St Louis College of Pharmacy - Prescripto Yearbook (St Louis, MO)

Page 90 text:

at--la-a Dnliscnlnro l Glass Gardens An unusual and unique decoration for a drug store may be realized in these elaborate miniature greenhouses or glass gardens. Not only do they beautify the surroundings in the store itself, but they also serve to exemplify with much more dignity the professional air that seems to have been lost in the modern drug store. These artistic devices were beyond the scope as well as skill of most amateurs. It remained for Miss Ruth Barry, Secretary of the St. Louis Horticultural Society, to discover the ease of converting an ordinary fish bowl or candy jar into a glass garden. Planting these gardens is a matter of half an hour's pleasure preceded by a ten-minute stop at the florist's or an afternoon excursion to the nearest woodland. Then, with the aid of the pharmacist's Botanical knowledge and easy access to glass candy jars, it should be a task well worth its time. Once planted, they thrive everywhere out of direct sunlight or heavy shade. They require watering perhaps in six months, perhaps in a year, and ten minutes ventilation ranging from a day or so to a full week. In other words-they are distinctive, highly individual-since everyone's glass garden is his own personal creation-little or no trouble, and a nearly neglect-proof as flies and persons coming into one's store asking for change. A variety of odd or decorative glass enclosures may be used, but the most convenient is the ordinary aquarium in the form of a very flat disc or very flat cylinder-a round fish bowl with Hat sides. The glass must be clear, since plants will not thrive under tinted glass. First a large handful of charcoal in the bottom will aid in keeping the soil sweet. Next comes a handful of broken flower pots or of irregular shaped rocks. The soil most thoroughly tested for all suitable varieties of plants is a mixture of one part each, good garden soil, leaf mould and sandg but if native plants may be used a mixture of two parts well rotted leaf mould direct from the woods, plus one part sand. is probably better. It should be moistened after it is placed in the bowl. Landscaping begins long before the bowl is filled to its required level, about one- third of the way to the top. Moss and bits of colored stone are forced down the Hat sides. The moss grows upward in a miniature forest. The surface of the soil should be arranged in tiny hills and valleys to represent a natural woodland. A little decorative skill on the part of the Glass Gardeneru will make up for the lack of colorful plants. - Through the year and far into November the tiny rills in woods near the city will yield treasures of moss and baby ferns hidden against the winter under fallen leaves. Seedling of pine, cedar or spruce under three inches tall are real dis- coveries. Every variety of moss that grows on soil Cnot on woodj can be used and the tiny bright or boulder shaped bits of rock that probably will be found right along with it will add handy touches to the decorative scheme. A tiny rooted cut- ting of Begonia will begin to bloom almost immediately to add the color. f' te ' QQ ...Q 1 Q 3 2 15... .Q N LJ! Page Eighty-Four

Page 89 text:

----as Dnfscnllsro e----- ing of medicinal plants was established, so that students of medicine and phar- macy now have the rare opportunity of examining the objects of the vegetable materia medica in the living state. The extension of the Garden 'has demanded wider resources, and an immense tract of land was purchased several years ago at Gray's Summit, bordering the Meramec River, which is now in course of development. The Missouri Botanical Garden is famous throughout the world, and its fame rests upon a solid foundation. The Missouri Botanical Garden has always held a prominent place in my spiritual landscape, I Hrst saw it in my boyhood, far back in the eighteen eighties. A visit to the Garden was a formidable affair in those days for those who did not have the command of horses and a carriage. The only tram line that came within a reasonable distance of it had its terminus at Grand Avenue and Arsenal Street, the southwest corner of Tower Grove Park. Then came a half-mile walk through Tower Grove Park and another of about a quarter mile along what is now Tower Grove Avenue, to the entrance. All about the Garden was country, South Grand Avenue was a muddy industry highway, according to meteoric con- ditions, with a few country mansions on either side. Kingshighway was a road passing through a mysterious hinterland known only to market gardeners. To the south of Tower Grove Park were farms and near what is now Russell Place, even coal was mined on a modest scale. Then came extensive woods, with clearings here and there, where fire-clay was dug. It all sounds, now, like a dim tradition! A trip to Shaw's Garden was planned a week in advance and assumed the dimensions of an expedition. But, the magic gates passed, all the antecedent dis- comforts were forgotten. In the glow of calm which the afternoon sun evoked, we became but one eager eye and the plodding, commonplace, work-a-day world receded into the realm of the non-existent. Vtfhat is mortal of Henry Shaw rests in the mausoleum which was con- structed under his own direction in the Garden. His recumbent figure rests on the tomb, the image of a man in a quiet sleep in surroundings to which he hopes to awake again after his repose. His hand holds a rose. It is a fit symbol. N 7 lyiziir TJ Page Eighty-Three

Page 91 text:

Q---lust D rg E S C I2 I D 'I 0 Once the plants have been planted and glasses arranged to your own indi- viduality and the smears of soil cleaned from the glass, the bowl should be covered with a glass- lid. A small square of window pane or a glass saucer will serve excellently. Strange but natural, the garden creates its own weather in miniature- that is, moisture which collects on bowl and lid each morning will fall on the plants and soil later on in the day like a refreshing rain. The soil should be tested occa- sionally for moisture and if necessary should be sprinkled very lightly. Direct sunlight and dark corners must be equally avoided. A north window is ideal. Many city druggists find it inconvenient to reach even those vestigial bits of woods required to find native plants for glass gardens and many others prefer the more colorful arrangements possible with tropical plants which can be obtained at most florists. The following plants are very good for glass gardens: Selagiuella CClub mosses in iridescent shadesj Ficus rejem' Adia-ntmii Capillus Venerio fMaidenhair fernj Cocos W edelliami Seedlings Kentia F01'steria1ma Seedlings. M 'zmdo Japuicum CSnakebeardj Saint Paulia Ionantha fAfrican Violetj Aspiduim Folcaturn fltlolly fernj Nephrolejifs enfaltota CSword fernj For Bright Color Tradescantia QVVandering Iewj V ittonia CRed or VVhite mosaic leaf plantj Acalyphie VVilkesianna QCoffee leafj Pandaris Sanderi P. Veitchi CSaw plantj Maranta CDwarf speciesj Pteris Cretica Alboliniata Qvariegated fernj One can create many unusual effects by exerting a little imagination not only in the choice of materials to be planted but in the type of container to be used. A burnt-out electric bulb will serve excellently as a container for a tiny glass garden. The glass garden is as near fool-proof as any garden can be. Moisture is a problem that seldom intrucles itself and then only when occasional watering is necessary. Evaporation and condensation on the container itself keep up the supply in constant succession as atmospheric conditions dictate the very same things that take place in Nature's great out-of-doors. Glass gardens are not only fool-proof so far as care is concerned, but they are in the reach of everyone. No matter how limited your means may be they will thrive for you. fy- IQ 2: 2 QIPKY5' Page EightyfFz'ue