HERBACEOUS CLIMBERS 33 



depends on its leaves. It is thoroughly hardy. Two 

 climbers of great interest, but which seem to flower 

 badly as a rule in our climate, are the climbing 

 Hydrangeas, as they are called. The first, Hydrangea 

 petiolaris, is a little tender and ought to have some 

 protection. It has white flowers. The other, Schizo- 

 phragma hydrangeoides, has white or pinkish flowers, 

 and is a capital climber, but has the pronounced fault of 

 unsatisfactory flowering in the open, even on a sunny 

 wall. They like common soil with a little peat and 

 plenty of moisture. Another pretty plant which flowers 

 unsatisfactorily, though its greenish flowers are of 

 little account, is Muehlenbeckia complexa, more suited 

 for a trailer than a climber, but which can be grown 

 over tree stumps or trained up a wall. Its foliage is 

 ornamental, and it makes a nice covering of deep green. 

 Good foliage plants also are the Lyciums, or Tea trees, 

 of which two of the best are barbarum, which has small 

 purple and yellow flowers, and europaeum, which has 

 pale violet blooms. They look pretty on a trellised 

 wall, are hardy, and can be propagated by cuttings or 

 layers. Periploca graeca, the Silk Vine, is a decorative 

 plant for covering a space quickly. Its foliage is pretty, 

 and the greenish flowers, which are brown inside, have 

 silky hairs about them, which give rise to its popular 

 name. It grows best from layers, but may also be 

 propagated by cuttings under a hand-light in summer. 



One of the climbing plants of comparatively recent 

 introduction which have deservedly attracted some notice, 

 is Polygonum baldschuanicum, a pretty, slender climber 

 with white flowers, It is a capital thing for climbing 

 over a bush or about a thin pole. 



The Lathyruses or perennial Peas are of great 

 consequence among herbaceous climbers. Had they 

 only the fragrance of the Sweet Pea they would increase 

 in favour more rapidly than they have done. Grandi- 



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