Part 6

There is no more desirable bedding plant than the Heliotrope, and the more freely it is cut by removing generous portions of stem with the blossom the more freely it will bloom. It is admirable for replacing Pansies and may be grown on in the hotbed until the Pansy’s day is past. Where there is not enough Heliotrope for large bedding operations, purple Ageratum may be combined with the Heliotrope with excellent effect; this is a method often employed in the city parks, and when judiciously done one scarcely notices that the beds are not all Heliotrope. Plants may be taken up in the fall and cut back for winter blooming. Blossoms always form on the terminals of the branches.

Lantanas

Are hard-wooded, shrubby plants, the leaves more or less rough and prickly. The colours range from pure white through various shades of lemon to orange, red, a new bright scarlet, and the rosy lavender of the Weeping Lantana. The seed in its immature state is incased in a green pulp or berry, changing to blue as it ripens, and consists of a little nut with several kernels, so that one is sometimes surprised with two or more plants from what seems to be a single seed. The seed may be started in the house, or in the hotbed early in the spring; sowing in drills one-quarter of an inch deep. It germinates in from twelve to fifteen days, but soaking in warm water, for a few hours before planting, will hasten its appearance. They require about the same treatment as Geraniums, but should be shifted oftener and given plenty of water. As soon as the plants are four or five inches high transplant them to a tobacco pail, or some large wooden receptacle containing a compost of muck, loam, and old manure, or muck alone, and place in full morning sunshine, out of doors. Thus managed I have grown, from seed sown in March, plants that measured nine feet or more in circumference by September and were a mass of bloom all summer long, the blossoms defying all efforts at counting.

Grown in this way, with an abundance of roots and top room, rich soil, sun, and water, no better ornament could be desired for the porch or steps; but I do not think it a desirable plant for the house, as the hot, dry air causes it to drop its leaves, and it is almost sure to be attacked by the red spider. It is better to start fresh plants each spring and let them go when frost comes.

Lantanas make fine hedgerows between house lots or for defining different portions of the grounds. They should be planted in rich ground two and one-half feet apart.

The new Weeping Lantana is the most charming member of the family. It is of much more slender growth than the rest and inclined to be pendulous, or weeping. Its delightfully fragrant flowers are produced in round heads the size of a half-dollar at the axil of every leaf and show a lovely rosy-lilac hue. If planted in the open ground the Weeping Lantana quickly covers a considerable area, presenting a solid sheet of bloom throughout the summer. It will bloom freely in the house if given a warm, sunny window, abundant room, and showered daily to keep back the red spider, or dipped occasionally in hot water for that purpose. It must always have abundant root and top room and plenty of water.

Petunias

Probably no common flower of the garden has been so improved during the last few years as the Petunia. The small-flowered variety of a few years ago with its straggly habit and narrow range of colour—chiefly white and faded magenta—is now superseded by magnificently fringed and ruffled beauties in a wealth of colour, from purest white to glowing crimson, and a velvety purple that is almost black, with wonderfully veined and tinted throats and thick, stocky stems. It is difficult to realise that they are the same plants, plus a few generations of good living and culture.

The double Petunias are desirable for pots, vases, and bedding out, but I do not think they compare with such strains as Burpee’s Defiance, the Giants of California, the Ruffled Giants, and the Miranda. Miranda, for example, is a rosy carmine merging into a brilliant scarlet in the throat—the nearest approach to a scarlet Petunia yet produced. The seed of double Petunias will yield a fair proportion of double flowers. The young plants of both the single and double varieties require great care at first, being very sensitive to hot sun or cold air. Once established, however, they will stand a great deal of both—more, indeed, than almost any other flower of this class. Plant them in flats in the house in March by pressing the seed into the soil without covering; keeping moist and warm until the seed germinates, usually from eight to ten days. When large enough to handle, prick off into larger flats and set them in a warm north or east window. When the leaves touch set them two or three inches apart each way in other flats and let them grow until it is time to place them in the open ground, hardening them gradually by exposure to more sun and air each day, and transplant with great care. If intended to replace the Pansies they may be set in the bed in June, the Pansies affording them protection until they have attained some size. Set each little seedling on the north-east side of a Pansy plant, and by the time the Pansies have passed their zenith they will be ready to stand alone.

Always remove poor or inferior plants in order that the highest standard may be maintained; the finer varieties may be readily distinguished from the more common sorts by the stems and foliage; the latter having thin stems and small leaves, set rather far apart, while the stems of the fine varieties are very stocky; the leaves large, more or less crinkly, and set closely on the stem; the buds thick and compact, while those of the common type are long and thin. Petunias grow so rapidly that vacant places left by culling are soon filled. The finest specimens may be lifted for winter flowering. They will bloom freely in the house and often show a richer colour than when out of doors. They need considerable root room—any crowding of the roots, or starving of the plants being quickly shown in the deterioration of the flowers. Avoid chills and draughts. Give liquid manure and water freely, but do not let the soil get wet or sour. A little charcoal in the potting soil is an excellent corrective of this tendency. Always remove the flowers as they fade, thus prolonging the blooming season and increasing the beauty and size of the blossom.

Primroses

Require the same general treatment as other house-plants. A good compost of leaf-mould, loam, and sand is best for the first few shiftings, manure being added as the plants attain size. Repeated shifting hastens blooming, while keeping the plants in small pots retards it. When ready to bloom they should be fine, large plants in five-or six-inch pots. They should blossom in November and, if well cared for, they will flower from that time on until spring. In potting the Primrose care must be taken to have the crown of the plant slightly above the surface of the soil and the soil lowest at the edge of the pot, that no water may settle around the crown and cause it to rot. When the buds appear give the plants diluted liquid manure once a week. As the leaves of Primroses are easily injured they should be placed where they will be subjected to as little handling as possible. Window brackets make an ideal place for them, as they can be turned and inspected without removal, and the large velvety leaves, drooping gracefully over the pot, will develop perfectly. Injured or faded leaves should be removed at once. A receptacle rather broad than deep gives opportunity for the best development. A hanging-basket, milk-crock with drainage hole, or jardinière with outlet will answer. Sufficient root room is particularly necessary in the case of old plants, as these have more divisions to the crown and therefore spread more. Primula obconica does better when grown in shallow dishes; a dish four inches deep and eight wide is much better than the usual flower-pot.

Florists start their Primroses each year from seed, but there is no reason why, if one has a choice plant, it should not be carried over to the second year, when, being larger, it will give more flowers.

Chapter _NINE_ Outside Window-boxes

The outside window-box is a thing of beauty if well cared for, a disfigurement if neglected. So greatly does it add to the cheerfulness and apparent size of the rooms under the windows of which it is placed that I should advise its use whenever practicable. One of my pleasantest recollections is a window-box full of Heliotrope under a sitting-room window, filling the room so full of perfume that going into it in the early morning was like stepping into a garden of fragrance.

Window-boxes do well in any window not shaded by porches, and the plants best suited to the light may be selected. Many plants too tender to bed out in the open ground may be trusted to the window-box. Fuchsias, Ferns, Asparagus Sprengeri, A. tenuissimus, Ageratums, fancy-leaved Caladiums, and various tuberous-rooted Begonias, like the silver-spotted, known as Angel’s Wing, are all lovely in the window-box. Rubra and most of the Begonias do admirably in a north window. For windows facing the street, where effect is principally sought, bright Geraniums, Heliotropes, Coleus, Crotons, and similar plants are preferable, provided there is sufficient sunshine to bring out all their rich colouring.

The fancy-leaved Caladiums may be used where bright effect is sought in a north window.

The boxes used for this purpose should be as ample as possible, the full length of the window-casing outside and at least a foot wide and deep. They should be made of inch boards, closely fitted together so that the sides shall not warp and allow the water to run through too freely, washing out and exhausting the soil. A hole may be made in the bottom at one end, and provided with a plug, for the escape of surplus water during continued rains. A piece of broken crock or other drainage must be placed over the hole on the inside of the box to prevent the earth working in and obstructing the free passage of water. The hot air of summer will shrink the earth away from the sides of the box, leaving a channel for the water to escape without properly soaking the soil; but if the surface of the soil is kept open, and the centre left a little lower than the sides, this will be prevented. A little experimenting will show just how much water is needed to wet the soil properly without letting it run away, and this amount should be used daily during dry weather. Only as many plants as will do well in the limited space of four square feet should be planted in the window-boxes. Five erect plants and three vines are enough for a box of that size, and even these may need attention before the season is over, especially if in south or west windows. North or east boxes will, usually, keep their contents fresh until frost; but a west or south light makes great demands upon the vitality of plants confined within the limited area, and it is a good plan to leave Geraniums and similar flowers in their pots, that they may be easily exchanged for others when they grow shabby, cutting back and repotting the old ones for winter blooming if removed not later than August.

A better plan is to have two boxes; starting one in the house in March, that it may be ready to place as soon as danger of frost is past; and the second in June, that it may be ready to replace the first when needed. For the latter the vines started in the house, or hotbed, in April will be available. Maurandya, Thunbergia, and the like, and many flowers from seed will have reached sufficient size to be used for the second box. Plants that have been carried over from another season, or purchased from the florist, will be necessary for the first boxes. There is no more beautiful vine for a window-box than the Maurandya; it drapes more gracefully than any other vine I know (unless it be the Wild Cucumber, which attaches itself to the window-screen in wreaths of exuberant bloom, drooping far below the window-box, and making a lovely background for scarlet Geraniums). Its only fault is that it will grow shabby before the season is over, when it had better be pulled up and replaced by a fresher vine that has been grown in a pot for the purpose and can be slipped into place without checking its growth.

Perhaps no plant is more satisfactory for a south or west window-box than a good Geranium—either the dark, rich vermilion of the S. A. Nutt, or the vivid scarlet of the Bruant. Both of these appear to better advantage when contrasted with white flowers. Camphor Geranium is excellent, being a freer bloomer than other white Geraniums, and the Giant White Antirrhinum is especially vivid. Double white Petunias and white Phlox Drummondi are also good. Purple Ageratums and Heliotrope are charming with scarlet and white. The large-flowered Ivy Geraniums—Souvenir de Charles Turner—are the best, and do finely in east and west window-boxes, while the variegated variety makes a lovely mass of pendent foliage for an east or north box. Trailing Fuchsia, Japanese Morning-glory, Glechoma, and Wild Cucumber all do well on the north side of the house. The following combinations may all be depended upon to give satisfactory results:

Southern Exposure.

No. 1.

Bruant Geranium White Antirrhinum. S. A. Nutt Geranium (scarlet). (cardinal). Heliotrope. Heliotrope. White Maurandya. White Maurandya.

No. 2.

Jean Viaud Geranium Mrs. J. M. Garr. Jean Viaud (pink). (pink). Dwarf blue Ageratum. Dwarf blue Ageratum. Nepeta Glechoma. Souv. de Charles Turner. Nepeta Glechoma.

No. 3.

Beaute Poitevine Ger. White Verbena. Madame Charlotte Ger. (salmon). (salmon). Weeping Lantana. Var. Ivy Ger. Joan of Arc. Ivy Ger. Joan of Arc.

No. 4.

Dark Crotons. Dark Crotons. Dark Crotons. Light Crotons. Light Crotons. Adlumia. Lotus Peliorhynchus. Adlumia.

No. 5.

Light Crotons. Light Crotons. Light Crotons. Dark Coleus. Dark Coleus. Trailing Abutilons. Trailing Abutilons. Trailing Abutilons.

No. 6.

East Window-box.

Scarlet Tuberous Begonia. White do. Scarlet Tuberous Begonia. White Tuberous Begonia. White Tuberous Begonia. White Thunbergia. Scarlet Nasturtium. White Thunbergia.

No. 7.

Pink Justicia. Pink Justicia. Pink Justicia. Heliotrope. Heliotrope. White Maurandya. Solanum Jasminoides. White Maurandya.

No. 8.

Yellow Tuberous Begonia. Yellow Tuberous Begonia. Yellow Tuberous Begonia. White Tuberous Begonia. White Tuberous Begonia. Yellow Thunbergia. Yellow Thunbergia.

No. 9.

Pink Double Petunia. White Antirrhinum. Pink Double Petunia. Wild Cucumber.

No. 10.

Heliotrope. Heliotrope. Heliotrope. Duke Zeppelin Begonia. Duke Zeppelin Begonia. Solanum Jasminoides. Solanum Jasminoides. Manettia Vine.

No. 11.

North Window-box.

Fancy Caladiums Fancy Caladiums Fancy Caladiums (dark). (dark). (dark). Fancy Caladiums (light). Fancy Caladiums (light). Vinca Var. Vinca Var. Trailing Fuchsia. Maurandya. Trailing Fuchsia.

No. 12.

Fuchsia Phenomenal. Begonia Angel’s Wing. Fuchsia Phenomenal. Dwarf Ageratum. Dwarf Ageratum. Ivy Geranium. Trailing Fuchsia. Ivy Geranium.

No. 13.

Rubra Begonia. Asparagus Tenuissimus. Begonia Velutina. Farfugium. Feastii Begonia. Variegated Vinca. Manettia Vine. Variegated Vinca.

No. 14.

Asparagus Sprengeri. Boston Fern. Asparagus Sprengeri. Russellia Grandis. Cissus Discolour. Russellia Grandis.

Nasturtiums make an attractive window-box, but need abundant root room, and not more than three plants should be put in a box having three other erect plants. Morning-glories, on the contrary, require but little room, and one may be put in each end of a north window-box and trained over the window. If strings are provided they will reach the roof by midsummer, blooming every step of the way; other vines may be grown in the front of the box. The Centrosema—when it can be persuaded to grow—is a charming vine for a north or east window, but it is a very shy plant, hard to get started, and refusing to grow in an uncongenial situation, though quite hardy when once established.

The best support for the window-box is the wooden bracket made by nailing to the side of the house, thirteen inches below the window-sill, a strip of inch stuff the length of the window-frame and three or four inches wide; on top of this and at right angles to it nail three similar strips of wood one foot long, the outer ends resting on strips of wood attached to the sill of the house; these last strips must have the ends bevelled sufficiently to fit snugly against the baseboards and the bottom of the horizontal pieces and be securely nailed together. If the measurements are carefully taken the box will slip into place, on the supports, just under the window-sill. Paint boxes and supports to match the house. Window-boxes may be kept in the cellar through the winter, or emptied, dried and stored in a dry place, according to their contents. Always empty and thoroughly scald the boxes before using.

In stocking window-boxes never put plants received by mail directly into them; they should be ordered early enough to pot and become established (the pots full of roots) by the time they are needed for the window-boxes, when they may be slipped into place without disturbing the roots or checking their growth. Placed at once in the boxes, in a sunny position, they would probably be lost.

Very fair window-boxes may be obtained at trifling expense by using the boxes in which grass scythes are packed, which may be purchased at the hardware store for five or ten cents apiece. These are not as wide nor as deep as one could wish, but have the advantage of cheapness and availability. Preference should be given to those having close seams. If warped or open they must be tightened by driving in extra nails, or nailing thin strips of wood over the cracks on the inside. The longevity of the window-box is greatly lengthened by keeping the windows above them—especially on the south and west sides of the house—open as much of the time as possible. If the sun beats on the glass of the closed window and is reflected on the plants, it is literally confining them between two fires and they cannot be expected to come through uninjured. Let the wind sweep through and over them and they will stand any reasonable amount of heat or moisture. This is the reason plants do better in the open than when placed against the side of a wall or building—the air must not only have free access, but pass beyond, carrying off noxious vapours and excess of moisture.

When there is garden room for their cultivation I do not approve of growing annuals in window-boxes; it is better to reserve these for choice plants; but when the window-box must be the only garden, and economy must be studied, very pretty boxes may be arranged with Sweet Alyssum; scarlet, white, or pink Phlox Drummondi; scarlet, pink, or white Verbenas; the various coloured Antirrhinums, Petunias, Nasturtiums, the blue Phacelia and Ageratums, Wild Cucumber, the finer foliaged fancy gourds, as Bryonopsis Coccinea Indica, and Abobra viridiflora. By using the scythe boxes, and starting the plants from seed, very pretty boxes may be gotten up for from thirty-five to fifty cents a pair that will give as much pleasure as more expensive ones. The more flowers are cut from these boxes of annuals the more freely they will bloom, and no seeds should be allowed to form. A little liquid manure should be given all window-boxes—except those containing Begonias—once a week during the summer, and all withered flowers and leaves promptly removed. Nip back weak, straggly growths and encourage the plants to grow stocky and the vines to branch freely.

Chapter _TEN_ Various Annuals from Seed

Antirrhinums (Snapdragon), of late much interest has been shown in the newer forms of this old-time favourite, and some fine new varieties have become popular for cut flowers. The Giant White and Queen of the North are most desirable for cut flowers, window-boxes, and vases; while Niobe—a beautiful half-dwarf variety of velvety maroon with white throat, Giant Yellow, Giant Crimson, and Firefly—a bright scarlet—are excellent for bedding.

Seed should be started early in hotbed or flats. Merely press it into the soil and cover with a paper until the plants appear, which should be in from eight to ten days. Transplant into rich soil where the plants are to remain, setting one foot apart each way. They are effective in rows with some taller plant, or vine, for a background. The tall, showy spikes are most striking against a background of green. The Antirrhinum is a half-hardy perennial, blooming the first season if seed is started early enough, and hardy at the North with good protection in winter. If a succession of flowers is desired, no seed should be allowed to form. Protect in winter with a mulch of leaves, evergreen boughs, or corn-stalks, as high—or higher—than the plants, or they may be pegged down and covered with evergreen boughs, or boards to shed the rain. Thus protected they will live through the winter and bloom heavily the following summer. Occasionally in favoured locations they will live through the winter unprotected, but this cannot be depended upon.

Antirrhinums are not particular as to soil or situation, provided they have plenty of water; rich loam or half loam and half leaf-mould suiting them equally well, and any exposure that affords a fair amount of sunshine.

Asters have come to be a recognised necessity of the fall garden, and there has been marked improvement in varieties during the past few years. Starting with the old-fashioned Aster of medium size and inferior colour, showing a marked yellow centre, the aim of the Aster specialist has been to eliminate the centre, enlarge the flower, and improve the colour and texture of the petal. Results are shown in such varieties as the Giant White Comet, the Bride, the Japanese Tassel Aster, Chrysanthemum Flowered, Peony, Perfection, and the wonderful Ostrich Feather.

With such an embarrassment of riches it is difficult to declare any one variety the finest, but for cut flowers and corsage wear nothing can excel the Chrysanthemum Flowered in white and pink.