A MODEL WINDOW GARDEN. 
W E furnish a sketch of a living-room window in the 
present number of the Cabinet, that for simpli¬ 
city and artistic beauty we have not seen equaled. It was 
designed and arranged by an English lady, who describes 
it as follows : 
“ It is in a recess, and the exclusion of a portion of light 
by the plants is of no consequence, as the room is other¬ 
wise sufficiently illuminated. The stand is wholly formed 
of metal japanned a greenish bronze color, and the 
plants are supplied from the greenhouse as required. In 
each division is a tray covered with wire, on which the 
pots rest, and any water that drains from them is caught 
by the tray, and this secures to them a certain amount of 
moisture bv evaporation, and saves the floor from being at 
any time spotted. This recess I have kept gay from year 
to year, usually with leaf-plants, as they do not need to 
be so frequently changed as flowers, and they suit me bet¬ 
ter, as I have flowers in plenty in various parts of the 
house.” 
Much of the real beauty of plants in the living-room 
depends upon the taste in which they are arranged, and 
the order in which they are kept. The great failure in 
window-gardening results from an improper selection of 
plants—plants not likely to succeed in the situation that is 
provided for them. Yet there is not a house comfortable 
enough to live in, where plants of some kind will not 
thrive, provided, of course, frost is excluded. 
One of the many mistakes in selection is a desire for too 
great a variety, a wish to keep for future use all the plants 
that were in the garden the past season. This may seem 
good economy, but it is decidedly poor taste. Half a 
dozen fine specimens will give far more pleasure than 
scores of plants taken into the house for humane reasons 
—to save their lives. For a moderately cool room, where 
there is not very much sunlight exposure, we shall inva¬ 
riably select Feras for our stands, with possibly a Ficus 
elastica for the centre, and a pair of Primulas or Cine¬ 
rarias, whose flowers harmonize so beautifully with the 
fronds of the Fern. The Fern should always be selected 
in pairs, choosing in the main the fine-leaved forms, such as 
the Adiantums, which are the most beautiful of all and best 
adapted for house culture. Of these we should have A. 
Farleyettse, A. Cuneatum, and A. Gracilis; for the 
ends of the stand we should select two fine specimens of 
Pteris tremma, .and if fine large plants, we should not 
select others—these would be all that we should require. 
For a room where the temperature was always high, we 
should make a far different selection. Using a Ficus in 
the centre, a plant that does well almost everywhere, and 
filling the remainder with Pandanus Utilis. Palms in va¬ 
riety and some of the more hardy Marantas and Dracaenas, 
as will be seen in our illustration. 
A few Hyacinths, Tulips or Narcissus, in pots, can be 
intermixed with good effect, by bringing them in as their 
flowers begin to develop, and removing them when 
their flowers begin to fade. Amaryllis, of the evergreen 
section, make charming plants for such a stand, as their 
foliage is always bright, graceful and refreshing, while 
their flowers, produced in midwinter, are perfectly gor¬ 
geous. There are not many flowering plants that look well 
when out of flower, but the Amaryllis Aulica platypetala 
is a notable exception to this rule; it has bright green 
foliage of a distinctly curved outline, and is a plant 
always beautiful and well adapted for the window 
garden. 
Selection of plants to fill such a stand will, of course, 
depend much upon individual taste, and the opportunity 
to gratify it. One thing is certain, however, that whatever 
plants we have in our window will be greatly improved in 
appearance by a neat, simple and tasteful arrangement, so 
that they can be seen entire; never crowding one plant so 
as to destroy the beauty of another. 
SOME HARDY BULBS. 
A MONG early spring flowers nothing offers us more 
charming variety than the hardy bulbs, though 
they are too often neglected, except in some old-fash¬ 
ioned garden, where grows, as Father Prout says, 
“The Daffadowndilly, beside the Lily, 
Flowers that scent the sweet fragrant air.” 
Big clumps of the Daffodils, turning their bright faces 
to the April wind, are common enough, especially in old 
country gardens, where the plants have become well 
established ; but this gives one no idea of the beauty ex¬ 
hibited by the newer varieties. One prominent grower 
catalogues nearly two hundred different varieties. Of 
course, some of the number are only interesting from 
a botanical standpoint, as exhibiting the varied effect of 
scientific culture, and it is a question whether this busy 
world imperatively requires two hundred forms of Nar¬ 
cissus ; still there are many pretty ones among them. 
To begin, we all know the classic story of that gilded 
youth, Narcissus, who gave his name to our flower, but 
for its popular name of Daffodil we can offer no reason¬ 
able explanation, save the nursery rhyme, where we are 
informed, 
“ Daffadowndilly came into town 
In a fine petticoat and a green gown.” 
And we have a blooming witness to that fact in Narcissus 
Bulbocodium —the Hoop Petticoat Daffodil, with golden- 
yellow flowers, offering a ludicrous resemblance in shape 
to Queen Bess’s farthingale. The common single Daffo- 
