VINES 259 



by the Boston ivy, English ivy, and the climbing evonymus or Japa- 

 nese evergreen ivy. The ivies in general are much more rapid 

 growers than the evonymus. 



There is one group of vines which possesses a very vigorous climbing 

 habit and develops a heavy foliage, such as the Dutchman's pipe, 

 Virginia creeper, kudzu vine, and the knotweed. Of this list of vines 

 the American bitter-sweet and the Dutchman's pipe possess an inter- 

 esting heavy foliage. 



Vines are valuable not only for their flowering effect but they are 

 valuable for the effect of their fruit also. Some vines, such as the 

 matrimony vine, with its brilliant orange fruit, and the American 

 bitter-sweet, with its red and orange fruit, together with the Virginia 

 creeper, with its interesting blue fruit, are valuable in a landscape set- 

 ting far into the winter months. 



Oftentimes local conditions require the selection of a permanent 

 vine with a fast growing habit. It may not be advisable to use annuals, 

 but rather to use a more permanent type and accordingly the designer 

 resorts to such plants as the Dutchman's pipe, the knotweed, and the 

 kudzu vine, which under normal conditions will make a growth 

 ranging from ten to forty feet in a single season. The knotweed is not 

 entirely hardy in severe exposures and the young plants should not be 

 planted in the open ground before the latter part of May. 



In general, vines fill a gap in the field of landscape planting which 

 cannot be filled with shrubs. Where conditions develop in which only 

 a limited space is available for foliage, flower and fruiting effects, 

 vines must be accepted as the logical solution of the planting problem. 

 A quite common mistake in the use of vines is to select types which are 

 too fast growing or which are not adapted to the special purpose for 

 which they are used. A common mistake also is that of covering 

 interesting pieces of brick work and stone masonry with vines which 

 completely obscure the beauty of the architectural detail. Vines 

 should be used on buildings to emphasize the architectural detail; 

 otherwise there is little use in spending sums of money to produce 

 added beauty in architecture if such detail is immediately to be 

 covered with vines. We often see an elevation of a house on which 

 appears a chimney with the entire surface of the house and chimney 

 covered with vines. In such instances the vines, for the purpose of 

 architectural composition, should be planted only on the chimney or 

 on the surfaces at either side of the chimney and not on the chimney. 



