Very pretty windmills are often made of only two shades, common note-paper being used for the wheels, and a bright, rosy pink tissue-paper for the flowers. Indeed, those made of common brown wrapping-paper without any flowers at all give more satisfaction in a light wind than the more elaborate ones described above.
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A WINTER GARDEN.
Most boys love flowers; and many families, especially in the country, would keep more through the winter than they do, if they had the space and time to devote to them, necessary for their preservation. A number of pots, sufficiently large to hold good-sized plants, take up considerable room; and no little time is required each day, to keep the pots clean and the plants well watered. Now, boys, I have a suggestion to make, which I intend for your ears alone. Why can’t you make a winter garden, and, if necessary, take care of it through the season? It will amply repay you for your labor, and do much toward brightening the home life through the long dreary months, when everything without is covered with ice and snow.
First procure a soap-box, the best and tightest you can find: if any cracks are too wide to be easily closed with putty, nail laths over them on the inside, line their edges, and, in fact, stop every seam and crevice with good thick layers of putty. Next paint over the entire inside with any colored pigment you may have, as it does not show when the box is filled with earth, but simply aids in making it water-tight.
Now take four strong pieces of wood, about two and a half feet long; smooth them well and sand-paper; be sure both ends are cut off evenly, and that each leg is the same length as the other three, and, finally, nail them firmly to the four corners of the box, letting the tops come in line with its upper edge, and give the whole thing two good coats of Indian-red. A very pretty stand is made by substituting the straight trunks of young forest trees with their bark left on in place of the smooth, painted legs; bore holes in the bottom of the legs and insert casters, and finish by giving the entire outer surface a thick coating of varnish. Then get a good wheelbarrow-load of fine leaf-mold, about half that quantity of sand, and some common garden soil. Stir these well together, and fill the box half full with the mixture, first covering the bottom with pebbles, to secure drainage. Before this, however, bore a hole with a good-sized gimlet in the bottom of the box, and fit a soft pine peg to close it from the under side. When the plants are watered this peg can be removed, and a dish placed beneath the opening to catch the surplus water.
You are now ready for the plants. I find almost any garden plants thrive well in this box, so any favorites you may have will soon make themselves at home in these new quarters. It is well to put vines around the edge, as they fall over, and their glossy green leaves and stems form an agreeable contrast to the dark-red background of the box itself. In my present winter garden I have German and Cenilworth ivy, partridge-berry, and the common inch-plant for vines. In the center is a large salvia, taken up so carefully that the great ball of dirt was not shaken from its roots. On one side is a calla lily, and on the other a feverfew of the large double variety. At the ends are fuchsias and heliotrope, and scattered over the other available spots are verbenas and petunias, sweet peas and lobelia; one or two fish-geraniums of bright colors also found a place, and a little wood-violet nestled in one corner has bloomed since early spring. A beautiful large purple pansy, too, has been blooming all winter in another corner of the box.
Over this garden are two hanging-pots, one filled with pink oxalis, and the other with a Chinese pink; both have contributed their full share of blossoms during the entire season, and neither seems to tire of well-doing. I must now tell you how to care for these beautiful pets, for they must receive some attention, which, however, is very small when compared with that required by their sisters in pots. First, always water them with warm water (almost as hot as you can bear your hand in), pour this around the roots in sufficient quantities to thoroughly moisten the soil. A good rule to be observed in watering your plants is to pour on the water until it begins to run out of the hole in the bottom of the box. With such thorough wetting down they will not need water oftener than twice a week, except when the sun is very hot, and the moisture evaporates quickly. A little carbonate of ammonia added to the water greatly improves their growth, and half-a-dozen grains of permanganate of potash added once a fortnight to the warm bath turns their foliage a rich dark green. With a whisk broom, sprinkle them once or twice a week with water which is also warm, but not as hot as that used on their roots; this operation takes but little time, scarcely five minutes, and as the stand is on casters it can be easily moved to the middle of the room, and each side can then receive its full share of the washing. It is safe to predict that if any boy would make the stand, and supply it with rich soil, his mother or some one of his sisters would only be too happy to plant and care for the flowers it might hold.
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