GOOD PLANTS FOR THE WINDOW. 



SUBJECTS NEW AND OLD FOR WINTER BLOOM. 



^'OR the encouragement of our 

 women florists I would say 

 that I have never seen a com- 

 mercial florist who could grow 

 plants better, with ttie same 

 appliances, than I have seen 

 hundreds of women grow in 

 windows and living rooms. 

 Passing along a street in Baltimore a number of 

 years ago, in company with a friend who was exten- 

 sively engaged in the florist trade, I made this same 

 statement on seeing a handsome stand of flowers in 

 the window of a modest home. " I have often said 

 the same thing," said he, "for I feel sure that with 

 the same conveniences I would fail to have such 

 plants as that lady has. It is mainly the minute 

 patient care which a woman will bestow on her pets, 

 and which few men will. I employ a number of 

 Dutch women in my greenhouses, and find each 

 one of them worth any two boys I could hire for 

 nearly the same money, " Women and flowers har- 

 monize better than men and flowers. It is not my 

 purpose to enter minutely into the details of window 

 gardening in this short article, but merely to call 

 attention to many plants that can be well used for 

 that purpose. 



There is in all collections of window plants too much 

 of a monotony of zonale geraniums and callas, while 

 there are a multitude of other things which will give 

 variety and make the work more interesting. What all 

 plant lovers want is blopiii in winter, and this is what 

 most collections lack. Unless an unusual amount of 

 sunshine can be commanded, but little bloom can be 

 had on the ordinary geraniums so much grown. The 

 great tribe of begonias has many members which are in- 

 veterate winter bloomers, and get along with less sun- 

 light than some other plants. The ornamental-leaved 

 begonias of the Rex type I do not recommend for win- 

 dow culture. Though some women succeed with them, 

 their foliage usually lacks the luster imparted by 

 the moist air of the hot-house. There are, however, 

 many sorts handsome enough in foliage and profuse in 

 flowering that any women can handle with ease. First 

 among these is the variety commonly grown as rubra 

 {Begonia coral/inn). This is a tall-growing species, with 

 enormous racemes of coral red flowers, and it should 

 have the most sunny posititon of any of the tribe. It 

 ripens seed abundantly, and seedlings from it vary in all 

 the shades from crimson to white. It is hard now to get 

 the variety true, because florists find it easier to grow it 



from seeds than from cuttings ; but a packet of seed will 

 always give a few plants true to the type. 



The seeds of begonias are exceedingly minute, and I 

 have found that the best way to germinate them is to 

 prepare a pan of mellow leaf-mold, make the surface 

 smooth, and then with a fine sieve rub a thin layer of 

 dead sphagnum over the surface. Water this with a fine 

 sprinkler, and then scatter the seed over the surface. 

 Cover the box with a piece of slate and set it in a sunny 

 window. The slate readily absorbs heat and will keep 

 a good temperature in the soil and retain the moisture, 

 so that watering can be avoided. As soon as any signs 

 of germination appear, replace the slate with a pane of 

 glass to give light and still retain the moisture, and as 

 the seedlings advance gradually withdraw the cover, and 

 finally transplant them by lifting on the point of a pen 

 knife. 



The purpose of this article, however, is not so much 

 to give details of culture as to suggest species not so 

 commonly cultivated. There are many other varieties 

 of the winter-blooming begonias that will be found very 

 effective, but I can here only suggest them : B. Saun- 

 i/ersoiiii, bright carmine, very profuse in bloom ; B. ni- 

 tida, var. alha , white, handsome in leaf and free in bloom 

 when not allowed too much pot room ; B. seniperjlorens, 

 var. alba, white, blooms continuously and buds out well 

 in summer ; perfectly hardy in sheltered places in this 

 latitude, and easily grown from seed or cuttings ; B. 

 argyrostignia , erect, with leaves permanently spotted like 

 seedling begonias usually are at first ; B. picia, like the 

 above, but of smaller growth ; B. fuchsioides, red, and 

 less free in bloom than some others ; B. liyb. multiflora, 

 small leaved, free grower and good bloomer ; pink. B . 

 Evaiisiana or discolor is frequently grown as a house 

 plant for its foliage, but it is not properly a house plant, 

 as it blooms only annually and in autumn. It is a bulb- 

 ous sort, perfectly hardy, and should be left out in the 

 garden in a moderately shady spot, where it will make 

 a grand autumnal show of pink flowers. 



Among the bulbs offered in autumn by florists, there 

 are many not commonly grown by window gardeners 

 that deserve a place. Hyacinths and crocus, of course, 

 every woman knows, but there are many other bulbous 

 plants equally interesting and easy to grow. Freesia 

 rt'fj-acta is one of these. The bulbs are small, and eight 

 or ten may be planted in a six-inch pot. They should 

 be placed close to the light, when they will give a pro- 

 fusion of bloom very useful for cutting. They also 

 have the advantage that the bulbs increase rapidly under 

 pot culture, and if properly dried off after blooming, the 

 grower will soon have a stock to give to friends, and will 

 not be obliged to purchase annually. The various sorts 



