^38 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



confined to fruit trees only, but here and there wreaths of Clematis 

 or other elegant climbers might vary the lines. 



Evergreens as Climbers. — Those who live in sheltered valleys 

 on warm soils, or among pleasant hills above the line of hard frosts, 

 may be so rich in evergreens that they will keep their walls for the 

 fairest of true climbers. But in cold, exposed, and inland parts people 

 are often glad to have good evergreens on walls, even bushes not 

 naturally climbers in habit, such as Garrya elliptica, the choicer ever- 

 green Barberries, Camellias on the north sides of walls, Azara,Escallonia, 



Cotoneaster, and evergreen Euo- 

 nymus. The Laurustinus, too, is 

 charming on many cottage walls 

 in winter and may escape there 

 when it would suffer in the open ; 

 the Myrtle is happy on walls in 

 southern districts, and even the 

 Poet's Laurel may be glad of 

 the shelter of a wall in the north. 

 The evergreen Magnolia, which 

 in warmer Europe is a standard 

 tree, in our country must usually 

 be grown on walls, even in the 

 south, and there is no finer pic- 

 ture than a good tree of Mag- 

 nolia on a house. The beautiful 

 Ceanothus of the Californian hills 

 often keep company with these 

 evergreens on walls ; but even in 

 the warmer soils of the home 

 countries they are tender, and 

 their delicate sprays of flowers 

 are much less frequently seen 

 with us than in France, although we cannot resist trying them on 

 sunny walls, and on chalky and sandy soils they have better chances. 

 Apart from true shrubs used as evergreens, so frequently seen in 

 Britain, we have some natural evergreen climbing plants for walls, 

 first of all being our native Ivy, in all its beautiful forms, and of varied 

 use for walls, houses, borders, screens, and even summer-houses and 

 shelters. How much better to make bowers in the garden of Ivy, 

 as a living roof, than of rotten timber, straw, or heath ! If we make a 

 strong and enduring fram-ework, and then plant the Ivy well, we soon 

 get a living roof, which, with little care, will last for many years and 

 always look well. 



Wistaria on covered way. 



