Fig. 361. A window-garden of one's own.

In suggesting your selection of flowers, I shall mention but a few. I have chosen the following kinds because they are not too particular or exacting as to care, while some are equally well adapted for cultivation either in the open ground or in window boxes. I hope you will include sweet peas, dahlias, and gladioli in your selection. I have not named them in this list because they are not suitable for planting in flats, but are planted directly in the open ground where they are to spend their lives. Gladioli and most dahlias you will not raise from seeds.

The following is a list from which you may make a selection for planting in your school-room, to divide later with your mates for home planting:—

Petunia
Nasturtium
Sweet Alyssum
Mignonette		}Suitable for planting either in window boxes or in the open ground.
Bachelor's Button
Salvia (Flowering Sage)
Phlox
Aster
Marigold
Candytuft		}To be planted in the open ground.

Fig. 362. Plan of the improvement of the school ground, shown in Fig. 365.

Make a Garden in a Box.

There is no reason why you cannot have a window-box as attractive as the one shown in [Fig. 361]. Plants will grow as well for you as for the richest or the greatest man of whom you ever heard. All they require is to be made comfortable. The two things most necessary for their comfort are water as often as they need it, and fertile soil that will not become hard from frequent watering. Plants in boxes need water much oftener than those in the open ground. I once knew of a window-box on a tin roof on the south side of the house that was watered morning, noon, and night. Those plants must have been comfortable, for they made thrifty growth.

When you have learned how to make plants comfortable in a flat, you will know what is necessary for their comfort in a window-box. They should have the same kind of earth, but more of it. The box should never be less than eight inches wide and eight inches deep and as long as you can afford to fill with earth and plants. There must be holes in the bottom for drainage, and moss or small stones placed over the holes to prevent the soil from washing away.