PLANTS FOR THE PORCH 
HENRY GIBSON 
FUCHSIA 
Lovely in coloring and graceful 
in growth, the Fuchsia is an 
especially gratifying porch bas- 
ket plant and accommodatingly 
flourishes both summer and 
winter 
•HE custom of decorating the porch with festoons of living 
plant drapery or the banked greenery of potted plants 
has ample justification of propriety when done for sum- 
mer ornament. It furnishes a logical link between 
dwelling and garden and obliterates to some degree any bareness 
and disharmony about the house extensions. It is a custom 
that literally brings the outdoors inside and creates a “garden 
feeling” on the porch without in the least diminishing its actual 
usefulness. The fact of close association with the dwelling de- 
termines the suitability of the plant material to be used, for the 
porch is a distinct feature, and its treatment, though garden-like, 
must be of a type in keeping with its character. Plants of more 
striking individual appearance, may appropriately be here used 
and the additional shelter affords occasion for the employment 
of much material ordinarily only of service in the greenhouse 
itself. Here, too, is a most fitting setting for hanging baskets 
filled with growing things; frankly an artificial development 
of the gardener’s art but justified surely in its decorative 
triumph. 
Of the many styles of hanging basket the simple wire frame, 
moss-lined, is perhaps as satisfactory as any for actual growth, 
though, of course, there are others more effective from a decora- 
tive point of view. 
For the Hanging Basket in Sun and Shade 
P LANTS for filling the baskets will, naturally, vary with the 
position they are to occupy. For a shaded location, 
Mosses, Ferns, Fuchsias, Ivies, small Palms, Begonias, Fittonias, 
Marantas, and others of like nature are suitable; for sunny loca- 
tions all the usual kinds of “bedding plant” are available, and 
some very bright and attractive combinations may be obtained. 
Upright growers are most desirable for centre plants — such as 
Dracaenas, Pandanus, Crotons in variety, Sanchezia nobilis, and 
others of striking form or foliage, also the humble Geranium 
is not to be overlooked. Bright-colored Geraniums or the still 
more highly colored Coieus, with Lobelias, Tropaeolums, 
Petunias, Torenias, or any of the long list of vines such as 
German Ivy, Cobaea scandens, Vinca, Glechoma, Trailing Abu- 
tilon, Maurandia, Tradescantia, Panicum, Solanum jasminoides, 
etc., afford a wide choice. 
A flowering combination for a shady position is Fuchsia as a 
centre with a ground of white Violas, and Tropaeolum canariense 
for a vine. Tuberous Begonias with a ground of Sweet Alyssum, 
and Ivy-leaved Geraniums or Pink Verbenas for a trailer is a 
good alternative. 
For a sunny position silver-leaved Geraniums in the centre, 
blue Violas as a ground work, and Campanula isophylla to hang 
down; or Heliotrope in the centre with pale yellow Violas as a 
ground work, and ivy-leaved Geranium as a trailer are both 
good. Other simple and interesting combinations will suggest 
themselves, and in the wide range of plants adapted to hanging 
basket culture individual taste may be indulged to the full, but, 
of course, color harmonies are even more important here than in 
the outside border. 
Many plants are very effective when grown alone, and of these 
Asparagus Sprengeri is perhaps the most imperturbable of them 
all. It stands neglect well, and will grow in almost any position. 
It is a gross feeder, and needs plenty of water to be at its best. 
The common Musk is an excellent basket plant, also thriving in 
any situation, if well fed and watered. 
Asplenium flaccidum with its long, drooping fronds is well 
worthy of recognition, and the possibilities of many hardy 
Ferns in conjunction with English Ivy are not to be over- 
looked. 
The gracefully drooping Little Beauty Fuchsia, with charming 
red and violet flowers, is shown to best advantage when grown 
in hanging baskets, because the flowers may be looked into from 
below. 
Mother-of-thousands (Saxifraga sarmentosa) — sometimes also 
called Strawberry-plant because of its habit of throwing out 
runners which produce leaves at the joints — is an excellent 
plant for hanging baskets. Its leaves, shaped like those of the 
Geranium, are red below, olive above, and spotted with white. 
The runners hang over the edge of the basket in little festoons of 
foliage smaller than those of the main plants. The white 
flowers are produced in June and July. 
Several of the dwarf Bellflowers have a trailing habit of growth 
which renders them highly desirable as basket plants and they 
produce a profusion of flowers. 
Easy Ways of Watering and Feeding 
G OOD soil is, of course, essential for success with hanging 
baskets, for it is to be remembered that when several 
plants are so confined within the limits of the bowl their roots 
cannot travel far in search of food. A retentive loam, with one 
third well rotted manure, and a six inch pot of bone meal to each 
bushel of soil is none too rich, and for best results this can be 
supplemented by judicious feeding during the summer with 
prepared fertilizers. Unfortunately, however, with the best of 
soil, and a wide selection of the most adaptable plants, many 
hanging baskets are failures. The reason for this is, nine times 
out of ten, lack of water. Exposed on all sides, and not infre- 
quently subject to blazing sun and drying winds the baskets soon 
dry out; being overhead, and inconvenient to take down, they 
are neglected. 
A very practical way to handle such baskets is to suspend them 
from a cord run over a small pulley, securing the end of the cord 
at a convenient height, after the fashion of awning cords. All 
that is then necessary is to lower the basket into a pail or tub 
of water, letting it stay until is has taken all the water it can 
hold. After allowing the surplus water to drain, the basket 
is easily pulled up into position. The plan of pouring water on 
the soil of the basket is of little benefit inasmuch as most of it 
runs off directly without penetrating to the roots of the plants. 
Thorough saturation in the way suggested is by far the best 
method, and saves time as daily watering is not then necessary 
save during the very hottest weather. 
Another plan often adopted is to punch a small hole in a 
fruit can, fill it with water and set it on the soil in the basket 
so that it is hidden by the foliage. A little experimenting 
will soon determine the size of hole required to let the water 
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