Here is something you can make for yourself before another summer comes.
This is a flower stand, and the simplest contrivance! Saw off an old
cedar tree about two feet below the first branch, then saw it off again
about two feet above the first branch. The thicker the branches on this
unsightly stump the better for your purpose. The branches must next be
chopped off irregularly, leaving some a yard and some half a yard in
length. Bury the lower end of the stump about one foot in the ground, and
on the end of each branch nail a piece of board about ten inches square
to serve as a shelf. These shelves must be firmly nailed so that boxes
or pots can be set upright on them. Now paint the whole thing green and
you have a pretty flower stand. You will not believe it until you try
it, but it is beautiful. Instead of bedding out the plants you wish for
winter flowering, try the plan of keeping them on this stand out of doors
during the summer, where they will get all the benefit of the sun and
dew. On the approach of winter they will only need to be brought indoors,
and will be in a much better condition for blooming than if they had been
taken up at the risk of breaking half their roots and potted in a hurry.