The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1881-12-04
ROOM ADORNMENTS FOR
WINTER.

AT THIS season or the year INT
, beautiful color of field and fores
leads to a desire for home-adorn
mept,and the fancy-tiRted leaves are
gathered and preserved, and do eX-
cellent service in making home at
| tractive till the leaves and flowers
come again. But while those relics
OF the past are doing good service in
their humble way, making the dark
corners glow with a faint glimmer
OF life, we may make the light by
the windows do us equal, if no bet
Ter service, by keeping living plants
and aiding them to bear for us sweet
and lovely flowers. Vines may be
trained up the windew-frames, pots
may be made to stand in brackets,
and hanging-basketS let the flowing
shoots hang down.
All this does not take much to do,
but people often think otherwise,
and this is why so few have moth
ing at all. Indeed, the choice flowers
OF the conservatory are often among
the worst for window-culture: and
the wild weed would be a kmuch
greater success and be more pleas
ing than the most valued exotics
from foreign land. Indeed,a weed
is not weed only in relation to
time and place. 1t is a flower, and a
valued flower when it comes natur-
ally and where it is desired to come.
There is no growth in winter out-of-
doors, and so the wild flower grow
growing in the windows in winter is
no more weed than anything that
grows. There are many green things
in the woods and meadows, ferns,
MOSES, vines, and SO On, that would
remain quite green only for severe
froStS and cold winds. In windows
this is accomplished. 1t must, how
ever, be borne in mind that these
naturally hardy plants do net like
much heat, and hence they are
adapted to cool rooms only and not
to warm ones. With heat they are
worthless. For such heated rooms
the more tropical plants must be
used.
It is not our purpose here to name
varieties to grow, rather to suggest
that anything that comes to hand
will do, but to offer practical word
or two as to treatment that may be
of service. Air fresh from the OUT
side, whenever it is not frosty, is of
course an advantage, as the foul air
from heaters, gas-burners and other
centriYanceS are more or less of an
injury. The sunlight is, of course
all know, benefit at all times. Will
this or that dc well in the shade, is
often question. Some things, as
ferns and MOSES, will do, but even
these like sun, if not too warm a
sun.
AS to watering this is the great
question with all window plant
growers. We see it stated that a
well-knOwn horticulturist of this
place, in an address to the Horticul-
tural Society, gave it as his opinion
that there was much more danger
from too much than too little water
to room plants. This is our expert
ence. If one IS not quite sure from
the appearance Of the earth and of
the plants, it is better rather to wait
a little while, say for a day, than to
risk it. In regard to plants in bask-
cts, however, we should think the
ideas of our horticultural friend
might be reversed. TheseIwe think
are generally inspired by too little
than too much water. The danger
is therefore from the other side.
They often get but drop or two
frona a cup, and a basin held under
the basket to catch the drip; but be-
sides this hanging-basket should
be dipped into a bucket of water
about once a week.-Germ0ntoaUp
Telegraph.