The Amateur's Greenhouse and Conservatory/Chapter 21
CHAPTER XXI.
HARDY PLANTS IN THE GREENHOUSE.
Incidentally several kinds of hardy plants have been referred to as suitable for greenhouse cultivation. It remains, however, to be said that there are certain kinds of hardy herbaceous and alpine plants that really require the shelter of glass, but never need the aid of artificial heat, and are particularly worthy of the attention of the amateur who can find delight in seeking out the minor gems and jewels of the vegetable kingdom. There are to be found hundreds of plants of the most beautiful character and the most hardy constitution, which it is difficult to keep alive in the open border, not because our winters are too cold, but because they are too damp and variable. Many of these are known as “frame plants,” and others are grown on rockeries, and others again are popular bedders, and a considerable number are varieties that puzzle their possessors until they are taken into an unheated airy greenhouse, and there they thrive in a surprising manner. We propose that a selection of such plants should be made expressly for cultivation under glass, and to present the idea in the simplest manner possible we will build for them a low span-roofed house, with sliding lights and glass sides, resting on low brick walls: in these walls ventilating shutters; the inside furniture to consist of a simple stage on each side, and that is all. The question of heating is intentionally avoided, for this house is not to be heated for (amongst many) three good reasons. In the first place, heating, no matter by what means, occasions much expense and trouble, and unless there are regular gardeners employed, it usually proves a vexation beyond its value, and the neglect of one night may result in the loss of a whole houseful of plants, when perhaps the winter is nearly over. In the second place, for the plants to be grown in this house, fire-heat is not wanted, and yet to grow them well and enjoy them thoroughly the shelter of glass is a sine qua non. From October to April, when out-door pleasures are few, and flowers of all kinds scarce, the alpine house is to be gay as a well-furnished jewel-casket—in fact, it will be a jewel-casket if only our advice is carried out to the letter. In the third place, one of the great advantages of this house is that geraniums, verbenas, petunias, and other soft greenhouse plants of the same class, will not live in it, and so the gems it is to shelter will not be thrust out of their legitimate home by usurpers of their rights. In connection with this third advantage, it must be remarked that the collection should be at its best in winter, and therefore to make it a store place for bedding plants would be a violation of the scheme, for bedding plants offer no attractions in the dark season.
A cheap delight is to be looked for as the result of the development of the plan. But pray bear in mind, we are no advocates of sheds and shanties of obnoxious aspect for plant-houses. Experience has always taught that those who build at all should build well. First, then, choose a spot for the house where it will be easily accessible for yourself and friends in the winter season. It may, indeed, be connected with the dwelling, and made to open from one of the rooms, or it may be reached by a covered way. The only essential matters, however, are to select a convenient site, to make a good foundation and a drain, if necessary, to secure dryness in winter; to make the house run due north and south if possible, so that the sun will every day at noon stand opposite the south door; and, lastly, to preserve an open space outside at one or both ends of the house, so that if ever you feel inclined to lengthen it, you may do so without having to cut down trees or remove buildings. It must be remembered that this cool plant-house may be readily converted into a greenhouse proper, by means of a furnace and boiler and a service of hot-water pipes. It is one of the great advantages of building a house properly in the first instance, that you can apply it to many purposes afterwards, as inclination or circumstances may require. You may, at small expense, convert this sanctum into a greenhouse, a stove, a vinery, or a pine pit; therefore you are not doomed to be always a jeweller because you have speculated on the construction of a casket.
Now as to the plants. They must consist exclusively of such as are thoroughly worthy of pot culture, and quite or nearly hardy; such as may be improved by the protection glass will afford, yet will not require heat for their preservation through the winter The prudent cultivator will, however, be provided with mats, or some other equally handy protecting material, to put over the glass during severe frosts, and at such times will take care to put his most valuable plants on their sides, on the ground, under the stage, with a little dry hay sprinkled over them. We may now choose for the collection palms, bamboos, yuccas, agaves, and a host of herbaceous and alpine plants that flower during the winter and spring months. As a low roof is preferable for plants that grow in herbaceous tufts, it is not desirable to speculate heavily in such things as palms and agaves; yet there must be a variety, and a few plants of noble character will help to bring out, by contrast, the peculiar beauty of the flowering alpines. It is best to begin humbly, and become accustomed to the house and the plants before venturing on any great expenditure, and therefore the list which follows comprises only sixty of the cheapest and most beautiful plants for the purpose. Obtain those sixty first, and give them twelve months’ care, and then launch out boldly if you will. Our aim is always to prevent such as ride hobbies in our fields from riding into pitfalls, or by any uphill course that shall destroy their zeal by weariness. We shall arrange the plants alphabetically under their botanical names only, as they are known to the nursery trade.
Achillea millefolium rosea, fol. var.; Acorus gramineus, fol. var.; Arum Italicum; Aspidistra lurida, fol. var.; Aubrietia purpurea, fol. var.; Bambusa Fortunei, fol. var.; Carex pendula, fol. var.; Centaurea argentea; Chamœrops humilis; Cineraria platanifolia; Convallaria majalis, fol. striatis; Cyclamen coum album; Cyclamen marmoratum; Cypripedium calceolus; Cypripedium spectabile; Dactylis glomerata elegantissima; Dianthus hyhridus Marie Pare; Dianthus hybridus striatiflorus; Dielytra spectabilis; Dielytra spectahilis alba; Dodecatheon meadia; Echeveria glauca; Echeveria metallica; Erythronium dens canis roseum; Eucomis punctata; Funkia Japonica lutea, fol. var.; Funkia ovata, fol. var.; Funkia undulata, fol. var.; Goodyera pubescens; Astilbe (Spiræa) Japonica, fol. var.; Iris reticulata; Ligularia Kempfæri; Lilium candidum luteis variegatis; Orchis mascula; Ornithogalum thyrsoideum; Phœnix dactyliferum; Phormium tenax, fol. var.; Polemonium cæruleum, fol. var.; Polygonatum multiflorum. fol. var.; Polygonum filiforme, fol. var.; Primula concolor; Primula cortusoides amæna; Primula Japonica; Primula denticulata; Primula farinosa; Rhodea Japonica, fol. var.; Richardia æthiopica; Saxifraga incrustata; Saxifraga pyramidalis; Saxifraga sarmentosa; Sedum Japonicum, fol. var.; Sedum Sieboldi, fol. var.; Sedum spectabile; Symphitum officinale, fol. var.; Vallota purpurea; Veratrum album; Veratrum nigrum; Viola odorata, “ The Czar; ” Vitis hederacea; Yucca filamentosa, fol. var.; Yucca recurva.
DOUBLE WIRE BASKET FOR THE CONSERVATORY.