December, 
1917 
57 
THE GARDEN THAT GROWS in the HOUSE 
Bridging the Gap Between the Last Outdoor Flowers of Autumn and the First Ones 
of Spring—Primary Principles and Requirements Which Make for Success 
D. R . E D S O N 
T HE pleasure a garden may give is not deter¬ 
mined by its size. In fact, one not infrequently 
comes across instances which seem to indicate 
that the pleasure is rather in inverse ratio to the size. 
If this is true concerning gardens out-of-doors, it 
is assuredly so of the garden in the house. A single 
geranium in a red pot in the window in December 
holds as much of that elusive spirit which is the real 
essence of gardening as does the largest bed full of 
them on the summer lawn. This is partly, of course, 
because a symbol can mean as much as the thing 
itself. A winter garden has not only its own charm 
to recommend it, but it gives added pleasure because 
of the thing for which it stands; it is the thread of 
life and beauty which brings the last flowers of the 
fall to the first of the spring. 
First Principles of Indoor Gardening 
But while the indoor garden may stand as the 
symbol of our wider interest outdoors, its manage¬ 
ment, from the practical point of view, is an entirely 
different thing. The gardener who 
for the first time undertakes a winter 
window garden must run plump up 
against a number of things which he 
would never have surmised from his 
experience with gardening outdoors, 
but total ignorance of which would 
quickly get him into trouble. 
In the first place, gardening indoors 
is a very much more artificial thing 
than even the most intensive form of 
outdoor gardening. The fact that it 
is more artificial does not mean in 
the least that it may not afford just 
as much pleasure; but it does mean 
that the gardener must assume a higher 
degree of responsibility. He has to 
assume charge of the weather and the 
temperature, and have an intimate 
knowledge not only of every individual 
plant and what it is doing, but quite 
literally of every plant and almost 
every leaf. Here is the active test of 
whether or not the gardener is a real 
lover of plants. He may put up with 
the work he has to do out-of-doors 
merely for the sake of the results to be 
had. And, if things go well, he may 
get along fairly well by acting merely 
as the helmsman, and letting the sun 
and the rain, the air and the soil, do 
their respective unsupervised stints to¬ 
ward producing the results he is after. 
Indoors, however, he must take charge 
of all these things himself; and when 
he fails to think of a thing, or does 
not know how to provide 
for it, his little plants 
will suffer directly. 
One of the first things 
the new indoor gardener 
has to learn is that the 
soil he is to use must be 
very much finer and 
richer than he would or¬ 
dinarily use in his gar¬ 
den work outdoors. 
Plants growing in the 
open ground have many 
times more space in 
which to get their food 
than when they are grow¬ 
ing in a pot or window 
box. The soil used for 
indoor work must, there¬ 
fore, be made very rich. 
That may be put down 
as the first requirement. 
Soil Texture and 
Drainage 
In addition to being 
rich, the soil must be 
very porous. In the open 
ground, the plant has 
every opportunity t o 
adapt itself to conditions. 
If the soil is dry near 
the surface, it can send its roots down after moisture. 
Not so in the case of the indoor garden. In pots, 
boxes or even benches, there is only a little soil 
available for the plants, and they must make the best 
of it as they find it. An even degree of moisture, 
keeping the soil saturated to about 50 per cent of 
its water holding capacity, is one of the main factors 
of good growth. So the soil should be of such a 
texture that the surplus water will pass through it as 
rapidly as possible, while as much water as possible 
may be absorbed and held in condition for the feeding 
roots to make use of. 
If the beginner wishes to make up his own soil, a 
very satisfactory formula consists of good garden 
loam, commercial humus, and sifted, well rotted 
manure mixed in equal parts. Or, where humus or 
manure may not be available, fresh garden loam, 
sifted leaf mold or chip dirt, in about equal parts, or 
a little more of the loam if it is light and sandy, will 
be good with a small handful of fine bone flour mixed 
through the whole for each peck of the mixture. This 
will contain an abundance of plant food, will absorb 
and retain a large percentage of water, and will en¬ 
able any surplus moisture to pass through readily. 
Furthermore, it will not tend to pack or cake when 
watered, so that the surface will remain open and 
admit air freely to the roots. 
But good drainage does not depend altogether upon 
the soil; there must be a ready outlet for the surplus 
water after it has passed through the soil. Therefore, 
in all large pots—say over 3" in diameter—and in 
window boxes, jardinieres and benches, it is highly 
important to have a layer of drainage material of 
some sort under the soil. In the case of pots or 
bulb pans, this is usually called “crocking the pots,” 
and consists in putting in the bottom of the recep¬ 
tacle a few pieces of broken pot, small cinders, or 
similar material that cannot get washed down and 
wedged in the hole, as would likely be the case were 
it filled with soil alone. If you have used leaf mold, 
the coarse material which remains after it has been 
put through a sieve is good for drainage. 
Adequate Light Necessary 
If you have frames, a conservatory 
or small greenhouse available, there 
will be plenty of light. But in the case 
of the garden in the house, light is 
one of the serious problems. Most 
plants will live near any window; but 
to live their best, and to bloom their 
best, direct sunshine for at least part 
of the day is desirable in most cases. 
Plants that have begun to flower, how¬ 
ever, may often be kept in bloom for 
a much longer period by putting them 
where the light is somewhat subdued. 
So shift your plants if they are in 
pots, so that they all get some of the 
direct sunshine occasionally. 
Equally important with light is the 
supply of fresh air. Plants will suf¬ 
fer for the want of this as quickly as 
will human beings—and they cannot 
go out for a walk to get some when 
they need it! If possible, the arrange¬ 
ments for getting fresh air should be 
made so that the plants do not have 
to be exposed to any direct draft. 
This is sometimes difficult if they 
happen to be in the only window in 
the room. As to just how often or 
how much fresh air should be given, 
that depends upon several conditions. 
Usually some air should be given on 
every bright day, even in quite cold 
weather. It is not necessary or even 
desirable to open the windows wide, 
or to take the covers en¬ 
tirely off the frames. All 
that is wanted is an 
opening wide enough to 
permit the gradual 
changing or renewing of 
the atmosphere in the 
room. 
The Problem of 
Moisture 
“Here at least,” thinks 
the beginner at indoor 
gardening, who may have 
grown somewhat dis¬ 
couraged over the pros¬ 
pect of having to regu¬ 
late carefully everything 
mentioned so far, “Here 
at least is something 
easy; surely it is a sim¬ 
ple enough matter to 
pour water on my plants 
often enough to keep 
them nicely moist. I can 
do it regularly every day 
if I have to.” 
But, unfortunately, it 
is not all as simple as 
that. During the winter 
months it is not possible 
(Continued on page 76) 
