402 CLEMATIS. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



CLEMAtlS. 



of vegetation as this. The numerous^ dull 

 white flowers are each three-quarters of an 

 inch or so across, with a faint odour 

 resembling that of Almonds. It is, per- 

 haps, most beautiful when covered with 

 its white fruits, the seeds having long 

 feathery tails. 



C. VITICELLA (Purple Virgin's Bower). 

 A graceful climber, from 8 to 12 feet high ; 

 its flowers in summer i to 2 inches in 

 diameter, the sepals blue, purple, or rosy- 

 purple, and the fruits have only short 

 tails, which are devoid of the plumose 

 covering so often seen in this genus. There 

 are now numerous varieties of the species 

 superior to it in size of flower, and offering 

 also a variety of shades, some very pretty. 



Hybrid Clematis. Among the best 

 of the many hybrids raised both abroad 

 or in England are Alba magna, Asco- 

 tensis, Beauty of Worcester, Belle of 

 Woking, Blue Gem, Countess of Love- 

 lace, Countess of Onslow, Duchess 

 of Albany, Duchess of Edinburgh, 

 Duchess of York, Fair Rosamond, 

 Fairy Queen, Gem, Gipsy Queen, 

 Henryi, Jackmanni, Jackmanni super- 

 ba, Jackmanni alba, John Gould Veitch, 

 Lady Bovill, Lady Caroline Neville, 

 Lucie Lemoine, Mme. Grange, Mme. 

 Edouard Andre, Mme. Van Houtte, 

 Miss Bateman, Miss Crawshay, Mrs 

 Geo. Jackman, Mrs Hope, Otto 

 Froebel, Princess of Wales, Purpurea 

 elegans, Rubella, Sir Garnet Wolseley, 

 Star of India, Stella, The Queen, 

 William Kennett. It has been usual 

 in treating of these and other Clematis 

 to throw them into groups, a mislead- 

 ing and useless plan from a garden 

 point of view; the best way is to 

 regard the species each separately, as 

 they differ so much in vigour and in 

 their use : the hybrids also are better 

 to look at as a class apart, fitted more 

 for flower-garden use than some of 

 the species. The hybrid kinds are 

 usually grafted, and this is no doubt 

 the reason why they die off like flies, 

 and why these fine plants, of which 

 hundreds have been raised, are so 

 rarely seen well grown in gardens. 

 The stocks used are C. Viticella and 

 C. Vitalba, plants very different in 

 their nature from the fine species 

 from China and Japan, and though 

 a growth is obtained at first, an 

 early death too often follows of the 

 kinds worked on them. The best way 

 is to get the plants from layers, never 

 to purchase any but these. Seed 

 raising, too, should be regularly pur- 

 sued, and in those ways we should 

 get over the deaths of these fine 



plants caused by the short - sighted 

 practice. 



Clematis in Colours. In this the 

 general effect of the whole, the 

 abundance and duration of the flowers, 

 and the purity and brilliancy of their 

 colours, are the prime factors, enabling 

 plant-lovers to obtain the richest 

 effects. As regards the plants them- 

 selves, all but those of proved vigour 

 and hardiness have been rejected ; in 

 fact, so robust are many of those here 

 enumerated as to have reached the 

 thickness of an old Vine stem. 



YELLOW. C. tangutica, the most 

 beautiful of its colour. Flowers of a 

 fine yellow in spring. Stems woody 

 and short, throwing out numerous 

 flowering shoots each season. C. 

 orientalis, light yellow in colour, 

 flowering in summer and autumn ; is 

 best grown trained against a house or 

 wall, when it sometimes attains a 

 large size. C. Wilfordi resembles it ; 

 a plant for the rock garden, where it 

 forms low tufts covered with flowers, 

 its shoots taking root wherever they 

 touch the soil. 



WHITE. C. apiifolia, somewhat like 

 Vitalba, flowering in autumn. C. 

 balearica, scented blossoms during 

 autumn and winter. C. cirrhosa, a 

 vigorous plant, flowering from October 

 to December. C. flammula ; a variety 

 robusta is larger, and flowers a little 

 later. C. lanuginosa Candida, large 

 flowers, coming mainly in spring, but 

 again at intervals during summer and 

 autumn. There are in existence a 

 great number of its forms, hybrid and 

 otherwise, with beautiful white flowers, 

 but none are so robust or lasting as 

 the old form, which has flourished 

 for many years in our garden. C. 

 montana ; its variety grandiflora is 

 larger in flower, but they are not 

 fragrant. C. Viticella alba, a good 

 plant with flowers of exquisite purity 

 and grace ; its form Luxurians is 

 more robust, attaining a large size, 

 and sometimes, as a result of its 

 great vigour, the first flowers are some- 

 what greenish in colour. The varieties 

 Arabella and Mme. Moser are also 

 forms of Viticella alba. 



ROSE. Comtesse de Bouchaud, 

 large and beautiful flowers of a fine 

 rose colour, and very free. Mme. 

 Baron Veillard, large flowers appearing 

 rather late, towards the end of summer, 

 and autumn. Vagabonde, flowers of? 

 four sepals set crosswise, pale rose in 

 the centre, deepening towards the 

 edges; a plant of great vigour. C. 



