 scorching rays of the sun. Early Spring is the best 

 time for filling a basket, and then you may put a few 

 late Crocus bulbs among the moss; they would flower 

 out from the sides of the balcony basket very prettily. 

 A pot with a small variegated shrub woiuld fill up the 

 centre till the risk from frost is past to allow Geraniums 

 and other tender plants being put in. 



It is quite possible to have a small and interesting 

 rockery on a balcony. If the floor of the balcony is of 

 stone, a sheet of zinc cut out to the shape you wish 

 your rockery to be, and the edges turned up all round 

 something like a flat box, with a gentle incline to one 

 open corner for the draining away of superfluous water, 

 should be laid on the stone and your rockery built 

 upon it. Where the floor of the balcony is of perforated 

 metal, the sheet of zinc need only be flat to keep the 

 soil from falling through, with several small holes 

 punched through it to aid the drainage and you can 

 then heap your soil for the rockery about it. Very 

 choice burrs, pretty stones, and shells should be chosen, 

 for the rockery must be very select and neat. Several 



