196 



HOUSE PLANTS 



FOR COLOURED FOLIAGE 



The best small decorative plant for the 

 window garden is the rex begonia. The 

 plants seldom grow more than six inches 

 high; the leaves come directly from the 

 rhizome and are obliquely heart-shaped 

 and all face one way. They are six to eight 

 inches long and of a rich metallic green 

 with a silver band. The original species 

 has been crossed with other species, so that 

 now one can get a variety of shades of green 

 and many different markings. If the win- 

 dow garden is large enough, space should 

 be given to three or four diff'erent varieties 

 as they will be a source of much pleasure. 

 Their culture is easy; they delight in a rich soil 

 to which a large portion of leafmould has 

 been added. 



I believe that the best specimens of the 

 leopard plant or farfugium. {Senecio Kcemp- 

 feriy var. aureo maciilatus) I have ever seen 

 have been in window gardens. There is 

 something about them which is always attrac- 

 tive to me. The leopard plant has large 

 leaves — six to ten inches across — of thick, 

 leathery texture, dark green in colour, and 

 blotched with yellov/ or sometimes with 



