A garden on the window sill
The desire to grow
things is deeply rooted in most of us; perhaps it is a faint echo of ancient
days when man survived by working the soil and growing his own food. And the
further we get from nature the more we yearn to make contact with it again.
This shows itself in various ways — we fill our high-rise flats with indoor
plants, decorate our windows with flower-filled window boxes, our little town
patios with tubs and urns.
Children too need this link with nature. On country walks
they fill their pockets with acorns and beech nuts, polished conkers, stones
and pebbles. It's all good play material but it is also an unconscious link
with nature.
"Will this grow?" they ask hopefully, brandishing
an acorn, or an orange pip. Out come old pots and pans, a damaged teacup, to
make the basis of an indoor garden. In go the seeds, but too often the small
gardener's interest wanes if there are no immediate results. They forget to
water it, or complain that "nothing is happening" or "it takes
too long". In no time, they have directed their interest to something
else.
Yet it is possible and easy to make an indoor garden. It's a
rewarding hobby and one that will add interest to a room, but to succeed you needs
to have patience and to go about things the right way. Help your children and
share the indoor gardening with them and you will be well on the way to
success. You can grow things in almost any container — old pans,
large jars, a hanging pot an old aquarium. Glass is an ideal medium because not
only do you see the top of the plant, but the stems and the earth as well.
Glass looks particularly good on the window-sill where it reflects the light,
and looks much more exciting than the traditional earthenware flowerpot. To get
a decorative effect, use glass in different shapes, for instance a combination
of drinking glasses, prettily shaped bottles, preserving jars, jam jars, etc.
Vary the plants with the size and shape of container, from small things like
African violets, to ivy, ferns, busy Lizzie, etc.
How to plant a garden
in a bottle First of all wash your glass containers until they are
spotlessly clean, and dry them well to make them sparkle. Then make a layer of
gravel in the bottom (the kind used in aquariums and supplied by pet shops.)
This will provide drainage for the soil above it, a job done in earthenware
pots by the small hole in the bottom of the pot. Now add a layer of potting
compost. The depth of this will depend on the size of the container and the
size of the plant you are going to grow. Small plants need less soil than
larger ones with bigger root systems, but as a general rule fill a third of the
container with the potting compost.
Filling glasses and wide-mouthed containers presents no
problem and you can then plant firmly, adding a little soil when you have
firmed the plant into the hole; water well so that the plant has a good chance
to root. Firm again with your hands and then keep moist, particularly during
the early days while the plant is getting established.
To make a garden in a large bottle with a thin neck and
small opening requires more dexterity. It is easy enough to pour in the gravel,
and to shake the bottle until it settles evenly. Repeat this with the earth. To
plant, you will need a long-handled spoon; with it make a hole in the centre of
the soil, deep and large enough to take the root of the plant. Carefully pick
up the plant and guide it into the hole with the aid of a thin stick or twig.
With the spoon push earth over the roots so that they are adequately covered,
then gently push it down with the spoon so that the plant is secured and cannot
move about. Water the plant with a thin jet of water and firm the soil again
with the spoon. Make sure the soil is kept moist while the plant becomes established;
later spray the soil with a flower-spray through the opening of the bottle.
If you have the space you can plant three or four plants
together to make a real bottle garden, but do leave room between each plant or
their growth will be stunted. Put your bottle garden where it will get plenty
of light, but not in direct sunlight.
How to make an
underwater garden. It is perfectly possible to have an underwater garden in a
large glass or a bottle, but because of the confined space only one plant will
grow, which is far less effective than a container full of plants. So really
the best thing to use is an old aquarium; you can usually pick these up quite
inexpensively in junk shops, but make quite sure it does not leak before you
buy it. Clean your aquarium very thoroughly then put a thin layer of compost in
the bottom. Over this place a layer of gravel or coarse sand — the layer in the
bottom of the tank should measure about 5-7cm (2-3 in) from the bottom. Now
push the plants into the layer of compost and scatter more gravel between the
plants so that they are firmly embedded. Finally, fill the tank carefully, but
not right up to the top. Don't worry if the water turns green; it will clear
itself. It will not be necessary to change the water, just add more water if
the level drops due to evaporation.
If the aquarium is big enough, you can add some water snails
to it and even a couple of goldfish. You can buy aquatic plants suitable for
growing under water and the fish and snails from good pet shops.
A hanging garden Not only are hanging gardens very graceful and decorative,
but they are also a good way to have plants in a room where space is at a
premium. All you need is enough light and warmth. Your garden can hang from a
hook in the ceiling or in the window frame, either at the top or at the side.
You can use a straw or cane basket, one made from wire, or a pottery container —
it is a matter of choice, but whatever you use, the bottom must be waterproof
to prevent water from dripping onto the floor.
So line the bottom of the basket with thick plastic or a
layer of tinfoil (making sure there are no tears anywhere). Over this put a
layer of crocks for drainage, and then a layer of compost into which various
plants are embedded and firmed both before and after watering them in. You can
have one single plant or, if the basket is big enough, it is more interesting
to have a selection, forming a real miniature garden. For the best effect, use
trailing plants round the edges like ivy, or the asparagus fern, Asparagus plumosus
or Asparagus sprengeri, which has needlelike leaves and small white flowers
followed by red berries. Both these plants need a lot of watering and syringing
with water in the summer and feeding throughout the year.
With your trailing plants you could also have an African
violet (Saintpaulia) and a Peperomia caperata varie-gata, with heart-shaped
leaves of cream and green and cream flower spikes, or Peperomia argyreia which
has thick smooth leaves marked in alternate bands of silver and dark green. Mar-anta
leuconeura 'Massan-geana', its handsome leaves striped with crimson, is also a
good choice; a good foil for it is Selaginella, a moss-like plant which is
allied to ferns.
The desert garden Perhaps the least demanding of window-sill gardens is provided
by cacti. A variety of them, planted in a flat dish, or a pottery or glass
bowl, look attractive.
Cacti are sturdy plants. In summer they need warmth, and
need to be watered about once a week. In winter a cool place is the ideal
situation and watering can be cut down to once a month. In summer it is
advisable to give the cacti a little liquid plant food occasionally.
You can start your cacti from seed. They are very easy to
grow in a shallow baking tray with a little compost and some sand on top. When the
seedlings are about 2.5cm high (1in) you can transplant them to the cactus
garden. To make a garden use a dish or a bowl with a layer of gravel in the
bottom. To this add a layer of potting mixture and finally a layer of coarse
sand.
Most cacti are very slow growing but many can be propagated
easily from cuttings. There are some beautiful flowering varieties; perhaps the
best known is the Zygocactus also known as the Christmas cactus or the crab
cactus, which flowers freely during the winter. The branches are segmented and
new plants can be started off by placing one or two segments in a suitable
growing medium. Not all cacti will flower every year. Phyllocactus, with long
branches which resemble leaves, produces large flowers in a wide range of colors,
but unlike most cacti it should be shaded from the sunlight. Astrophytum
myrio-stigma has yellow flowers which appear freely when the plant is two or
three years old. Opuntia, however, has a yellow flower which appears only
rarely.
The herb garden Apart from the joy of growing indoor plants for decoration,
a sunny windowsill can enable you to grow your own fresh herbs in individual
pots or in a plant trough. Most of them are very easy to raise, but use large
pots so that you have enough to cut them often.
Chives are delicious with soup, in sauces or as an addition
to your salad dressing. They are good in omelets, added just before the egg
mixture is setting — never cook chives or they will lose their flavor.
Parsley is a versatile herb; use it in stuffing, to add
flavor to soups and casseroles, in sauces, sprinkled over cooked vegetables
from potatoes and carrots to ratatouille.
Rosemary is one of the few herbs which is almost as pungent
dried as it is fresh. Use it with lamb or pork, or with fish; it brings a touch
of Mediterranean sunshine to casseroles.
Sage, with its aromatic leaves, is best with pork, or mixed
with onion to stuff a chicken. Thyme is part of a bouquet garni (with parsley
and bay leaves) for stews and soups.
Cress is the easiest of herbs to grow — most children have
grown it on blotting paper. A decorative way to grow it is demonstrated in our
photograph — in a hollowed out piece of bark. Cress needs moisture and a sunny
spot. It adds bite to salads and is good in all sandwiches. As cress grows so
quickly it would be fun for children to sow it to spell out a name — an unusual
birthday present.
The rest of your herbs should be grown in large pots on a
sunny window-sill. Open the window regularly and spray them at least once a week
or better still put them outside when it rains. Herbs are such an intriguing
subject that once you start you may easily find you want to buy a book about
them. |