PLANTS. IN RESIDENCE WINDOWS 



129 



ety of mixtures of soils. With a larger number 

 of plants a mixture of three parts )oam, one part 

 each of well-rotted manure, sand and leaf-mold, 

 ' or woods dirt, will prove satisfactory. 



Having in mind the fact that the growing of 

 plants in a room through the winter is an unnat- 

 ural process, every care should be taken to make 

 all conditions favorable for plant growth. The 

 most important point in house-culture of plants is 

 to have ample drainage in the box. The neces- 



Slg. 186. House without eaves. The glass at the shoulder or 

 plate is bent, and the glass extends nearly to the grouud. 



sarily dry atmosphere of the living-room soon 

 dries out the soil and frequent waterings are neces- 

 sary ; but if there is imperfect drainage there 

 may be water standing around the roots of the 

 plant when the top soil needs moisture. With but 

 few exceptions, such as callas and cyperus or 

 umbrella plant, water is decidedly injurious to 

 plants and facilities for the escape of excessive 

 water should be furnished, leaving only moisture. 

 When one has facilities, window-boxes should be 

 used rather than shelves or ledges, setting the 

 potted plants in the box and filling in around the 

 pots with moss or sifted coal-ashes. This prevents 

 the soil drying out, keeps the roots cool, and saves 

 in the watering. 



Kinds to grow. 



A prime cause of failure in raising house plants 

 is a poor choice of the kinds. The practiced grower 

 usually has a rather small range, such as experi- 

 ence has taught 'him will thrive under his condi- 

 tions. The choice of the plants, therefore, is of 

 the greatest importance. In this age of furnace- 

 warmed and gas-lighted houses, the range of plants 

 that may be successfully grown in a dwelling- 

 house, to a certain extent, is limited ; yet a good 

 choice remains if one is willing to give the atten- 

 tion that the plants require and will use good judg- 

 ment as to temperature and moisture. The so- 

 called "foliage plants "—those grown for their 

 graceful or colored foliage rather than for their 

 flowers — are, perhaps, the easiest to manage. Hav- 

 ing no flowers or buds to be injured by water, 

 they may be sprayed or washed as often as re- 

 quired ; and, needing no change in the temperature 

 to develop flowers, they may be grown together 

 without difficulty ; and, as many of them can be 



B9 



grown from seed, they may be had cheaply. Choos- 

 ing a list of six plants of this character, we could 

 start with Dracaena indivisa, a graceful, narrow- 

 leaved, erect-growing plant with a drooping leaf 

 habit. Another good choice would be Grevillea 

 robusta, or silk-oak, a rapid-growing plant of erect 

 habit and graceful, finely-cut, dark green foliage. 

 For a drooping plant, nothing is better than 

 Asparagus Sprengeri, a rapid grower and a plant 

 that lends itself to almost any treatment, training 

 along the windows, held upright, or hanging in a 

 natural way. The Boston fern, or some of the 

 more graceful types of the same species, are en- 

 tirely satisfactory. A small Date palm. Phoenix 

 reclinata, and either a Kentia or an Areca palm, 

 will finish the list, giving one a range of upright, 

 spreading and drooping plants, all requiring prac- 

 tically the same general treatment. 



The Dracaena, Grevillea and Asparagus may 

 readily be grown from seed, plants from seed sown 

 in early summer growing to good size by winter. 

 The other three plants may be purchased at rea- 

 sonable prices. The common rubber plant {Ficus 

 elastiea) should not be omitted from the foliage 

 plants. When young and vigorous, it is attractive. 



Among the flowering plants that submit to house 

 treatment, the geranium is perhaps the most popu- 

 lar, and a well-grown plant in full bloom speaks 

 of very careful treatment. The objections to this 

 plant are the tendency to grow leggy or spindling, 

 having a bare stalk with a few leaves at the top, 

 and the habit of turning its leaves toward the light 

 and becoming one-sided. Begonias, both the orna- 

 mental-leaved and the flowering type, may be grown 

 to fine specimen plants if given care. Primroses 

 grown from seed sown in May, or purchased in 

 November, should bloom profusely through the 

 winter. Cyclamen grown from seed sown in Jan- 

 uary make fine little plants by the following 

 winter. A few 

 careful grow- 

 ers with excep- 

 tional facili- 

 ties and the 

 knack of mak- 

 ing plants 

 thrive, succeed 

 with a wide 

 range of 

 plants; but 

 one who has 

 only a limited 

 experience and 

 but little time 

 to devote to 

 plants should 

 attempt to 

 grow but few, 

 if any, of the plants most difficult of culture. 



Window-gardens are never complete without a 

 show of spring -flowering bulbs. These take the 

 place of plants that have bloomed through the 

 winter and have become unsightly, thus allowing 

 one to have his windows full and, at the same time, 

 to have a change of blooms. Hyacinths, narcissi 



Fig. 187. Eaveless house, interior view 



