Nothing is more effective in relieving the plain lines of a building than climbing and draping vines. Flowering kinds add an extra charm all their own 



Vines for Veranda Decoration -By w. C. McCollom, 



Long 

 Island 



NOW IS THE TIME TO TAKE NOTE OF VERANDA CONDITIONS AND SOLVE THE PROBLEMS FOR 

 NEXT YEAR. PLANTS THAT FIT SPECIAL CASES AND HOW TO MAKE THEM MOST EFFECTIVE 



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»Y REASON of 

 their long, graceful, 

 drooping growth and 

 floriferous habit, vines 

 are in a class by them- 

 selves for veranda deco- 

 ration. But both good 

 and bad taste are exhib- 

 ited in the use of vines, 

 especially of the flower- 

 ing type. Some people 

 create great, gaudy dis- 

 plays of color, vivid in 

 | the extreme and full of 

 discord. For instance, 

 a box or hanging basket 

 containing a scarlet gera- 

 nium, a yellow nasturtium, and a blue morn- 

 ing glory all jumbled up together, contains 

 plants of individual merit, but absolutely 

 unfitted for any part in one combination. 

 If you emphasize yellow in your hanging 

 basket, do not attempt to use anv color 

 but yellow, or white; white harmonizes 

 with any color. If you prefer blue flowers, 

 use white for contrast, or some green 

 foliage plant; and similarly when aiming 

 at scarlet effects. Don't, under any circum- 

 stances, bring scarlet, yellow, and blue to- 

 gether and expect the result to be pleasing. 

 In growing vines on veranda pillars 

 anything in a scarlet, crimson, or white 

 combination will serve to accompany a 

 trumpet creeper, but not a blue or a yellow. 

 If you have to use divergent colors, make 

 the changes transitional, drifting from a 



blue to a white or a green, before intro- 

 ducing a red or a yellow. In general, let 

 white or green act as the dividing or 

 connecting color. 



In preparing a hanging basket for plant- 

 ing, if there is no hole in the bottom, bore 

 one with a three-quarter inch bit. Cover 

 it with a piece of broken flower-pot, 

 over which spread about one inch of sifted 

 cinders; cover these with moss or similar 

 material to keep the soil from sifting 

 through, then fill with good, rich soil. 



If you want flowering vines for a good, 

 hot, sunny location, a good combination 

 is Maurandia scandens, var. alba and any 

 of the morning glories (Ipomcea). Thun- 

 bergia alata will work in well with any of 

 the nasturtiums (Tropceolum) , using Euony- 

 mus radicans or English ivy for green in 

 either case. Another good vine in bright 

 sunshine is Eccremocarpus, which combines 

 well with the cypress vine (Ipomcea Quam- 

 oclit) since it affords a tinge of scarlet. Re- 

 member always to figure on the effects of the 

 colors when combined, and do not misun- 

 derstand me when I say that the maurandia 

 will look well with any of the nasturtiums. 

 I mean, by this, with any one variety and 

 not with any mixture of two or more. 



If the basket is to be located in a par- 

 tially shaded position, the same vines will 

 answer, providing of course that there will 

 be sun enough to ripen the growth and keep 

 it short and stocky. It is hard to find 

 anything that will flower in densely 

 shaded spots. You can get foliage plants, 



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however, and English ivy, Euonymus 

 radicans and Vinca minor are all valuable 

 green plants for shady spots. 



Hanging baskets should be watered often 

 and generously, for they dry out rapidly. 

 Moreover, since the soil space is limited, 

 the plants are very apt to become im- 

 poverished for want of available food. 

 Water them twice a week with a solution 

 of cow manure, diluted until it has the 

 appearance of weak tea. 



Boxes should be made square as regards 

 depth and width, for a box narrower at 

 the bottom than at the top, has but little 

 root space and involves a lot of unnecessary 

 work ; similarly, they should not be narrower 

 at the top than at the bottom. A box six 

 inches square is of very convenient size, 

 but of course the place where it is to stand 

 must govern this to a certain extent. 



Always bore some holes in the bottom 

 to carry off drainage water, and plan to 

 raise the box on a few strips of wood about 

 one-quarter inch thick. Plants will not 

 grow well in boxes with standing water 

 about the roots. To lengthen the life of 

 such a box, or even a wooden hanging 

 basket, char the inside before boring holes 

 in the bottom, spray the inside of the 

 receptacle with kerosene and set it afire; 

 after the sides have burned about a quarter 

 of an inch into the wood, turn the box 

 upside down, and the flames will soon be 

 smothered. The best material for making 

 porch boxes is planed yellow pine or cypress. 

 Cypress is somewhat expensive, but will 



