1883.] 



THE AMERICAN GARDEN. 



129 



AND GREENHOUSE. 



Next a row of Willow slips were planted 

 around the inside of the rim of the pot, each 

 slip having four buds, two below the surface 

 for rooting and two above for starting young 

 shoots. When both of the latter started, the 



HOME-MADE HANGING BASKETS, 



Plants to thrive in wire baskets, and ap- i 

 pear healthy and natural require frequent j 

 and careful attention, else they will soon ! 

 produce anything but a pleasing and grace- { 

 ful effect. More compact recep- 

 tacles retain moisture longer and 

 are preferable in this respect. 

 The principal objection against 

 their more frequent use is their 

 heavy appearance, yet an invent- 

 ive mind will create readily and 

 with little or no expense a great 

 variety of designs and useful 

 appliances out of the commonest 

 and otherwise useless material. 



In the accompanying illustra- 

 tions, designed and described 

 for the Young Scientist by Mr. 

 A. W. Roberts, are given many 

 useful hints which will enable 

 any one to make very pretty 

 hanging baskets without ex- 

 pense. 



Fig. 1 is a nine-inch flower 

 pot, bored full of holes about a 

 quarter of an inch in diameter, 

 as shown in the diagram, Fig. 2, 

 After the holes were bored, the 

 pot was given a coat of dark 

 green paint, which was then 

 dusted over with fine brown 

 sand — washed clean and dried 

 — mixed with white frosting or 

 pounded white glass, to give it a 

 granite-like glistening and sub- 

 due the too painty look it might 

 otherwise have. In the bottom 

 of the pot, over the drain hole, 

 was placed a large piece of 

 sponge, for the purpose of retaining a liberal 

 supply of moisture, so necessary to the health 

 of basket plants. Swamp moss will answer 

 the purpose nearly as well. Over and around 



IMANTOPHYLLUM, 



These beautiful Cape bulbs, nearly allied 

 to CHvia, belong to the order of Amaryl- 

 lidacece, and are among the most desirable 

 plants for room ornamentation. Yet they 



iside of 



one facing the 



off. These slips, in course of time j 

 long drooping sprays over the top of 

 giving it a very graceful appearance, 

 center of the pot was planted German Ivy 



I are rarely seen in collections of amateurs, 



duced 

 e pot, 

 In the 



the sponge the pot was filled in with a layer 

 of rich soil, reaching to the first circle of 

 holes. In these were inserted slips of Zebra 

 plant, Tradescantia sebrina and T. aquatica, 

 also Moneywort, Z/ysimachia nwmmularia, cov- 

 ered with earth and well pressed down. More 

 soil was added up to the next tier of holes, 

 and so on till the pot was filled to the rim. 



and trained up the wires. Some of the slips 

 of Moneywort grew down from the pot a 

 yard in length, and were looped and festooned 

 to the drooping Willows. 



In Fig. 3 is shown an old fruit can, to 

 which, after label and paste had been re- 

 moved by soaking in water, two coats of 

 asphalt varnish were applied. Around the 

 can were worked designs with stove cinders, 

 and clinkers from a boiler furnace, selecting 

 those of picturesque form, bright color and 

 light weight. These were first washed and 

 then dried in an oven, and then fastened to 

 the can with hard asphalt cement. The 

 cinders were then touched up with very 

 brilliant colors in distemper, and the high 

 reliefs with gold and silver bronzes. In some 

 places where large fields of black varnish 

 produced a somber effect, this wns broken 

 with splashings of small pieces of highly 

 colored cinders. Over all was applied a thin 

 coat of furniture varnish, and through the 

 bottom of the can — from the inside, of 

 course — a hole was punched for drainage. 



The richness of effect in color, texture, 

 form, and lightness of material produced in 

 the combination of such castaway rubbish 

 often far exceeds that of costly articles of- 

 fered for this purpose in the most stylish 

 establishments. 



Rough pieces of wood and bark of trees 

 furnish also excellent material for hanging 

 baskets, and admit of endless variety of j if not kept 

 designs. 



among many of whom the idea is prevalent 

 that they are shy bloomers. From my own 

 experience and that of a few friends, I can 

 testify that such is not the case. 



The leaves are thick, leathery 

 and dark green, are self-support- 

 ing and of an evergreen nature, 

 not easily injured or broken. 

 The bulb is small as compared 

 to the leaf-growth, but it has an 

 abundance of long, white fleshy 

 roots, requiring ample pot room. 

 ImantopliyUum mini/it i<m, the only 

 species, is a winter bloomer, yet 

 if left undisturbed for several 

 years, and as it increases is slip- 

 ped into larger vessels, I have 

 known it to bloom at all sea- 

 sons ; but it soon becomes too 

 large for ordinary window cult- 

 ure. In such large clumps it 

 is only suitable for the green- 

 house or conservatory. In a ten- 

 inch pot I have had two bloom 

 stalks about midwinter with from 

 twelve to fifteen " Golden Lilies" 

 as large as the Amaryllis i ittata. 

 The flowers are erect and open 

 in succession. 



Turfy loam, well rotted ma- 

 nure mixed with charcoal, makes 

 a good soil, which, on account of 

 the large roots of the plant, 

 need not be very fine. The roots 

 are inclined to work up about the 

 top of the pot, which is no sign, 

 however, that it needs repot- 

 ting. Give liquid manure from 

 the bottom of the crock at its 

 budding and blooming seasons about once 

 a week. The plant does not increase rapidly ; 

 therefore, if fed sufficiently, will not require 

 frequent repotting. It is propagated by 



division of the roots, and requires rest in 

 midsummer by partially withholding water; 

 in fact, it may be left without water for 

 weeks without serious detriment. 



A special merit of these plants is that their 

 flowers last a very long time before fading, 



Amateur. 



