308. A porch box with vines connects the house with the garden. The Vir- 309. A prize porch decoration. Coleus, Vinca major, geraniums, Asparagus 



ginia creeper (Ampelopsis quinquefolia) overruns both porch and window box. The Sprengert and Boston fern are in the boxes. The tall plant in the basKet is 

 plants used in this box, Asparagus Sprengert , Boston fern and tuberous begonias are Dracaena indCbisa. Aspidistra, on the steps, is the toughest of all house plants: 



among the best for a north exposure 



seems to stand anything but hard frost 



Unconventional Veranda and Window Boxes— By Daniel v. Casey 



Dayton, 

 Ohio 



SOMETHING BETTER THAN THE STEREOTYPED LOT OF STUFF MOST PEOPLE BUY FROM THE LOCAL FLORIST 

 — WHY THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THIS FORM OF GARDENING IS OUT OF ALL PROPORTION TO THE COST 



I" HOPE the time will come when every 

 *■ house in America will have a veranda 

 or window box of foliage or flowers. Nearly 

 every house in Dayton has one. This form 

 of gardening is about the only thing that can 

 be done to redeem the ugliness of a big city. 

 Its effectiveness is out of all proportion to its 

 cost. There is no other simple, little thing 



310. Boston ferns, umbrella plants. Kentias, are- 

 cas. Sprenger's asparagus, with coboeas, and Grebulea 

 robusta for flower. A varied assortment 



that will give such a touch of distinction, ele- 

 gance or cheer to a house. The reason for 

 this is rather subtle. A bit of green about the 

 house makes the connection between nature 

 and art. Even when a house has vines upon 

 it and shrubs in touch with its walls, which 

 make the transition between lawn and archi- 

 tecture, veranda and window boxes are 

 desirable. They give the finishing touch. 



In a modest way, too, these things are use- 

 ful. They may be an effectual screen for 

 the inmates of a room by cutting off the view 

 from the outside while not materially ob- 

 structing the interior view. The plants may 

 also break the rays of direct sunshine in the 

 hottest weather, and this helps to keep the 

 room cooler. The evaporation of water 

 from the boxes themselves helps in the same 

 way. 



Most people forget about their window 



Photographs by the National Cash Register Company 



boxes until May or June and then buy their 

 plants from the local florists for ten cents 

 each, and the dimes count up fast. This is 

 why most of the window boxes that you see 

 are conventional affairs, containing only a 

 few common plants that everyone knows. 

 Nearly all the accompanying pictures show 

 some originality and imagination. And by 

 exercising a little ingenuity it is possible to 

 reduce the expense to nothing. Instead of 

 throwing away the plants at the end of the 

 season you can store some of them in the 

 cellar for the winter. Others can be grown 

 from seed. Ferns may be transferred from 

 the woods and plants from the garden. 

 Uncommon kinds can be ordered from the 

 catalogues of large dealers in plants. 



TWO ORIGINAL PLANS 



An unconventional scheme which has 

 found much favor in Dayton is shown in Fig. 

 312. We think that even- window box should 

 have a trellis to carry the vines planted in it 

 up either side and over the arch of the win- 

 dow opening. If the window is on the 

 ground floor, make the trellis substantial. 

 Hardy climbers among the vines, such as the 

 ampelopsis, clematis, and the honeysuckle, 

 may be trained over it. On upper story 

 windows the trellis may be of a lighter char- 

 acter, ranging down even to a couple of stout 

 cords fastened to long nails driven into the 

 window casement. Over these train morn- 

 ing glories or Cobcea scandens. The vines 

 should be planted at either end of the box, of 

 course, and the drooping varieties at the out- 

 side edge. 



Most people look upon their window boxes 



as mere summer ornaments, whereas they 



can easily be used for tulips, hyacinths, and 



other bulbs in the spring before the regular 



228 



season of the bedding plants arrives. For 

 this purpose the boxes can be prepared and 

 planted in the fall, and, if not wanted in the 

 windows all winter, may be stored in a cool 

 cellar and brought into position in the window 

 about the end of April. 



MAKING THE BOXES 



The simpler and less obtrusive a box the 

 better. A plain wooden box, painted a dull 

 dark green is infinitely superior to one made 

 with all sorts of fancy frills or rails and 

 decorated in all the colors of the rainbow. 

 Let the color come only from the plants which 

 you put into the boxes. Permanent boxes 

 are sometimes covered with tin which is 

 decoratively figured on the outside in imita- 

 tion of tiling — a style which is suited only to 

 ornate architecture. Often the front of the 

 box is finished in natural wood to match the 

 rest of the house. This may be done in 

 shingle, for instance. If the windows are to 

 be fitted with boxes for more than one season 

 it will be cheaper in the long run to have them 

 strongly made of well seasoned lumber and 



311. Cannas and Asparagus Sprengert in a ten-foot 

 factory window. A large, but simple window box 



