THE FLOEAL WOELD AND GAEDEN GUIDE. 143 



Now for the climbers, which. I directed should he sown last 

 month in pots. We must not think about disturbing them until quite 

 the end of the month, and then they will be nice strong plants. 

 Taking them in the order in which they were named last month, we 

 have first to deal with the Convolvulus major. The exquisite colours 

 of this flower will be sure to find favour, and as they will grow any- 

 where, if there is some depth of good soil, we may plant them to 

 hide old stumps of trees, or an unsightly fence. Or, it may be, there 

 is a bare place in a wall, somewhere in the garden — if so, this is the 

 plant that will please you. Put in some kind soil, and put out the 

 plants four inches apart, close to the wall. Place between them the 

 feathery ends of ordinary pea-sticks, and they will climb without any 

 training. Take care that they do not suffer by drip from the wall, 

 or for the want of water. They also make showy masses in the 

 mixed border, planted five or six in a clump, with three or four of 

 the same sticks to climb over. The sweet peas may be treated the 

 same way. A lovely bower may be made with a mixture of Convol- 

 vulus major, Tropajolum canariensis, Tropreolum Lobbii, and the 

 common nasturtium, or Tropseolurn majus. The Tropasoluins, if 

 trained up, will form the head of the bower, while the others, with a 

 little assistance, will form the sides. 



The Lopho-permums, and Maurandya Barclayana, are, perhaps, 

 better adapted for covering lattice-work round the house, or verandahs, 

 where there is more shelter and warmth ; at all events, where they 

 can be grown, they afford beautiful and interesting features. It will 

 be generally agreed that bare spaces upon walls or fences in any 

 lady's flower garden, however small, are most objectionable, and 

 the more so, because, by a trifling outlay in seeds, and a little 

 attention, they may be clothed with beautiful vegetation. Observe, 

 for example, what the common nasturtium and the canary creeper 

 will do in a few weeks, even in a poor soil, if assisted with water, 

 and something on which to fasten their twining growth ; and few 

 things look more graceful than these common creepers — here grace- 

 fully drooping, and there tenaciously grasping — everywhere softening 

 the outlines of the object they cover, and giving welcome shade 

 where it is most needed. I would, therefore, advise their adoption 

 in every available spot of the garden, as they serve to break up the 

 monotony of the place. In furnishing vases, baskets, and stumps of 

 trees, free-growing creeping plants are indispensable. The con- 

 volvulus, the canary creeper, and the nasturtium may, indeed, be 

 made fitting embellishments for the window-sill, the balcony, or to 

 form a summer screen in any part of the garden, to shut out any 

 unsightly object of moderate height. I have seen hundreds of small 

 gardens in which such features are quite unknown, and yet the pro- 

 prietors of these gardens profess to have some taste. I am satisfied 

 that those who purchase seed, and raise the principal part of their 

 own flowers, will find much more pleasure in their gardens than 

 those who buy large quantities of bedding plants. The cost of a 

 pleasure is no certain measure of its value ; some of tho.se pleasures 

 which cost the least, last the longest, and are most truly, what they 

 should be, silver linings to the clouds that accompany our daily life. 



