Hanging baskets are now in such universal use, that the taste for them
has extended to every town or village in our land. All florists keep a
supply of baskets, with flowers planted and growing, ready for sale.
These baskets are quite expensive. We will give directions for some
equally pretty, but inexpensive, which any ingenious boy or girl can
make.
Take a small wooden bowl, bore holes in the sides to fasten in a cord,
or screw in rings. Cover this with cones, acorns, black beans, &c.,
in fact, any pretty seed can be used to good effect; arrange them
in different forms, like flowers. Varnish with asphaltum varnish. A
cocoanut shell makes a pretty small basket. Either of the above are
pretty with the white and green dry moss glued over the outside.
Baskets can be made of sticks of the oak or maple tree, choosing those
of the size of a man’s thumb, and cutting them of equal lengths, eight,
ten, or twelve inches, according to the size of the basket desired.
Then build your basket like a log hut; interlace your fingers, and you
will see the design. Nail these sticks firmly in place, fasten in a
wooden bottom. Heat a wire and thrust it through the end of each stick,
and bend it into a loop; suspend it by cords fastened to these loops.
This makes a durable basket to hang out of doors; any boy of twelve
could make it.
Rustic baskets can be made with or without a wooden frame, but a wooden
bowl is a good foundation; procure from the woods a quantity of blasted
branches, or other crooked, rough, or knotty twigs. Soak them in hot
water or steam them, so as to make them pliable. Stain the bowl with
asphaltum or black varnish, then screw in rings for the hanging cords
to pass through. When the varnish is dry, bend around the outside of
the bowl one of the twigs or blasted branches, and nail it securely at
the top edges on either side. Twine several pieces around in this way,
according to your taste, until the whole surface is covered; finish
by nailing one around the rim of the basket for a border. Varnish the
branches like the bowl. The entire basket is then ready for use. All
kinds of shaped baskets can be made out of wire, painting them green,
and filling in moss in all the crevices; a painted tin dish, placed in
for the dirt, will surely prevent any drip; thick moss is ordinarily
sufficient. All kinds of these baskets should be filled up with light,
sandy loam; a few bits of charcoal, and a piece of sponge in the
bottom, assist in keeping the soil moist. Light, trailing vines should
be trained to fall over the sides, and loop in and out of rustic work.
We will give a short list of vines suitable for baskets.
Lobelia Erinus Paxtoni, an exquisite blue.
White and pink Gypsophila.
Panicum Variegatum.
Tropæolum, ball of fire.
Convolvulus Mauritanicus.
Variegated Myrtle.
Geranium Peltatum Elegans.
Nierembergia.
Linaria Cymbalaria.
All varieties of Maurandia Barclayana.
German Ivy.
Alyssum Variegatum.
Vinea Elegantissima Aurea.
Moneywort.