
22 HAND BOOK FOR THE GARDEN 

WINDOW BOXES 
Window or porch boxes may be used to advantage on many 
houses, especially where there is no lawn about the house. They 
consist of boxes of any convenient length, to fit the space they are 
intended for. They should be from 8 to 10 inches wide and about 
12 inches deep. Holes should be bored in the bottom, every 6 inches, 
to permit surplus water to run through. Cover these holes with 
broken pottery or stones so that they will not become clogged with 
earth. Use well prepared garden soil to fill the box. Nasturtiums, 
Marguerites, Cannas, Geraniums, Petunias, Sweet Alyssum, ferns 
and other plants may be used to plant in them. 
Classification of Flowers 
Some plants complete their development and exist for one year 
only, others two years, and still others that thrive and bloom season 
after season without renewing. 
This variation in the longevity of plant life has given rise to the 
following classification, each branch of which calls for variation in 
method of culture, though in many instances not very pronounced. 
ANNUALS—Plants which live but one year. 
BIENNIALS—Plants which live for:‘two years. 
PERENNIALS—Plants which live more than two years. 
HARDY ANNUALS (Early Blooming). For early blooming 
sow the seed of nearly all the varieties of this class of plants in the 
early Spring as soon as the weather becomes settled. 
Cultural Directions for Starting Seeds Indoors 
For all conditions except in the open, seeds may be sown in 
seed flats. These are boxes which can be very conveniently and 
cheaply made from the pine boxes largely used for packing canned 
goods, soaps, etc., usually 9 or 10 inches deep, which is sufficient to 
allow of cutting them with a ripsaw into three sections each about 
3 inches high. The top and bottom of the box will each make a 
complete flat, while the middle section will be a frame which can be 
provided with a bottom by the destruction of a box for each three 
sections. See illustration, page 3. Seeds may also be planted directly 
in the soil of the hotbed, coldframe, or in that upon the greenhouse 
bench. They may be sown broadcast, or, preferably, in rows. Direc- 
tions for hotbeds and coldframes are given on pages 39, 40, and 41. 
In covering seeds the rule under artificial conditions is to bury 
the seed to the depth of its greatest diameter. In outdoor culture, 
however, this is not the practice; seeds are usually covered about 
three to five times their diameter. With seeds the size of a grain of 
wheat it is, in general, safe to plant them 1 inch deep, and for those 
the size of Beans 2 inches deep. Small seeds like those of Petunia, 
Poppy, Snapdragon, etc., should be scattered over the surface and 
the soil compacted with a float or board. : 
