Have you ever seen the hop-vine? It is very pretty, with its soft festoons of feathery tassels. The hop-vine, running up the trellis on one side of the window; the red bean, with its scarlet blossoms, on the other, will bring a bit of the country to you as little else can.
Around the front and side edges of the end boxes plant nasturtium seeds, and midsummer will find a wealth of tangled vines and fragrant flowers which will clamber over, under, and through your fence in wild abandon.
In the middle box plant bachelor’s-buttons (corn-flowers), which blossom from July to late autumn with white, blue, and pink flowers. Plant also mignonette for its sweetness, and, to complete the country effect, add lady-slippers.
All these flowers are raised from the seed, except the hop-vine. For this you will have to get the “sets,” which are the underground stems of the old vines cut into pieces. Three or four “sets” planted together will give you a nice vine.
One of the oddest of odd gardens is
A Water Garden
This, too, may be just outside your window if you are so fortunate as to have a balcony large enough to hold a good-sized tub; or one corner of your backyard may perhaps be spared for a place in which to rear your water-babies.
Half of a good, strong hogshead barrel makes a fine bed for a miniature pond; a molasses barrel will answer or any kind of tank that will hold water and is at least two feet deep can be used for the purpose.
Do not choose too shady a spot for your water garden. There are very few plants that are not the better for a little sunshine. An unsheltered corner which must endure the burning heat of the afternoon sun is also undesirable, but a place which only the morning sun can reach will be suited to almost any water plant. You will need
Soil