358 THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



The " Irish ivy " needs no praise- For free growth, lusty green- 

 ness, adaptation to any soil or situation, what is there to surpass 

 it ? Simply nothing, and that question is disposed of. Tou see 

 that a connoisseur in ivies can appreciate the cheapest of them all, 

 and give to the universal favourite the praise that is its due ; in 

 other words, a love of ivies need not, of necessity, weaken one's 

 love of truth. Wonderful conclusion ! 



Of Hedera grandifolia (the " H. Canariensis " of the books) 

 the finest varieties are viridis (" Algeriensis " of the books), the 

 most truly " green-leaved " of all the family, a rampant grower, with 

 immense leaves, usually cuspid-lobed, the colour a light, cheerful 

 grass green. Pallida, a dashing variegated plant, very inconstant, 

 but eminently showy. A bad pot plant, but grand for a great wall. 

 Maculata is one of the finest variegated kinds in cultivation, every 

 leaf alike splashed and spangled with amber grey — a grand plant in 

 a pot, a grand plant on a wall, and awfully grand as an edging in 

 poor soil with plenty of room. For a great entrance-court or 

 terrace-walk this would make edgings of the loudest character 

 allowable. 



Hedera coriacea, the well-known " Eegneriana" of gardens, is 

 scarcely a good pot plant, though every ivy, if well-grown, is worth 

 pot-culture. But on a wall, a summer-house, or a warm, sunny bank, 

 it is grand, the leaves are so large, so thick, so rich in colour, and so 

 glossy. A cold soil and a dark spot will kill this ivy — as we dis- 

 covered to our cost in the experimental garden, where it was planted 

 as an edging to a rhododendron bed in a cold damp situation, and 

 it never grew at all ; so, after three years' waiting for it, we removed 

 it, and planted Irish ivy in its stead. This grew more in one year 

 than the other did in three, so we learned something by that 

 experiment. 



The arborescent form of H. coriacea, which we have named 

 Dendroides, is a grand shrub to plant under trees, or grow in 

 pots. It is so peculiar in character that no one unused to 

 ivies will believe that it is one, so if you go in for Hederas, 

 beware of doubts as to your veracity when you say to your won- 

 dering friend, " This, too, is an ivy, but how much like a rhodo- 

 dendron, isn't it r" 



Do you want to see ivies ? No difficulty. Go to Messrs. E. 

 G. Henderson and Son's Nursery, St. John's "Wood. Tou will see 

 there a great collection. Eemember, also, that Mr. Turner, of 

 Slough, has a fine lot. If at any time in the neighbourhood of 

 Islington, get a peep at the " Green," and see Irish ivy as an 

 edging ; and as the place was laid out and planted by the writer of 

 this, you may find a moment's amusement in criticising said writer's 

 notions of town gardening. If you should visit Mr. Headly of 

 Stapleford, see the summer house in his garden clothed with Hedera 

 coriacea. If you drive down the road to Ware, look out for a great 

 chaplet of ivy in a forecourt on the lelt side of the road in Tottenham, 

 and for a great wall of variegated ivy on a substantial residence 

 just before you reach Ponder's End. If you — but, oh dear, there 

 are so many glorious screens and poles of ivy to be found, that 



