316 TREES AND SHRUBS 



methods of growing Ivy is to allow it to clamber 

 over tree stumps placed here and there in suitable 

 parts of the garden. Ivy banks also are very charm- 

 ing, and for carpeting the bare ground beneath the 

 spreading branches of large trees nothing could be 

 more suitable. For the latter purpose the shoots 

 should be pegged down and kept in position so that 

 they may take root. Suitable varieties for this pur- 

 pose are H. dentata, H. rcegneriana, rhombea, obovata, 

 himalaica, pedata, palmata, lobata, &c. ; but the best of 

 all is an Ivy called Emerald green. 



INDIGOFERA GERARDIANA. During the late sum- 

 mer and early autumn this leguminiferous shrub is 

 one of the most attractive of those that are then in 

 flower. Its finely divided pinnate leaves are of a 

 rich deep green, and almost fern-like in grace and 

 luxuriance. It is, indeed, worth growing for their 

 sake alone. About the end of June it commences to 

 flower, produces its flower-spikes in the leaf-axils, 

 and continues to do so until the middle of September. 

 The flowers are pea-shaped, and borne on spikes 

 4 to 5 inches long. The colour is a bright rosy 

 purple. The species is a native of the Himalaya, and 

 its stems do not survive winters of even moderate 

 severity. The root -stock is, however, perfectly 

 hardy, and it sends up a thicket of young growths 

 every spring 2 to 4 feet long, which flower the same 

 summer. It is not suited for growing in large 

 masses by itself, because it starts rather slowly, and 

 the season is advanced before the space the plants 

 occupy becomes furnished. But it is very suitable 



