142 VILLA GARDENING part ii 



In some cases there may only be the borders for creepers, and 

 perhaps a few specimens which may stand isohited, some pains 

 being taken with their training and management to have them as 

 perfect as possible. I remember seeing a feature of this kind in 

 Devonshire worked out in the following manner : An avenue of 

 Camellias — very fine specimens — had been formed by building cir- 

 cular brick spaces, edged with terra cotta, on each side of the back 

 path ; and the house being a large one, the effect was good. The 

 visitor walking along the back path seemed to be in a dense but 

 orderly-arranged grove or avenue of Camellias, whilst from the 

 front of the house these formed a delightful, dark background 

 for the flowering plants to rest against. When a good deal of the 

 space must be reserved for a promenade, movable or ornamental 

 stands may be used with advantage for the flowering plants, and if 

 they are of various heights, more variety will be obtained. Thus 

 a group of Fuchsias or Pelargoniums, or Ferns or Palms, will 

 at one time form prominent objects ; at another, mixtures may 

 be used. In short there is no limit to the modes in which plants 

 can be grouped and arranged. A thoughtful person may constantly 

 find new sources of pleasure in the variations which can be Avorked 

 out. Many a time I have gone into a conservatory feeling weary 

 and dissatisfied with its arrangement. I have thrown off my coat, 

 made a fresh cast of the materials, formed new groups and outlines, 

 and lo ! a transformation has occurred which has put all con- 

 cerned into good humour again. Cowper must have experienced a 

 similar feeling when he wrote — 



" Prospects, however lovely, may be seen 

 Till half their beauties fade. " 



In a large house the creepers will form one of the most ornamental 

 and important features. The Passion Flowers alone, and their 

 allied group, the Tacsonias, with their dangling Avreaths of starry 

 blossoms, will be a strong point where there is room for them to 

 extend. The Lapagerias alba and rubra planted in a bed of rough 

 fibry peat. Fuchsias, Scarlet Pelargoniums, the old Oak leaf and 

 other scented Geraniums, Tea Roses, and many other plants which 

 are suitable either to train up the rafters or for clothing walls or 

 pillars, Avill also brighten up any structiu-e wherein they may be 

 used. If there should be a dark comer anywhere, build up a 

 rockery and plant it with Ferns, selecting a spreading kind, like 

 Woodwardia radicans, for the highest peak. The variegated Reed, 

 Arundo Donax variegata, when planted in the border of the con- 

 servatory, has a very striking eftect. I have seen it make growths 

 from 12 to 15 feet high in one season. This plant is rather too 



