Early planting is essential if the plants are to get off to a good start. The soil should be fitted as soon as dry enough, and the plants set immediately while the weather is cool and the soil moist. Late plantings often encounter hot dry weather and fail or do poorly the first season. A properly-set plant is as deep in the soil as it grew in the nursery and firm enough to resist a strong tug.

Fertilizers should not be used at planting time and preferably not the first year with the cane fruits. On soils of low fertility, a light application may be used after the plants are well established, but in view of the tendency of amateurs to use too much, only light applications should be made. The strawberry ground may be fertilized at planting time with a complete fertilizer, 10-10-10 or a similar formula, at the rate of one pound to 100 square feet.

Summer care of the strawberries consists of regular cultivation and hoeing, spacing the runners about six inches apart and removing the surplus after the row is filled out to a width of 18 inches. The ever-bearing strawberries sometimes perform much better if mulched with sawdust.

The brambles, currants, gooseberries and blueberries may be mulched. Sawdust is an especially good mulch for blueberries. Cultivation, if practiced, should be shallow. Nitrogen is most apt to be the best fertilizer. For the blueberries sulfate of amtnonia is best, but ammonium nitrate may be used, and is suitable for the other fruits. In small gardens complete fertilizers will do very well for most fruits.

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Three varieties, Beloperone guttate, Beloperone comosa and Beloperone longispicua pupurea, each distinct in appearance and, each flourishing with a minimum of care should appeal to the window gardener whose leisure time is not what it used to be. Two of these varieties, Beloperone guttata and Beloperone comosa, grow equally well in an east or south window.

However, the bracta are more colorful and the growth of the plants more compact if they are given sun most of the do.Both are large growers, the former with shiny medium green leaves and slender stems which are in-dined to straggle a bit if not staked. The bracts are pink to rosy bronze according to the amount of sun given. These bracts, about an inch in length and. almost an inch across, are composed of overlapping scales. from -which peep small white flowers with purple dots. They are borne profusely and once blooming commences, the plant is rarely without these graceful “shrimps.”

The leaves of Beloperone comosa are larger and much thinner and a lighter green than those of Beloperone guttata. They are slightly pubescent. The hairy stems are slaeder and strong enough. that they do not require staking. This plant presents a very striking appearance with its vivid ‘crimson bracts and orange-red flowers which spring boldly from the scales with slightly ruffled edges.

Beloperone longispicua pupurea is a neat compact grower with smaller and darker leaves than the above varieties. The bracts,. shaped like those of Beloperone guttata and with the same small white flowers, ale a lovely golden bronze, rich and glowing, when grown in a south window. It appears rather somber if grown in the shade.

All of these plants will be improved by pinching out the topmost leaves from the taller branches. If pinching is started when the plant is small, a bushy, more-shapely plant will be the result and one which bedecks itself gaily and happily, the winter through, with interesting and lovely blossoms.

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After one of these ruthless frosts, which snuffed all color from the world and made it sad, Mrs. Preston decided to build a winter window garden in her home.

Since then she has had twelve months of color. A scarlet amaryllis, almost hidden by the foliage of an Easter lily, glows in the window. A novelty in gloxinias, called Lady Slipper, blooms year after year in the same pot with only a short rest period between flowering. Several potted geraniums bloom in their sea son and two of them (Nutmeg and Rose) have fragrant, spicy leaves which add greatly to their desirability and lend an interest even when the plants are no longer in bloom.

A Gloriosa lily, with strange flowers, has climbed 6 feet to the top of the window to crown it with its gold and crimson beauty. There are orchids, some of which bloom during the winter holidays to furnish corsages for friends.

“I used to grow gardenias in my window,” says Mrs. Preston. “Now I have something new. It’s called Fleur d’Amour. It looks like a gardenia, doesn’t it?” she said, pointing to a plant with shining leaves and white gardenia-like flowers. “It has a gardenia-like fragrance, too, that I find captivating.”

The most prized plants in Mrs. Preston’s winter garden, however, are her African violets. It would be difficult for anyone to find a more colorful collection. Some are the usual ones bought at nurseries but quite a number are those Mrs. Preston has raised from seed.

One of her seedlings, grown-up, was mentioned in a magazine that gave the plant special mention for being outstanding in foliage and bicolored blossoms. Many of the other violets were also grown from seed. On the second shelf, near the curtain, is one of several doubles. There are also a number of singles, red, pink and white.

The window garden faces the east and south. It affords abundant light all day. The rack on which the violet plants on the right are seen was constructed so as to give perfect drainage. Underneath the rack is a galvanized iron, water-tight pan filled with cinders. It absorbs any surplus water accidentally spilled in watering. This pan is always moist and so acts as a humidifier to offset the too dry atmosphere frequently found in our modern homes.

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Tall, tapering plants often look well in tall containers. Round, bushy plants are suitable for squat, square containers. Horizontal lines or bands around a container will make it seem lower, and vertical lines the reverse. Sometimes architectural style dictates the design of a container, sometimes an outstanding container will lead you to create or locate a setting for it. The theme can be antique or contemporary, simple or ornate, rural or urban.

And containers should, of course, be culturally practical. They should provide sufficient root space and adequate drainage facilities. They should be sturdy enough to hold the weight of moist soil, and lasting enough (rust- and rot-resistant) to hold together despite the weathering of sun, rain, and wind. They should have a wide base so they won’t blow or tip over. Good design is decorative, functional, and culturally practical.

Ready-Made Containers

Fast-growing interest in container gardening has encouraged manufacturers to increase the variety of available boxes, tubs, urns, and other movable planters and to give them more interesting design. The familiar hexagonal or octagonal redwood tub is available in a number of different sizes and proportions, and with rolling platforms that make moving it easier. Planter boxes are no longer just boxes; they come in a selection of sizes and shapes. Artistic new stone and ceramic urns are joining the well-known classics. Planters are available in many different materials, including new plastics with lasting weather-resistance.

The creative container gardener will also consider some of the less usual possibilities just like doing a tropical garden design and the huge urns made by winding sisal rope around a skeleton frame. Dealers in Japanese and other antiques offer beautiful old stone or metal containers. Contemporary ceramic artists are turning out handsome new designs. At country auctions you can pick up antiquities like copper wash boilers, iron kettles, stoneware pickle crocks, even wheelbarrows. The possibilities are limited only by your budget and the time you can devote to shopping.

Try a pair of matching urns, tubs, or boxes on either side of the front door, with vines climbing a trellis or the wall and meeting at the top to form a frame. Try one urn with a specimen shrub and vines at the base. One container, two, or three can be arranged at the edge of patio or terrace to bring yard and garden into closer harmony. Use one or several, with vines on trellises, as a screen or divider between two outdoor areas. Find just the right design to suit a garden bench or arch, or to line up along the edge of steps, or beside a large window.

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Interrelated with light intensity, and equally important, is the number of hours of light. To some extent – but not in equal proportion – light over a longer period will help make up for lack in intensity. Here is another reason for supplying extra artificial light after sundown in winter. But for some plants it is also a reason to avoid the use of supplementary light.

Through a scientific principle called photoperiodism we know that some plants will set buds and flower only when the hours of daylight are limited, as they are in winter. Poinsettias, chrysanthemums, and the popular Christmas cactus are included in this category of “short-day” (also called “long-night”) plants. For full and early flowering they should be shaded against light of any kind after twilight in fall and winter.

The principle of photoperiodism also singles out many varieties, called “long-day” (“short-night”) plants that will flower only when daylight hours are long and the light strong. Among vining plants this would apply to winter forcing of clematis, pendula tuberous begonias, and many other summer-flowering plants. They will bloom only with hours and intensity of light comparable to that of summer.

There is also a large group of plants to which amount or intensity of light is not so important. And whether light like the solar deck post light is a controlling factor or not, other cultural conditions like temperature and humidity also influence plant growth and flowering.

How can you tell whether your plants are getting enough light? Generally, by their appearance. Pale, limp leaves of poor texture; overlong stalks or stems with greater-than-usual intervals between the joints; tendrils that lean drunkenly away from their supports, stretching out in search of more light; lanky plants that topple lopsidedly in one direction – all these are signs of insufficient light. In good light, indoor house plants, vines and hanging plants keep compact, symmetrical, and lush-looking; and their fresh-colored leaves and stems feel firm and healthy to the touch.

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Chrysanthemums are not in the same class with peonies, irises, and phlox so far as hardiness is concerned. Therefore, to be sure of having live plants in the spring, one should give chrysanthemums special protection or carry them over winter by one of the methods that will be mentioned. If the plants are growing in sandy loam and an exceedingly well drained place where the soil cannot remain excessively wet very long, they can be wintered by covering with a sizable box.

Before covering, cut off the dead tops and place enough hay, straw or some other kind of mulch over the crown of the plant so that it will fill the box when it is put into position. Some gardeners put a shovelful or two of sandy soil or pulverized peat over the plant before placing the final covering. Usually this method works very successfully.

Another way to winter chrysanthemums is to dig a clump (a plant) of each variety and place in a cold frame. Plants like zamioculcas zamiifolia plant can be dug into the ground in the cold frame and if there’s not enough room for all, clumps can be stacked on top of those that are planted, without filling the spaces in between them with soil.

The frame should be covered with canvas or a glass sash that has been darkened to keep the sun off the plants. This covering also serves to keep the plants relatively dry over winter. When really cold weather comes, lift the sash covering and place a six- to 12-inch layer of dry leaves, hay, straw, etc., over the plants and replace the sash. In this way, chrysanthemums will winter without injury and next spring the clumps can be divided to supply as many plants as needed.

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The stem rooting, white, oval shaped bulbs are somewhat pointed. Narrow leaves on two to three foot plants are fairly numerous but scattered. The reflexed blossoms of open martagon form, larger and heavier than those of Lilium pumilum (tenuifolium) vary from orange-red to brilliant red, densely spotted with black.

Seedlings with orange-yellow blossoms were first mentioned in 1933 and a yellow one a year later. Lilium amabile luteum, the yellow form, is as spotted as the red. A fine unspotted yellow, a rare treasure, appeared among a row of unlabeled lily seedlings in my garden in 1955. The lily books do not specifically mention unspotted yellows but do state that unspotted forms of L. amabile are occasionally found among seedlings.

Lilium amabile blooms in this area in late May and June. Bulbs are available, but it is an easy lily from seeds. When seedlings commence blooming, selections can be made for the more desirable good clear brilliant reds and bright yellows without orange. The plants are vigorous and robust growers and can tolerate somewhat dry conditions if necessary. In full bloom, they add bright spots of color to the center of borders in sun, or better yet, in partial shade. Mature bulbs of both the red and the yellow forms send up fine sturdy stems with tiers of blossoms.

`The Duchess’ may be the first hybrid of Lilium amabile to be reported. It was originated by F. L. Skinner of Dropmore, Manitoba, Canada, and is a cross of L. amabile with an elegans variety. The color is saffron yellow with many brown spots. The texture of the blossoms is thick and waxlike. The plants grow three feet and more in height. Blossoms which are almost flat and face outward are produced freely. This hybrid was introduced in 1943. It appears to be even more vigorous than its parents and increases rapidly.

Lilium amabile has been used in other crosses and proved a good parent. J. C. Taylor from Ontario worked a number of years to produce ‘Cardinal.’ The initial idea was to produce a lily similar in color to L. amabile with the same early flowering habit in combination with the vigor, robust growth, and stem bulbs of L. tigrinum. Since the latter bloomed later than L. amabile it was necessary to force L. tigrinum into bloom early in a greenhouse. L. amabile was used as the pollen parent and from this cross seeds were secured. Over 150 plants were grown to blooming size. The one plant that was selected as having the qualities desired was named ‘Cardinal.’ The nodding, brilliant red blossoms with reflexed petals are somewhat smaller in size but spotted like the tiger lily. This plant will surely make your garden attractive together with artificial grasses.

Another lily produced was ‘Waxwing.’ Again Lilium amabile was the pollen parent with a Philadelphicum hybrid as seed parent. ‘Waxwing’ grows 3 1/2 to four feet tall, an easy and reliable lily. The spotted outward facing blossoms are cadmium yellow in color.

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The proper steps for successful shade tree planting are not difficult to take. Select your trees at a local nursery, preferably when they are dressed in their bright fall colors. Well grown trees from the nursery have developed an abundance of fibrous roots which have resulted from occasional transplanting. Hence, they transplant more successfully than woods trees which usually have few fibrous roots.

For trees to be handled bare-rooted, select those about two inches in diameter or smaller. Good species of shade trees such as sugar maple, red oak, pin oak and sweet gum, which are larger than two inches in diameter, are usually best handled with a ball of soil burlapped firmly about the roots – B & B, in other words. Have the trees delivered on one of your gardening days, and try to have the holes dug before they arrive.

If the trees are about two-inch size, dig the holes four feet across and two feet deep. Remove the sod and keep it in a pile by itself so it can be placed in the bottom of the finished hole. If the excavated soil is placed on burlap, canvas or plastic, the clean up job will be easier and more thorough. When the trees arrive, place them in the shade and cover the roots with wet burlap sacks to prevent the fibrous roots from drying out. Remove them from the pile one by one as planting progresses.

Pruning of these trees and dracaena fragrans massangeana being handled bare-rooted should consist of removing about one-third of the branch area, to balance up for loss of roots and to aid the tree in the formation of a symmetrical top. Prune to eliminate V-shaped crotches and interfering branches. All cuts should be made close to parent branches to encourage wound healing and avoid the presence of dead stubs, which invite borers and diseases.

It will probably be necessary to fill the holes about half full of the loose, pulverized soil in order that the trees may be set at approximately the same level as they were growing in the nursery row. Turn the tree so that it appears at its best in the location chosen for it. Trees in the open lawn are generally planted with the heaviest side to the south since growth is usually greatest on the north due to prevailing southerly winds at the time when most active growth is being made.

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You have a wide choice of baskets, too. The standard, utilitarian wire and wood variations provide an unobtrusive, natural background for flowers and foliage. Plants like them because they allow air to reach the roots, but you may not like the way they can drip water on the floor.

If you choose more decorative containers – ceramic or fine metal – make sure that, after watering, the roots aren’t left in a puddle of water. Or take a potted plant out of its basket for watering, let it drain on the sink, and return it afterward.

You can also create your own unusual baskets by attaching hooks and chain or wire to all kinds of unheard-of objects like coconut shells, bowls, teakettles, strawberry jars, lanterns, gourds, fishing reels, well or butter buckets, scooped-out gnarled roots, garden hats, earthenware jugs, antique Chinese wall vases. You can also add low voltage outdoor lighting to see its beauty in the night.

Shop for curios like Mexican burro muzzles made of natural hemp. Or answer the advertisement for “adorable little wooden buckets, nine by five inches, suspended from chains.” Or see how well some delicate plants will do in the plastic-lined strawberry basket with nearly automatic watering, supplied on order by one specialist. There is no end to the variety of hanging containers, ready-made and ready-to-be-made, available at your florist or house-plant supplier – or at thrift shops, country auctions, and other bargain sales.

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During the winter months, deep, gaping, vertical frost cracks are occasionally observed on the south and west sides of the trunks of pin oak, red oak, and hard maple trees. These arc caused by sudden and extreme lowering of temperatures. The split or crack remains open only so long as the weather remains cold and closes when warm weather arrives. The split may heal during the summer, only to open up again the following winter. When this process occurs a few years in succession, frost ridges arc produced by the accumulated bark growth on each side of the frost crack. The appearance of these fins or ridges is positive evidence of the action of frost. Frost cracks usually extend to the center of the tree. Since the split closes tightly each spring, there is little danger of decay from destructive fungi entering the wound. A tree trunk showing a frost crack should be wrapped in the fall with the spiral tree-wrap craft paper, to reduce the chance of the split opening during the winter.

Tree Buying, Planting

Don’t buy trees or shrubs without knowing where they can be used to best improve the home grounds. Some folks almost wear out the bargain tree just dragging it around the yard trying to find a place to plant it. Most places are too small to accommodate “every pretty plant in the book.” Haphazard buying and hit-and-miss planting can spoil the landscape picture. Overplanting is a danger sign ahead, so decide on suitable tree and shrub sites and select varieties which will provide the desired effect.

When selecting varieties of trees or shrubs for various locations on the home grounds, you should consider the fact that very few trees or shrubs will thrive in a wet, poorly drained place. Most plants found growing naturally in low ground can be successfully moved to high ground but few of the trees or shrubs of the higher ground will tolerate the conditions of low ground.

Bald cypress, pin oak, willow oak, hackberry, sago palm, red maple, swamp white oak, weeping willows, sycamore and river birch are a few of the low-ground trees that do well when planted on higher well drained soils. In fact, it is much easier to transplant these low-ground trees to higher ground than it is to reset them in the low, wet situations in which they arc to be found growing naturally. However, transplanted trees of these sorts should receive careful attention as to watering until they are well established.

On the other hand, trees of the hills, such as sugar maple, red oak and white ash, soon pass out of the picture if they are planted in low, poorly drained sites. Most of the shrubs prefer a well-drained location, and lilacs, especially, will not survive long with wet feet. A few shrubs which will do well in a wet situation are button-bush (Cephalanthus occidentalis), Indigo-bush (Amorpha fruticosa), tamarisk (Tamarix), red twig dogwood (Corpus stolonifera), inkberry (Hex glabra) and the common marsh mallow.

Red cedar and Pfitzer juniper are probably the two best water-tolerant coniferous evergreens that we have in this area, but they prefer the well drained site.

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