There is no common winter flower¬ 
ing plant of so much value in all 
ways as the cyclamen 
The only way in which you can raise the large-flowering 
chrysanthemums is in a greenhouse 
Cineraria is another winter treas¬ 
ure that you can grow in even the 
smallest greenhouse 
What May Be Grown In a Small Greenhouse 
THE POSSIBILITIES IN RAISING FLOWERS AND VEGETABLES FOR THE AMATEUR GARDENER 
WHO HAS EVEN THE SMALLEST SPACE UNDER GLASS—TEMPERATURES AND METHODS 
by F. F. Rockwell 
Photographs by Nathan R. Graves and others 
T HERE are a number of “special” greenhouse crops which 
are easily within the reach of the amateur who has at 
his disposal a small glass structure, such as described in the Au¬ 
gust number of this magazine. One is apt to feel that something 
much more elaborate than the simple means at his hands are 
required to produce the handsome flowers or beautiful ferns 
which may be seen in the florist's window. It is true that many 
things are beyond his achievement. He cannot grow gigantic 
American Beauties on stems several feet long, nor present his 
friends at Christmas with the most delicate orchids; but he can 
very easily have carnations more beauti¬ 
ful, because they will be fresher, if not 
quite so large, than any which can be 
had at the glass-fronted shops, and cyc¬ 
lamen as beautiful, and much more ser- 
vicable, than any orchid that ever hung 
from a precarious basket. To accom¬ 
plish such results requires not so much 
elaborate equipment as unremitting care 
—and not eternal “fussing” but regular 
thought and attention. 
There is, for instance, no more well 
beloved flower than the carnation, which 
entirely deserves the place it has won in 
flower-lovers’ hearts beside, if not actu¬ 
ally ahead of, the rose. As a plant it 
will stand all kinds of abuse, and yet, 
under the care which any amateur can 
give it, will produce an abundance of 
most beautiful bloom. Within a com¬ 
paratively few years the carnation, as 
indeed a number of other flowers, has 
been developed to nearly twice its former 
size, and the number of beautiful shades 
obtainable has also increased many times. 
To be grown at its best the carnation 
should have a rather cool temperature and plenty of ventilation, 
and these two requirements help to place it within reach of the 
small greenhouse operator. If only a few plants are to be 
grown, they may be purchased from a local florist, or obtained 
by mail from a seed house. If as few as two or three dozen 
plants are to be kept — and a surprising number of blooms may 
be had from a single dozen — they may be kept in pots. Use 
five- or six-inch pots and rich earth, with frequent applications 
of liquid manure, as described later. If, however, part of a 
bench can be given to them, the results will be more satisfactory. 
The bench should be well drained and 
contain four or five inches of rich soil, 
such as described in the article on green¬ 
house heating and management in the 
September House & Garden. If it is too 
late to compose a soil of this kind, use 
any rich garden loam and well rotted 
manure, in the proportions of five or six 
to one. For plants to begin blooming in 
the early winter, they should be put in 
during August, but for one’s own use a 
later planting will do. For this year, if 
you are too late, get a few plants and 
keep them in pots. Next year buy before 
March a hundred or so rooted cuttings, 
or in April small plants, and set them out 
before the middle of May. Cultivate well 
during the summer, being sure to keep all 
flower buds pinched off, and have a nice 
supply of your own plants ready for next 
fall. 
In putting the plants into the bench 
(or pots) select a cloudy day, and then 
keep them shaded for a few days, with 
frequent syringing of the foliage, until 
they become established. Keep the night 
Growing tomatoes under glass is not difficult. 
The plants can be forced in pots and a later 
group started for bearing outside 
(287) 
