CLIMBING PLANTS 



WHEN the beauty of our gardens is so largely dependent Wild Climb- 

 on the climbing plants that veil walls and fences, and ing Plants 

 break the monotony of flat beds and borders and 

 stretches of lawn, it is well at times to cast aside cut and dried rules 

 and regulations, and reflect for a moment how nature herself 

 plants them. Close at home what is more charming than the wild 

 Honeysuckle that wreathes the solitary Holly or Hawthorn stand- 

 ing out on the moor; or the Briony's scarlet berries among its trails 

 of shining heart-shaped leaves; or the Wild-rose that has climbed 

 a wayward course till its pale blossoms shine like stars from the 

 branches of a tall Scotch Fir ? While if we go further afield, the 

 climbing Palm and a hundred wonders of the tropic forest, the 

 wild Vine flinging its graceful tendrils over every tree beside 

 the railroad in the Middle States, or Bignonia radicans hanging 

 its gorgeous scarlet trumpet flowers over the rough " snake 

 fence" beside a sandy roadside in Georgia, give climbing plants 

 a special charm and significance for those who have seen them 

 rejoicing thus in their native lands. And certainly such 

 suggestions from the best of teachers should make us pause 

 before we nail a Crimson Rambler closely to a hot wall, when 

 it is longing for tree or trellis upon which to run riot at will. 



Of all garden creepers the Rose and the Clematis stand at 

 the head of every list, and the exquisite combinations of colour, 

 which can be produced with these two alone, are endless. 

 For instance, a magnificent effect is given by grouping 

 together Dorothy Perkins^ Ceanothus Gloire de Versailles^ 



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