36 
THE HOME GARDEN. 
water in the morning. They are usually in the perfection 
of their bloom during the month of May. 
They are frequently cultivated in pots for winter bloom¬ 
ing ; but the following is a simpler method of procuring 
flowers in cold weather. A few old boards are formed into 
a bottomless box, three or four feet in length and two feet 
wide ; this is sunk into the earth, on the sunny side of the 
garden, to nearly its full depth. The top of the box should 
slant, and be covered with a glass door or lid on hinges. 
With the planting of five or six strong, healthy violet 
stalks, this small* winter garden is complete ; great care, 
however, is necessary to make it successful. In mild, sun¬ 
shiny weather, the glass door should be opened, but always 
closed at night. As soon as settled cold weather has ar¬ 
rived, the plants should be thoroughly covered with dry 
leaves, and when they are wanted to bloom this covering 
can be removed. 
On extra cold nights, and days, too, three or four pieces 
of carpet or old quilts should be covered over the box, 
and if these directions are carefully followed, the reward will 
be plenty of violets at Christmas, and, perhaps, later in the 
season. Eternal vigilance, it will be found, is the price of 
flowers, and especially in winter. 
Geraniums are magnificent bedding plants, and all the 
shades of scarlet make a blaze of color that is scarcely at¬ 
tained by any other plant. The numerous varieties of ge¬ 
raniums, double, single, and foliage species, will make a 
garden of themselves ; and few plants are so easy to raise. 
They require very much the same conditions as verbenas, 
with not quite so large an allowance of sand. A mix¬ 
ture of good garden loam, decayed leaf manure, old cow 
manure, and sand is recommended as the best soil for pro¬ 
fuse blooming. 
An easy method of starting cuttings of geraniums or 
other bedding plants in early spring, for those who have 
