Window Boxes 
railings on the top and fences 
on the bottom, boxes of every 
conceivable material, but 
most adaptable of all are the 
plain board boxes lined with 
galvanized iron. 
To best satisfy the needs 
of plants, allowing abun¬ 
dance of room for the roots to 
spread, a box should be at 
least eight inches deep and 
two feet wide. A hole should 
be placed in one end for 
drainage and ventilation. 
The best blling for these 
window gardens is decom¬ 
posed sod. This is used 
exclusively by florists who 
make a specialty of window 
boxes and hanging baskets. 
Ordinary earth mixed with 
fertilizer makes a good sub- 
A WINDOW BOX AT WINDOW OF STAIRWAY LANDING ^esults are 
obtained with sod fillings. 
around the edges. Some striking designs are fash¬ 
ioned of bamboo. Filled with delicate lacy plants 
they are attractive, but they are scarcely suited to 
American houses. On a quaint Japanese bunga¬ 
low or summer-house, they would he quite chic. 
Bamboo boxes are more expensive than those made 
of boards, because of the labor involved. I'hey 
can sometimes be purchased at [apanese art stores, 
but by one who is clever with ideas and tools, they 
can be designed and planned at home. 
Most elaborate are boxes made of metal with 
outer finishing of tiles, which 
are colored and arranged to 
represent beautiful land¬ 
scapes. A box of this kind 
costs from one hundred to 
three hundred dollars, and is 
so elegant, it is with pity 
for its defilement that one 
Alls it with soil. Such a box 
would be insulted if its face 
were veiled with vines, and 
would only tolerate standing 
plants with attenuated petti¬ 
coats. 
Idle rustic window box, 
constructed of rough, heavy 
hark is always attractive and 
is especially appropriate for 
log houses and summer bun¬ 
galows. There are boxes of 
slats and lattice work, of 
elaborately wrought iron, of 
grille work, boxes with a porch festooned with roses and banked with geraniums 
Humus also makes a rich fertile footing for plants, 
hut is difficult to get unless one lives near the woods. 
There are fashions and fads in flowers as well 
as in gowns, and Nature with all her floral assis¬ 
tants, possesses great possibilities for mode and 
variation of color. No flowers are more desirable 
for filling window boxes than geraniums. Fhey 
are jolly-hearted growers, ever smiling with bloom 
and profusion of rich foliage. 1 hey are faithful, 
substantial. You can have absolute confidence in 
their reliability. They even endure mistreatment 
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