May, 1909 
growth. It, too, looks ex- 
ceedingly well with salmon- 
pink geraniums. A _ full 
fringe of it is not cheap, 
however. It served in some 
most effective boxes. Both 
the blossoms and the vines, 
which adorned the steps and 
porch, showed to exquisite 
advantage as they swept 
against the creamy gray of 
the stone with every vag- 
rant breeze. 
With the coming of cold 
weather we continue our 
window box growth with 
various tiny evergreen trees. 
Even the cellar windows of 
one house are thus adorned. 
These are renewed as re- 
quired, winter and summer. 
As a matter of fact these 
trees do well to live three 
months in the winters of 
northern cities, and it mat- 
ters little whether or no 
they be watered. If they 
are not watered they will 
die, and if they are watered 
the freezing of the water 
about the roots is likewise 
fatal. Average persons do 
not stop to think that the 
roots of evergreens which are growing in the soil reach below 
the frozen surface. 
As for the boxes themselves, there is the greatest variety, 
and while tiles may be beautiful, they are quite unnecessary 
with fine vines. Zinc boxes, painted the color of the house, 
are very good. They should have handles at the ends. It 
costs something to have these made, but they last a long time 
if properly cared for. Any box, however, must be emptied, 
cleaned, and put in a dry place when its season of beauty is 
over. 
As for the planting, it is best to have a few buckets of soil 
from a gardener. Each of the boxes should have at least 
three holes for drainage, and over each hole should be laid 
some bits of broken pots. Then comes a good layer of the 
soil. Then the vines should be carefully placed along the 
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eG OB AMEE OE Ta ke 
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AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 
Salmon-pink geraniums and lysimachia nummularia in midsummer 
189 
front and sides of the 
boxes, adding enough soil 
to hold them in place. And 
then along the center of the 
box place the important 
plants, spacing according to 
their number. 
The whole crux of win- 
dow box success is, of 
course, in the watering, un- 
less the season should be un- 
precedently rainy. And even 
then they receive little un- 
less the rain pelts against 
their side of the house. In 
ordinary weather we have 
found that they must be 
watered every day. Sun- 
down or a trifle later is the 
best time, and it matters 
little whether they be re- 
freshed from the sprinkler 
attachment of the hose or 
the watering pot. As a rule 
each box requires the gallon 
size watering pot twice 
filled. Of course they may 
be sprinkled by hand from 
a large pan of water. It 
would be difficult to think of 
any one form of decoration 
that so beautifies a house 
both without and within. 
One should never undertake window boxes unless one is 
prepared to give some time to them. It is true not much at- 
tention is required, but the demands they make upon one’s 
time is urgent and can not be avoided. Flower boxes fail, as 
a rule, only from lack of care and lack of water. One is 
hardly likely to put them out too early, and if they are 
touched with frost in the fall nothing whatever can save 
them. The great essential is water, and if there be any 
neglect in this particular the failure of the whole is very 
swift and very certain. Absolutely nothing can save them, 
and even if not actually dried to death they seldom revive 
in anything like their original beauty. One must, therefore, 
be very certain that one will be able to water the boxes regu- 
larly, or it will be better not to undertake them at all. Win- 
dow boxes have come into such general modern use that they 
A well-planted box, even when first put out, is a thing of beauty 
The variegated vinca sweeps luxuriantly over the gray stone 
