The fancy-leaved geraniums are prized by collectors and find favor, too, with the gardener who wants a “different” pot or bedding plant. Although the leaf colors are varied, they do not clash when planted together. Grow them in strong sunshine to bring out their full beauty. One profit-gardener makes a specialty of these. She grows masses of them outside on a sunny slope and sells cuttings directly from the bed.

Popular among the fancy types are Happy Thought, Marshall MacMahon, Bronze Beauty, Skies of Italy, and Mrs. Pollock. Beckwith Pride, Hills of Snow, and Attraction are among the silver- and green-leaved; Gold Leaf, Verona, Cloth of Gold, and tiny Dwarf Gold Leaf have gold leaves.

Unusual and Fine-Flowering Types

These fascinating varieties have sales appeal for the collector as well as those who want unusual house or garden plants. In this group are the Bird’s Egg pelargoniums with the lower petals of the flower touched and splashed with

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Martha Washington Pelargoniums

Growers on the West Coast sell the pansy-flowered Martha Washingtons (Pelargonium domesticum) to home gardeners. Almost every yard flaunts these gorgeous beauties. In other sections, they are sold only as spring gift plants or as Decoration Day specials. Because they are not so easily grown as their relatives, the zonals, you may find it wise to buy rooted cuttings and grow them on in a cool greenhouse. You can get assorted labeled varieties in red, pink, purple, and white for about $10.00 per hundred. Plant these directly into 3- or 4-inch pots. Water freely and keep at a temperature around 55 degrees.

Good sellers are Empress of Russia, Jungle Night, Carmine Queen, Misty Rose, Stardust, San Diego, Mrs. Mary Bard, Ballerina, Azalea, Mary Elizabeth, and Senorita.

Ivy-Leaved Geraniums

You will sell ivy or trailing geraniums to gardeners who want hanging-basket plants, trailers for patios, window boxes, planters, urns, or poolside

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Geraniums (Pelargoniums) for Patio plantings or window boxes or planters

Wherever you are located, you can be sure of an active demand for the geraniums (Pelargonium). You will sell bright-flowered singles and doubles as spring bedders, for foundation or patio plantings, for window boxes or planters. Zonals and Martha Wellingtons are specialties for Memorial Day, and the trailing ivies for poolside plantings and hanging baskets. The dwarf, cactus, fancy- and scented-leaved varieties are year-round sellers to collectors. The “unusual and fine-flowered” sorts (such a wide classification!) also appeal to collectors both advanced and amateur. Since geraniums ship well, selling them to collectors alone can provide a year-round business if you wish to specialize.

Pelargonium Types

The species, seldom available from local florists or plant counters, are a first-rate specialty for collectors or hybridizers who want to cross species and hybrids. And where can

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In Virginia, a woman apparently doomed to bed and wheelchair found her means to recovery by having a greenhouse built on a city lot and running it for profit. She scouts seedsmen in China, India, Japan, and England for rare plants. Her knowledge of greenhouse operation came the hard way, by experimentation. Today her greenhouse is stocked to the brim with virtually every kind of gesneriad. Her articles in plant publications whet readers’ appetites for the unusual things she sells over-the-counter and through the mail.

A business executive in New York set up a prefab greenhouse with no thought of operating it for profit. The house and potting shed cost approximately $3,000.00, although he saved $1,800.00 by erecting it himself and doing his own mason work. An achimenes authority, he soon found he had an over-supply which collector friends wanted. Currently he has a self-sustaining hobby which will bring in sizable dividends when he has more time for it. He has made a cross

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Smithiantha (naegelia)

Your customers will surely like these plants with gorgeous foliage and beautiful flowers. Always in short supply and great

77, 78. Haemanthus multiflorus, the blood lily, (left) and Sprekelia

formosissima, the Jacobean lily, are both amaryllids. Collectors find them

irresistible. (Photographs by Author)

demand, this gesneriad is a natural for sales to collectors as well as to your local trade. I have a back list of customers who have been waiting to obtain rhizomes. Yet I have never seen these plants in a florist’s window or at a general flower show. Foliage on S. cinnabarina looks like dark red plush; in S. zehrina, the red mingles with green to give a marbleized effect, and flowers are red and yellow. Some of the hybrids have all green or reddish-brown haired leaves. Rose Queen has rose-and-white flowers; S. cinnabarina’s are

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Rechsteineria

Here is a pot plant with an excellent future-it will pay you to make its acquaintance. Some specialty houses still list but one rechsteineria, and that under the name of Gesneria cardi-nalis, macrantha, or umbellata. (Taxonomists now include Gesneria and Corytholoma with Rechsteineria.) I have six species of these plants. By ordering seed from several specialty houses, you can obtain a good collection for your own sales list.

This tuberous-rooted gesneriad from Brazil has unusually varied flower forms, but the color range is not great, from pale pink through salmon and yellow to vivid red. The plants are of easiest culture, some varieties blooming several times a year. Of even greater “dollar importance” to me is the fact that these plants will interbreed with some of the sinningias to produce glamorous bigeneric hybrids.

Tubers of rechsteinerias are firm; those of R. cardinalis resembling a sweet potato, the others being more like gloxinia

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Starting on your pond

To get going on your pond, mark out your area with paint. Dig out the area that you want to have your pond in and go three or four inches deeper than the desired depth of the pond, which would be like 15 to 20 inches.

Get rid of the debris

Remove all of the roots and sharp object that may put a hole in the liner for your pond. Make sure that your hole for the pond is level. If it is not, then the water may not sit right in your pond and will make it look uneven.

Sand for the bottom of your pond

When you are ready to put the liner in the bottom, coat the hole with sand. This will help keep the liner in place. It is fine to cut away some excess of the liner to make the line easier to manage, it is also important to keep enough to cover the edges of the hole. You may also want to let the liner warm in the sun to make it easier to stretch.

Setting your footbridge

Once you are ready to put the bridge in place,

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Professional or amateur

When you are deciding to build a bridge in your backyard, you have two options. You can either build the bridge yourself or you can hire someone to do the work for you. Hiring someone to do the work for you could cost you quite a bit. If you do the work yourself, you will save money and have more fun showing off your work.

Creating a footbridge for your landscape

To create a footbridge that leads you to your deck or garden and extends over a pond, you will need to have wood, nails, and a little creativity. The first thing that you need to get into shape is the frame for the bridge. This will be whatever shape and length you decide is best for your location.

If you have the room in your backyard, why not build a bridge? A bridge is the perfect way to add a little something extra special to your landscape. There are so many ways to incorporate a bridge in your backyard and it will not take a whole lot of time to do.

Add a pond and a bridge to your landscape

Building a pond in your backyard is a great idea to get everyone’s attention and to also create a peaceful place for you to relax in. You can build a pond near your deck and then add a footbridge to get across. This would be a neat attraction to anyone’s home.

Areas where brick is a big help

Brick is a wonderful way to line flowerbeds or any areas that have no edge. They are wonderful borders. Brick can also be use in high traffic areas where the grass may wear down easily. You can also use brick in any area that you want to create a visual attraction. Brick will catch anyone’s attention. The best thing about brick is that it can be stacked or laid flat so that you can mow over the edge with no problem and it will create a cleaner look.

Brick can be found anywhere. You can buy brick at almost any home and garden center or building supply center. In some cases you may be able to find used brick lying around that with a little cleaning can look like brand new.