LANDSCAPE LINES 
Balcony Scene 
In any large city many of us live in 
apartments and our only chances to gar- 
den are on a balcony high above the 
street, in a window box, or on a paved 
terrace. All of these situations are a chal- 
lenge, but results can be gratifying and 
beautiful. 
Consider first your limitations of space 
and background. Small spaces are more 
easily maintained, so this is an advantage. 
And if you're lucky enough to have for 
your backdrop a neutral-colored concrete, 
wood or brick wall any green plant with 
interesting structure will stand out more 
effectively than it would against a mass 
of other green leaves. Particularly in such 
a situation notice that the spaces between 
leaves are more interesting than the leaves 
themselves, so choose a plant that is not 
a green ball, and never trim it so. 
Effective focal shrubs for the most im- 
portant plant are Podocarpus of any 
species (careful pruning and thinning can 
keep this subject within bounds), Pittos- 
porum phillyraeoides, Schefflera digitata, 
Cordyline in variety, or even Phormium 
tenax. This last will tolerate any amount 
of wind, as will many of the handsomest 
succulents. If you unfortunately have a 
background of vivid green paint, navy blue, 
or chocolate (as many of the builders, alas, 
are using) you will do better to look at 
gray-leaved plants with white or yellow 
blooms for your scheme: the Senecios, Ar- 
temisias, Helichrysums, Leucophyllum. 
Containers for plants should be simple, 
unglazed, neutral-colored, and of propor- 
tion ample for some kind of plant. Extra- 
shallow pans as well as pots smaller than 
seven inches diameter are inadequate for 
anything except the smallest succulents and 
rock plants. And don't strive for cutting- 
flower gardens in wind and shade. 
Having chosen your focal plant, and 
containers to fit the few other spots where 
smaller specimens can be placed, allow us 
to assist you in selecting these remaining 
subjects with careful thought to their har- 
mony with, or complement to, the whole. 
Avoid too great variety in smaller plants. 
bit 
Cassia splendida — 
PLANT OF THE MONTH 
Let Us Spray! 
Say you gardeners, I'm taking you to 
task! 
Too many plants are showing up of late 
terribly intested—mealy bug, scale, aphids, 
red spider. | know California has been 
termed a ''Bug's Paradise.'' No prolonged 
cold spells, few drenching, cleansing rains. 
But we can and must clean up these 
garden pests. Was Grandma smarter 
than you? Grandma threw soapsuds on 
her plants, thoroughly drenching ‘em — it 
worked! Nurseries in the early twenties 
used whole oil soap and nicotine sulphate. 
They kept clean nurseries. Man by nature 
is apt to be lazy and this push-button age 
is perhaps not improving him in this re- 
spect. The mighty atom which will pop out 
of a bottle, flash around the garden Filing 
all pests, is yet to come—so, until that 
happy day, ‘Let us spray.’ At Evans & 
Reeves we pride ourselves that we have 
clean, healthy plants. How, you ask, do 
they get this way? 
It's no secret: we spray—not because 
we have infestations, but because we an- 
ticipate and prevent them. 
Won't you come along with us? Don't 
wait until the enemy is upon you in over- 
whelming numbers. Spray regularly, spray 
thoroughly. When next you come to the 
nursery, ask your salesman to enlarge on 
this with specific recommendations—it will 
help you—it will help us! 
A LL O LE EN DLE TT TTA 
