FLOWERS
There are a number of greenhouse crops which are easily within the reach of the amateur who has at his disposal a small glass structure. 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 beautiful, because they will be fresher if not quite so large, than any which can be had at the glass-fronted shops; and cyclamen as beautiful, and much more serviceable, than any orchid that ever hung from a precarious basket. To accomplish 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 actually 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 comparatively 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 already described. 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 temperature very little above fifty degrees, and not above seventy-five in the daytime, while sixty will do in cloudy weather. As to the watering, they should be well soaked when put in, and thereafter only as the ground becomes dry, when it should again be wet, care being taken to wet the foliage as little as possible. In the mornings, and on bright days, syringing the foliage will be beneficial, but never in dull weather, as the leaves should never be wet over night.
As the flower stems begin to shoot up they will need support. If you can get one of the many forms of wire supports used by commercial florists, so much the better; but if these are not obtainable the old method of stakes and strings (or preferably raffia) will do very well. To obtain large flowers the flower stems must be "disbudded"—that is all but the end bud on each stalk should be pinched off, thus throwing all the strength into one large flower. If, on the other hand, the terminal bud is taken off, and several of the side buds left, the result will be a beautiful cluster of blooms, more pleasing, to my mind, than the single large flowers, though not so valuable commercially.
There are any number of wonderful new varieties, but the white, pink and light pink Enchantress, and one of the standard reds will give satisfaction.
VIOLETS
Requiring even less heat than the carnation is the old-time and all-time favorite, the violet. With no greenhouse at all, these can be grown beautifully, simply with the aid of a coldframe. But where a house is to be had, the season of blooming is, of course, much longer. The essential thing is to get strong, healthy plants. As with the carnations, if only a few are wanted, they may be grown in pots, using the six-inch size. The soil, whether for pots or benches, should be somewhat heavier than that prepared for carnations, using one-fourth to one-fifth cow manure added to the loam or rotted sod. If a bench is used, select one as near the glass as you can. Take in the plants with as little disturbance as possible, and keep them shaded for a few days, as with carnations. The plants will require to be about eight inches apart. As for care, apply water only when the bed has begun to dry, and then until the bench is soaked through. Pots will, of course, require more frequent attention in this matter than a bench. Keep all old leaves picked off and the soil stirred about the plants, with syringing and fumigating as suggested on page 134. The temperature will be best as low as forty-five degrees at night, and as little above fifteen more in the daytime as possible. Where no artificial heat can be had, a fine crop through the spring months may be had by making a smaller frame inside the regular coldframe, and packing this space with fine dry manure, as well as banking the outer frame. This arrangement, with two sash and mats in the coldest weather, will keep the plants growing most of the winter, and certainly the abundance of fragrant blooms at a season when flowers are most scarce will amply repay you for the trouble. Some prefer the single to the double blossoms. Marie Louise and Lady Hume Campbell (double blue); Swanley White, and California and Princesse de Galles (single blue) are the best varieties. Plants may be purchased of most large florists or from seedsmen.