Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1914-11-20
WINTER WINDOW BOX WILL ADD
HF HH Eff Hf
a TOUCH OF COLOR TO THE HOME
Especial to. Times-Recorder)

window box, properly planned ana
tended, will afford much pleasure and
satisfaction to the housewife who miss
es her out-of-door garden during the
winter months. 1t is a mistaken no
ton that plants when kept in living
rooms use up certain elements Of the
air in such quantities as to make it
Unhealthful for individuals using the
room. 1t is much harder on plants to
be in a room with people than for peo-
pie to be in a room with growing
plants. Plants, indeed, use air, but use
such a small proportion that the eff
feet OF the plant in the room is negli-
gible if the room is ventilated at all.
This holds good for cut flowers or
plants in a sick room, although the
odor of some flowers may be depress-
ing to the patient, and bad for that
reason.
A good depth for an indoor window
box is about IL 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 from work
ing down through the stones. The
drainage and moss should take up
three inches. The greater the body of
soil above the moss the more uniform
it may be kept as to moisture. The
soil should come to within an inch
and a half or two inches of the top
of thp boz.
The indoor window box should be
made to fit into the window. To get
ss much light as possible it should be
level with the window 1t may be fas-
tered with brackets or placed on a
table, or have legs made for it. There
should be drip pan beneath to keep
water from soiling the floor. The box
nay rest directly above the drip pan
on legs half to an inch high, or the box
may be water-tight with the excep-
ton of a hole at one end to let out
The water.
The top Of the soil should be allow
Cd to become quite dry once in a
While. The results of watering will
teach the owner to regulate the sup
ply. Boxes may need watering in
weather Especially toward
sp'ing) every day, or at least every
other day; in cloudy winter
not more than once a week.
AS a rule it is better to water lightly
and frequently than heavily and infre-
quently. The specialist of the u S.
of agriculture advises this,
just the reverse is consider
ed best when watering is done out of
doors in the summer.
Foliage, Not Flowers, For Window Box
A large proportion of the plants in
a window box should be of the same
general character if the growth is to
be successful. Plants of different
need different treatment. It
is very difficult to raise Towering
plants in a window box, except be-
gonias. Ordinary Towering plants are
very exacting and will not find enough
light in the ordinary living room, even
though placed near the window, al
though they may do we'll in a conserva-
tory. The main object of an indoor
window box is to furnish the fresh ap-
pearance # growing green leaves ra-
Their than to raise flowers.
The department of agriculture's spe-
cialist makes the following suggestions
for window box:
Begonias are one of the most at
tractive plants that may be used for
an indoor box. Both Towering and
woodworking varieties will give salts
faction; In fact, the Towering variety
is one of the few plants that will bios
som indoors without special cultiva-
ton. The begonia is not very particu-
lar in its requirements and will -four
ish with ordinary care.
Small ferns obtained from florist
will V,boga ora III