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.
OUTSIDE WINDOW-BOXES
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: