Ednas Flower Gardens 187 



fine hammocks, etc.. Is made from the leaves of a 

 century plant extensively grown in Yucatan and 

 other parts of tropical America. The ancient in- 

 habitants of Yucatan dragged up the huge stones 

 used for their pyramids with ropes made from this 

 plant. 



Edna next called upon the boys for posts, frames, 

 and trellises for her climbing plants, which were 

 easily made of bamboo and various woods, and she 

 covered them with purple bougainvillaeas, yellow 

 allamandas, orange bignonias, pink antigonums, 

 and other interesting plants like cobaea, monstera, 

 and philodendron. The balsam apple bore small 

 spiny pods with red seeds; the sarsaparilla vine looked 

 just like one of the catbriers in Virginia; and the 

 gouania furnished good toothbrushes, or "chaw 

 sticks," not so different from those sometimes made 

 of dogwood in the eastern United States. 



To cap the climax, the boys constructed a beau- 

 tiful little summerhouse near one corner of the yard, 

 and Edna covered it with white-flowered moon 

 vines, scarlet-flowered cypress vines, blue and pur- 

 ple morning-glories, wild clematis, and dutchman's 

 pipe. \Yhen she sat in this with her sewing on her 

 lap, the familiar flowers made her feel very much at 

 home. One vine came up, however, which was 



