HARDY CLIMBERS 291 



Phalaris arundinacea var. variegata (Striped Ribbon Grass). 



2% ft. Leaves variegated with bands of white. 

 Stipa pinnata (Feather Grass). 18 in. Graceful slender 



plumes of silky down. Should have light, rich soil. 



7. Hardy Climbing Plants. 



There is scarcely a garden in which climbing plants 

 may not be used to advantage. Sometimes it may be to 

 conceal obtrusive objects, again to relieve the monotony 

 of rigid lines. They may also be used to run over the 

 ground and to conceal its nakedness where other plants 

 could not succeed. The shrubby kinds are often useful 

 about the borders of clumps of trees and shrubbery, to 

 slope the foliage down to the grass, and soften or erase 

 lines in the landscape, which is often desirable and 

 necessary for the most pleasing effects. (See pages 

 213, 214.) 



Of herbaceous climbers, the tops die in winter, while 

 those of woody climbers live on from year to year. Only 

 a few of each class will be mentioned. All climbers 

 should have a rich soil if desired to climb high. 



HARDY HERBACEOUS CLIMBERS 



Apios tuberosa. 15-20 ft. July-August. Flowers brownish 

 purple; in large clusters, with violet fragrance. Foliage 

 similar to that of the wistaria. Roots tuberous. Plant 2 or 

 3 together. 



Centrosema Virginiana (Butterfly Pea). 5-6 ft. June-Au- 

 gust. Purple and white pea-shaped flowers. 



Clematis coccinea (Scarlet Clematis). 5 ft. June-September. 

 Flowers about 1 in. long, scarlet; glaucous foliage, delicate 

 and graceful. 



C. Davidiana. 3-4 ft. August-September. Porcelain-blue 

 flowers of tubular outline. Dense bushy habit. 



C. tubulosa. 7 ft. August-September. About two weeks 

 later than the last; otherwise similar. 



