350 



THE GARDENER'S MONTH LV 



[December, 



Climhimi Ut/dranr/ea. — J. J. S., asks after this 

 plant. It promises to be a ijein. Its loaves are 

 beautiful, and its tlowers are said to bloom in 

 masses, so tbat tbe side of a bouse looks like a 

 mass of snow-balls. It lias true climbinj^ brandies 

 wbicli throw out little rootlets, fastening to any 

 tiling as do those of Anipelopsis Veitchii. It is 

 very slow of propagation but wc hope soon tobe 

 able to send it out. 



Pitrjilc Beech for Hedges. — "B. B., in Garden^'' 

 thinks truly that hedges of this plant would be 

 beautiful. Hedges of common Beech are well 

 known in Europe, and there is no reason why 

 the Purple Beech should not do as well. The 

 effect would certainly be striking. He advises 

 to take young seedlings from under trees and 

 says that "they will invariably keep the same 

 color as the old tree." Here he mistakes. The 

 true rosy purple Beech is a variety, and no 

 variety can be relied upon to produce the same 

 from seed. There may be some purple ones but 

 many will be green. Grafted plants only can be 

 relied upon, and these of small size can be bought 

 at reasonable prices. Hedges of various colors 

 will yet be a feature in landscape effect. Ketin- 

 ospora am-ea and Hemlock in stretches of one 

 hundred feet each, would contrast finely. Purple 

 and common Barberry, purple and common 

 Beeches and many other contrasting colors 

 would all find admirers and would be to ordinary 

 trees as the groundwork of a picture to the pic- 

 ture itself. 



THE CLIMBING HYDRANGEA. 



BY EDWIN LONSDALE, GERMANTOWN. 



In reply to the remark of J. J. S., (see Octo- 

 ber Monthly, page 2*)2) that " There has been 

 a story verbally cu'culated, that somebody w^as 

 about to bring out a real novelty — a Hydrangea 

 that clings to tbe wall, and has grand panicles," 

 &c.", let me inform him that the apparent myth 

 is a realit}^ and in the market, it being offered 

 last Spring by Peter Henderson, under the name 

 of Schizophragma Hydrangeiodes, who hitro- 

 duces and describes it as follows : 



" We believe we are the first to offer this valu- 

 able climbing plant, either here or in Europe. 

 Mr.Thos. Hogg, to whom we are so much indebted 

 for many other Japan plants, describes it as cling- 

 ing to trees to the height of fifty feet, producing 

 corymbs of white flowers of the size of ordinary 

 Hydrangeas. It clings exactly like Ivy, and 

 one can imagine the effect of a wall or a tree so 



coverod, when in full bloom. Like all Japan 

 plants of that character, it no doul)t, will prove 

 entirely hardy. Our plants up to this date, 

 December 2r)tli, have withstood the cold, appar- 

 ently as well as our hardiest shrubs." 



It remains now for Mr. H. to say whether it 

 survived the whole winter. 



GARDENS AND GARDENI 

 TEXAS. 



NG IN AUSTIN, 



BY r. II. o. 

 Situated on the banks of the Colorado, and ris- 

 ing gradually from the narrow level strip of land 

 on the river, climbing up the hills and nestled in 

 the valleys between, the city of Austin presents 

 a picturesque appearance, especially from a hill 

 on the eastern part of the city called Robinson's 

 hill. At this point as well as on any other, only 

 part of the city can be seen. The view from 

 this point is closed towards the west and north- 

 west by hills and mountains rising about four 

 miles distant, several hundred feet above the 

 Colorado. The mountains and hills and sur- 

 rounding country are of limestone formation, 

 and where the surface is not too rugged the soil 

 is rich and black ; but on the spurs jutting out 

 from the upland towards the Colorado we find 

 gravel and sand overlying the limestone forma- 

 tion, a peculiar feature, which was probably pro- 

 duced by a flood carrying hither the sand and 

 gravel of the Llano and other tributaries of the 

 Colorado, where granite and sandstone formation 

 prevail. The climate is a mild one, as may be 

 expected under latitude .']0* north, but neverthe- 

 less it must not be expected that we have a per- 

 petual Summer ; on the contrary w-e have some- 

 times severe frost; snow of course we seldom 

 have and never long on the ground, but instead 

 of it we have cold and dry north winds, so-called 

 northers, blowing from the middle of December 

 during January up to March, and sometimes as 

 late as April, and in such cases much damage is 

 done to vegetation and to gardening especially. 

 Alternating with this we have mild south-west 

 and south winds, and occasionally a warm south- 

 east wind from the Gulf of Mexico which brings 

 us mist and drizzling rain, and makes breathing 

 difficult, as if it were blowing over a steaming 

 cauldron. During a norther, the thermometer 

 ranges between 20" and 'M)° Fahrenheit, but 

 sometimes it sinks much lower, and has been ob- 

 served down at 11° which makes 21° below the 

 freezing point. 



