78 THE ROSE BOOK 



thinks of the hardy Ramblers that languish on precious 

 walls for the lack of fresh, sweet air about their shoots, 

 while other far lovelier roses, that would be supremely 

 happy there, are neglected and forgotten. But this is a 

 rose age of Ramblers; our rose gardens cannot have 

 too many of them ; they are planted to cover anything 

 and everything in the way of a support, whether the 

 position is suitable or not. There is nothing to excel 

 them for arches and arbours out in the open, but on 

 warm walls they blossom meagrely, often fall a prey to 

 red spider and other insidious insects, and, themselves 

 disappointing, rob the garden of other, if not greater, 

 rose treasures. The first essential, then, if we would 

 make the most of sunny walls, is to choose the roses 

 circumspectly and with care ; by so doing, while not 

 misusing the familiar sorts, we shall be able to add to 

 our collection many lovely roses that are unworthily 

 neglected, and to grow them to perfection. 



There are varieties suited to all aspects, and there is 

 no need to plant ivy even on a wall or fence facing north. 

 A brick wall is more likely to suit the tender roses than 

 a fence, for the latter must necessarily be somewhat 

 draughty. But roses, like other flowers, rarely do just 

 the thing one expects of them, and readers whose 

 gardens are bounded by fences may plant as though 

 their fences were brick walls ; there may be no difference 

 in the results. However, there still remain the walls 

 of the house, and these alone, if sunny, offer unrivalled 

 opportunities of growing some of the choicest varieties. 

 It sometimes happens that even a tender rose finds a 





