214 VILLA GAEDENING part ii 



summer and autumn one mass of flowers. In i^runiug all this class 

 of plants cut well into ripened wood. Expose the young shoots 

 to all the light possible, by training near the glass without any 

 shade, and there need be no fear as to blossoms. 



Roof Climbers and Wall Plants. — If the house is lofty 

 enough, a few creepers may be permitted to trail over and about, 

 but they must not be allowed to grow too dense, or the plants 

 beneath will sufter ; in point of fact, if we want to grow really 

 first-class specimens, the roof climbers must be trained very thinly, 

 but there may always be space foinid for one or two choice things, 

 such as the scarlet Passion Flower (Passiflora princei^s), Stephanotis 

 floribunda, Jasminum gracillimum, Thunbergia Harrisi, Pergularia 

 odoratissima, and one of the Allamandas. Handsome foliage may 

 be had by planting Cissus discolor or 0. porphjTophylla. Where 

 the stove is a lean-to, the back wall should be covered with creep- 

 ing plants, either planted out in a narrow border or else grown 

 in pots. The former way is the best, as the plants, having more 

 root room, attain a better development. I have seen the night- 

 blooming Cereus (G. grandiflora) flower well trained near the glass 

 on the back wall of a stove. Bougainvillea glabra flowers weU at 

 the top, or, if in a very light house, as low down as the wood ripens. 

 Rondeletia speciosa major makes a good wall jjlant. The Hibiscus, 

 in several forms, will cover a large space in a comparatively short 

 time ; the variegated variety, Cooperi, is a rapid grower when once 

 fairly established, and has a chaste appearance ; its large single 

 crimson flowers, too, are sliowy. One or two of the Ficuses, such 

 as barbata and repens, may be used to cover dark corners, and a 

 very useful amount of bright colour, as well as blooms for cutting, 

 may be obtained by planting Euphorbia fulgens in a warm house 

 in a light rich border. 



Basket Plants. — These will find a jDlace in some part of the 

 house. If it be lofty, the baskets may hang over the path, for then 

 the drip from them when watered will not injure anything beneath. 

 Among other things that are useful for filling baskets may be 

 named Achimenes (various) ; ^schynanthus, in several kinds, are 

 handsome pendent plants of a permanent nature. Agalmyla 

 Staininea, Cissus discolor, and Epiphyllums do well in baskets, 

 and are easily kept in health. Hoya bella is a very elegant little 

 basket plant, and should be grown in rough peat and watered 

 carefully. The little elegant trailer, Manettia bicolor, does well 

 in a basket, and its flowers are more numerous when in the full 

 light. Panicum variegatum is a very desirable Indian Grass to 

 have in quantity to drape the base of the baskets, using another 

 plant to fill in the centre. The Panicum has a handsome drooping 



