South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1914-11-20
Indoor Window Box Important
in Care of the Winter Garden

WASHINGTON. Nov. 2O.-The in
door window box, properly planned
and tended. Will afford much pleas
ure and satisfaction to the housewife
who misses her Out-of-dOOr garden
during the winter months. 1t is a
mistaken notion that plants when
kept in living rooms use up certain
elements of the air in such quantities
as to make it unhealthful for individ-
uals using the room. Ii is nluch hard
er on plants to be in a room with
people than for people to be in
room with growing plants. Plants.
indeed, use air, but use such a small
proportion that the effect of the plant
in the room is negligible if the room
is ventilated at all This also holds
good for cut flowers or plants in a
sick room, although the odor of some
flowers may be depressing to the
patient, and bad for that reason.
good depth for an indoor window
box is about u inches The bottom
Of the box should be covered with
stones and broken pottery to give
drainage and this should be covered
by a layer OF moss to prevent the soil
above from working down through
the stones. The drainage and moss
should take up about three inches.
The greater the body Of soil above the
moss the more uniform ii may be
kept as TO moisture. The soil should
come to within an inch and a half or
two inches of the top of the box
The indoor window box should be
made to fit into the window To get
as much light as possible it should be
level with the window. 1t may be
fastened with brackets or placed on
table, or have legs made for it. There
should be a drip pan beneath TO keep
water from sOiling the floor. The box
may rest directly above the drip pan
on legs half an inch to an inch high
or the box may be water-tight with
the exception of hole at one end to
let out the water.
The top of the soil should be allow
ed to become quite dry once I'm
while The results of watering will
teach the owner to regulate the sup
ply. Boxes may need watering in
sunshiny weather especially toward
spring. every day, or at least every
other day; in cloudy mid-winter
AS a rule it is better to water lightly
and frequently than heavily and in
frequently. The specialist of the
United States department of agricul-
ture advises this. although just the
reverse is considered best when
watering is done out of doors in the
summer.
A large proportion of the plants IN
window box should be of the same
general character if the growth is to
be successful. Plants of different
character need different treatment. 1T
is very difficult to raise Towering
plants in a window box with the eX-
ception of begonias. Ordinary flow
ering plants are very exacting, and
will not find enough light in the Ordi-
nary living room, even though placed
near the window, although they may
do we'll in a conservatory. The main
object Of an indoor box is to furnish
green leaves rather than to raise flow
ers indoors.
The departm @nt of agricultures
specialist makes the following sug-
gestiOns for a window box.
BegOnias are one OF the most at
tractive plants that may be used for
an indoor box. Both Towering and
non Towering varieties will give sat
isfaction: in fact. the Towering va
riety is one Of the few plans that will
blossom indoors without special cult
walton The begonia is not very par
ticular in its requirements and VIII
flourish with ordinary care.
Small ferns obtained from florist
will flourish. These are particularly
adapted to house culture. as they do
not require direct sunlight. (Care of
ferns will be described in greater de-
tail in a subsequent article(.
Even more hardy than ferns is the
foliage plant known as the aspidistra.
This adaptable plant-growth will
stand a measure of neglect drought
and dust and still thrive. 1t does not
require direct sunlight