WINDOW AND VERANDAH GARDENING.

The most unattractive of houses may be made bright and pretty with flowers, and where one has no garden it is sur- , prising what a brave show ' of blooms may be obtained in the most primitive window box, without any more trouble than is implied in planting the seeds or cuttings and watering them occasionally. The boxes may be made of any wood, and either finished by painting or by | covering with virgin cork. It is well to j have a trough made to fit them of tin I or galvanised iron, pierced with a few ; liolea to allow for drainage. Corres--1 ponding holes should also be formed , j in the bottom of the wood box, which ' should be raised on inch or so above the eill on which it rests by some strips of 1 j wood nailed transversely. Fill the 1 ! bottom of the box for about one-fourth ■ J of its depth with fragments of broken i tiles and flower pots, and put in suit- ■ able soil to about one inch from the 1 top. Nasturtiums, pansies, geraniums k and pelargoniums, candytuft, and hosts • of other flowers will thrive in these boxes, and so will such sweet-smelling things as basil, mignonette, lemon tbyme, bergamot, eglantine (if kept , well cut), and many others. A 6 coon > as one box has ceased flowering., or bei gins to show symptoms of decay, the ' trough should be removed and another - one substituted. By this means a con- > tinual succession of flowering plants ; may be maintained all through the » year if one only pays a little attention . to theii habits. I In the sills of windows that are f soldom opened at the bottom, such as • those on staircases, the old-fashioned , sweet scented musk may be grown for • nine months out of the twelve. Fuch- . sias, too, in all their graceful beauty r grow well in this position. , Bulbs can be grown in glass vases ) specially constructed to hold them, the i roots snooting into the water and the • bulb remaining dry. This is a favour- • ite form of window gardening in Eng- ' land, where hyacinths in all their beau- > tiful colouring are to be seen decorating the panes in winter. Tulips, crocuses, daffodils, narcissus, snowL drops — which are sometimes called by . the old English name, Fair Maids of t February — and various other bulbs can [ be grown indoors and put in the wini dow boxes when the spring returns, j Wisteria, Rambler roses, honey- > suckle, or woedbine may be easily train- . Ed about verandah posts and railings, t if care be taken to cut off all downi growing shoots, and to train the up- - J growing ones in the way they should • goi Verandahs that abut on' the street . may be made luxurious, a 6 they are in • European countries, by placing wooden • posts about four or uve feet high, and i about as many feet apart, between the > verandah pests proper, then throwing [ arches of wire from one to the other. , Clematis, scabious, passion vine and a i hundred other varieties may be planted ■ in wooden boxes about Bin deep all along the verandah and with a very » little care a screen of greenery will re- ; suit that will render the place 6ecluded, j fragrant, and 0001, where afternoon tea

' may be taken with pleasure on a hot day. __ _________ — —