November, 1909 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



183 



A partition through the centre of the box gives sup- 

 port and keeps it from warping 



long box. The ordinary house window 

 may well have the single box. 



Other things to keep in mind for the con- 

 structing of the box are depth, drainage 

 holes, joints and paint. 



Just as bulb boxes need no great depth, 

 so with window boxes. If the depth be 

 great the plant spends too much energy 

 in root growth. A shallow box means, if 

 properly filled, a compact root mass. So if 

 your box is to be, say, 3! feet long, make it 

 not more than 8 or 10 inches deep. 



As we put drainage holes in the bottom 

 of the bulb box so we do in the window-box. 

 Many people make window-boxes without 

 drainage holes. It seems rather better to 

 have them since they offer exit for surplus 

 water, and offer places for the roots to get 

 at the air. An arrangement and spacing of 

 drainage holes may be seen in the October 

 issue under bulb boxes. These holes may 

 be bored 6 inches apart down through the 

 centre of the box; or they may be bored 

 in two lines, thus doubling the number of 

 holes and amount of air space. 



A box filled with soil all winter constantly 

 in a state of moisture is quite likely to spring 

 or spread apart at the joints. The better 

 fitted the joints the better the box, and the 

 better it stands the inside pressure and mois- 

 ture constantly brought to bear upon it. The 

 box in the picture has the end pieces placed 

 between the side pieces and so poorly done 

 that this box hardly lasted one year out. 

 And so this really very simple-looking piece 

 of construction presents a splendid lesson in 

 joints for the manual training shop. 



As to paint, of course the box must have 

 one coat (perhaps two) on the outside. A 

 dark green is all around the best. Green 

 is always the best setting for plants. 

 Nature made this color scheme. We only 

 follow her lead. 



After the box is made, the paint dry, it 

 must be filled.. And this may well be left 

 until late fall; let it be the last of outdoor 

 work. Or fill the boxes, put the plants in 

 and leave outdoors, sheltered by a wall 

 from winds, so the plants may get a start 

 before brought in for the long stay inside. 



Just a good garden soil is the soil for them. 

 It should not be clay soil, or the clay will form 

 too cold and damp a mass about the plant 

 roots. Do not fertilize the soil. Just a good 

 soil, sandy rather than rich, is the kind 

 wanted. It is well to sift it right into the boxes. 



Choice of Plants 



T^HE kind of plants to place in the box 

 -■■ depends upon whether the box is to go in 

 a bright sunny window or in one which gets 

 little or no sun. Everyone knows the most 

 satisfactory plant of all for sunny windows 

 is the geranium. It is easy enough to get 

 them for schools without money, because 

 this is the time when everyone's mother is 

 taking up plants for the winter and some 

 are always thrown away. Many large, 

 old plants slipped make six or more good 

 little chaps. Begonias are most satisfactory; 

 you can plant these either in sun or shade. 

 Fuchsias make a fine show. If you wish to 

 have a plant of some height do not choose 

 a palm or fern, for these plants need so much 

 water they should always be planted by 

 themselves in single pots or in fern dishes. 

 The amount of water required for a palm 

 would cause ordinary plants, like geraniums, 

 to decay. So choose plants which take up 

 about the same quantity of water. For 

 height, then, one might plant a flowering 

 maple. These are fine in leaf and blossom. 

 So they add much to the box. Vincas are 

 good for both sun and shade; so too is pan- 

 danus. The foliage of these is pleasing. 

 Much is added to the general effect if some 

 plants which form long hangers are put in 

 and planted close to the front side of the box. 

 In sun or shade the "wandering Jew" grows. 

 A bit breaks off; it is stuck back into the 

 earth and again it grows. Pieces put in 

 water grow equally well. Trailing over the 

 sides of the vessel they are in, they make a 

 pleasing effect in a corner or by the side of a 

 window. 



An important fact in connection with 

 window-boxes is, the closer you plant the 

 better the growth of the plants. It sounds 

 wrong. We think that plants ought to have 

 space to grow in. They should, usually; 

 but space defeats the object of the window- 

 box, because the idea is to have top growth 

 and blossom. If you give plants a chance 

 to grow under the ground they will do it at 

 a sacrifice to their growth above ground. 



Pandanus is very decorative, grows readily, and 

 adds much to the appearance of the box 



There are too many leaves on this slip. Cut off all 

 but the two top ones 



So crowd the plants in. The root growth, 

 thus limited and checked, gives added 

 strength above. This is true too, in a meas- 

 ure, of planting in pots. Most people put 

 plants in too large pots, and so fail often 

 to get good top growth and blossom. Notice 

 next time you drop into a florist's shop the 

 large palms in comparatively small pots. 

 Why is this? Just to get good growth of 

 foliage. This fall do not re-pot ferns and 

 palms hastily. Neither get alarmed at roots 

 poking through drainage holes. It is always 

 wise to ask the florist about the re-potting of 

 large plants. 



Finally, as to sunny and sunless windows: 

 put in the boxes for the shady windows 

 plants which run to foliage and in those for 

 the sunny windows plants from which you 

 expect blossom. For blossom, sun is 

 necessary. 



The last thing of all is the placing of the 

 box. Shall it go on the sill? Not if you 

 wish to keep the sill in good condition. 

 Shall it be screwed to the casement? It 

 may be, but it is hard to place each year, 

 and often the strain is too great on the 

 screws. The best arrangement is that of iron 

 brackets screwed to the casement beneath 

 the window sill. These brackets when not 

 in use may be folded in against the wall and 

 so are quite out of the way and do not have 

 to be removed from schoolrooms each 

 spring when the box goes outdoors. The 

 weight of the box is sufficient to hold the 

 brackets out, and so steadies them that it is 

 not necessary to even screw the box on. 

 Two boys holding the brackets straight, two 

 others placing the box on, is all the labor 

 needed to make that box permanently 

 secure. It remains here now until its journey 

 outdoors next spring. 



Slipping of Geraniums 



/^\LD, stocky geraniums in the fall gar- 

 ^-^ den are exactly right to slip. These 

 properly slipped and started, if well cared 

 for, will blossom by January or February. 

 If closely crowded into the window-box you 

 may be certain of bloom if you have good, 

 strong sunlight on them. 



