The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1872-03-29
Hanging Baskets.

Hanging Baskets.
No floral ornament is more graceful
or charming than a hanging basket,
well-filled and in thrifty condition.
There is scope for wide range OF taste
and style in both the material OF the
basket ITSELF as we'll as the plants with
which il is filed. If one lives within
reach of good greenhouse, and can
afford the moderate expense involved,
the least troublesome method OF OBJ
tanning hanging basket is TO order one
ready filed and growing. They gener'
ally sell, complete, from dollar and a
half to six or eight dollars, according to
the materials and contents. All the
care that the purchaser need exercise is
to see that the plants contained in the
basket are such as are adapted to the
location it is destined to occupy, in re-
spect to temperature, sunshine, etc. III
is also necessary that all the plants
contained in the same basket should
have similar conditions of growth. If a
Coleus, Begonia, or Tradescantia is
planted in the same basket with q
pansy or Chinese primrose, it would
prove failure, for the first three re-
quire degree of heat which would be
speedily fatal to the latter. A judicious
florist would, however, avoid such an
error.
The material Of the ready -made has.
kets is generally wire, terra-cotta or
rustic work. The wire baskets, lined
with thick, soft moss, are much the
prettiest, but require more care in
keeping well watered, and there is con-
slant evaporation from the entire sur
face.
But no one need be deprived Of hang.
ing baskets 10y reason OF inability to OBJ
tain them ready filed from the florist.
With no expenditure except that of a
little labor, directed by taste and skill,
articles have been produced which sur
pass in elegance of appearances the
choicest productions of the green house.
Half cocoanut shell, superannuated
wire dish cover, china bowl swung up
in netting of crccheted zephyr, a
wooden bowl covered with rustic
branches, any shallow affair which will
hold from pint to half peck Of soil
and can be conveniently suspended,
will answer the purpose. The steel
springs Of a discarded hoop skirt fur.
nish the material with which a variety
of baskets may be fabricated. If dish
of any kind is used, always see that
ample provision is made for drainage,
by means of a hole or holes in the
bottom.
For contents, the forests, fields and
roadsides furnish an inexhaustible va
riety. Plants of dwarf, compact habit
are necessary for filling up the center,
and those of trailing habit to hang
over the sides. For the latter purpose,
Moneywort (Lysimachia nummularia) J,
Nasturtium (TropGolum majus), Lobe
liza erinus, are all neat and pretty.
There is little creeping plant with a
square stem, rounded kidney shaped
leaves, and blue flowers, called Gill
(Nepeta Glechoma), which is regarded
as weed in the country, but which
fiourishes nicely in hanging baskets,
and is sometimes sold by city florists for
that purpose.
Some of the prettiest baskets we ever
saw were homemade, and filled with
forest plants: Trailing Arbutus (Epig@a
repens), Wintergreen (Gaultheria pro.
cumbens), Partridge berry (Mitchclla
repens), the barren strawberry (Wald-
steinia fragaroides), and directly in the
center a strong rhizome or "root" OF
fern. The latter continues, during the
entire season, to uncoil its rich, feathery
fronds, in striking yet harmonious con-
trast with the bright green foliage, deli.
cate bloom and brilliant berries of its
trailing neighbors. This collection had
the additional advantage of being able
TO flourish in a cool, sunless, north
room.
Care should be taken to see that
hanging baskets are not permitted to
suffer for want of sufficient watering.
Wire baskets, lined with moss, should,
in addition to the usual sprinkling, be
dipped in water every few days.