Evening star., 1949-05-01
Window Box Offers
Chance to Display
artistic Talents
BY W. n. Younsmon
Cofden Edife

A weu-planteG winGoW oOx add!
color TO the house and. II filed
with attractive. well-chosen plants
may be the needed accent point. Or
the other hand. q poorly con.
structed box may be a plant cof
fin which fails TO add interest o.
TO serve as an eye-catcher.
Too often window boxes. espe.
cially those on the south side o1
a house. are too small. A DO,
should be large enough to permiI
ample root growth and to retair
moisture for at least "a hours o!
growth. Ideally. such a box woulc
be 10 to IL inches deep and thai
wide or wider.
It should be securely fastened
preferably with stout non-rustins
brackets. Whether made of wooc
or metal, provision for drainage
Of excess moisture Is essential.
What TO Do to the Soil.
In filling the window box 1t Il
desirable to place a layer OF
gravel or coarse rubble in the
bottom. Cover this with a layer
OF leaves or other plant material
to keep the soil from filling the
spaces of the drainage material
Fill the remainder Of the space
with q mixture of garden loan
2 parts; compost, leafmold or
rotted manure. / part. and sand
part. Add a small potful OF
bone meal-the equivalent Of a
pint to a bushel of soil, or one
half this quantity if a CONNER
cial fertilizer.
Plants may be procured from
shop or greenhouse, or they may
be grown from seed or slips. II
the box is wide enough, it is the
general practice to put a few tall
plants down the middle of the
box. Edging plants interspersed
with trailers are then planted
toward the front edge. If space
permits a row of edging plants is
placed next to the window so as
to make the box attractive both
from indoors and out.
The choice of plants will in
large measure depend upon the
exposure. For the south side Of
the house choose from these or
other sun-loving plants: Gera-
dwarf marigolds. petunias,
portulaca, ageratum, alysSum.
dwarf or vines). To-
bella. dwarf zinnias, lantana,
scarlet sage. candytuft, balsam or
the dwarf celosia (cockscomb).
North Side Not So Hot.
For the north side Of the house
try petunia. fuchsia, begonia-
both tuberous and wax-and pam
sizes. Plant vinca minor for a
trailer or ground cover or the
various ivies may be used. Some
will try a few ferns if the shade
is dense. The little edging plant
torenia (wishbone f1ower) makes
a better display here than in
flower bed. Years ago every we'll
planned window box had a pam
danus or dracenia. These house
plants may still be used effec-
lively in partial shade. although
we may now prefer to grow one
or more Of the interesting tuber-
ous-rooted begonias. Unfortun-
ately the begonias do not do well
except in a protected situation.
Their foliage is too tender to
Withstand strong winds.
There are a number OF vines:
The trailer type Of petunia (bal-
cony type). q trailer fucshia (F.
procumbens). Kenilworth ivy,
vinca major. nasturtiums. Thun-
bergia alata (black-eyed Susan /,
periwinkle (vinca minor. aspara-
gus fern and others. Even the
morning glory may be 50 used,
although. If given an opportunity,
it will climb.
II the house Is already well
supplied with architectural fea-
lures such as awnings, shutters,
etc., color becomes a difficult
Red geraniums,
blue lobelias or crimson celosias.
do not 60 with q red brick house,
but green and white. buff. shades
Of yellow. pinks with a rose hue.
and lilac and lavender do. Other