WINDOW-BOXES THEIR UTILITY AND BEAUTY 
By Ida D. Bennett 
/ T V HE charm of the clambering rose and trailing vine 
has been written and sung from the time when 
vines first climbed and twined down to the present 
day, but the charm of the window-box has been 
strangely neglected, though Gretchen smiles ever 
from her flower-draped balcony in German song and 
story; but the outside window garden is a much 
neglected field in American floriculture. Some day 
I hope to see some artistic architect awake to the 
possibility of the well-constructed and stocked win¬ 
dow-box and incorporate it in the plans of his houses; 
certainly its possibilities are great, not alone for the 
adornment of the exterior of the dwelling, but also 
for the beauty they add to the interior. 
The beautifying effects of growing plants in the 
living-rooms has long been recognized and dwelt 
upon by writers; indeed, it would be an exceptional 
novelist who would construct a story of home life 
and fail to surround her heroine with flowers, but 
as yet she has failed to grasp the significance of the 
window-box. 
Beautiful as potted plants and cut flowers are in 
the house, their presence immediately outside and 
underneath the windows is far lovelier; there their 
manner of growth is in a measure concealed and only 
the beauty of flower and foliage, supported as though 
by some mysterious agency, remains. The window 
frames them, the sky and shrubbery afford Nature’s 
own background, and the whole becomes a picture, 
ever changing, ever new and always beautiful. 
But we need not wait for the appearance of the 
architect who shall lead us in the quest, however 
gladly we may hail him when he comes, but may 
begin in a humble way to prepare the way for him. 
The construction of the window-box per se, is of 
the simplest. Any box that will hold earth and is 
fairly water-tight and of suitable dimensions answers 
the purpose, as it will be hidden with vines and 
flowers throughout the greater part of the summer, 
and when frost comes may be removed and stored 
away until another summer. Boxes that conform 
to the general architectural features of the house 
and which may be left up all winter are, of course, 
to be preferred, and these should be made in a sub¬ 
stantial manner, lined with zinc and provided with 
a drainage cock to carry off surplus water. 
A GRACEFUL ARRANGEMENT MORE FORMAL CUT, GOOD IN COLOR 
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