8 PRESENT-DAY GARDENING 



Allamanda, Dipladenia, Bougainvillea, Passiflora, and even 

 the Rose and Clematis so often twisted and tied down in 

 the form of a balloon ! Could anything be less artistic, 

 more unnatural, more wanting in feeling for a plant's 

 character than this ? The practice began in greenhouses, 

 and was probably considered necessary for purposes of 

 exhibition, and although we see much less of it now, it 

 has not been entirely discarded. Out of doors there can 

 be no excuse for this sort of cruelty. There, at any rate, 

 climbing plants may be allowed space for the proper dis- 

 play of their natural habit, always with a due regard to 

 what is best, not worst in nature's ways. Many plants 

 that are trimmed, nailed or tied down would be much more 

 effective if they were allowed greater freedom. This is 

 true of all climbers. A little thought, a little inquiry as to 

 what the plant likes and what is its natural habit would 

 save our gardens from many ugly features and thus 

 increase their charm. 



I have learnt from experience that it is worse than use- 

 less to recommend in books on horticulture plants that are 

 not generally known and are not likely to find their way 

 into popular cultivation. At Kew one sees a considerable 

 number of plants that deserve to be generally grown, but 

 they haven't " caught on " with what I may call the garden- 

 ing set, and they remain undiscovered by horticulture, 

 though their day may yet come. I recollect that Aspara- 

 gus plumosus was an inhabitant of the Succulent House at 

 Kew for many years before it was discovered by someone 

 and its value brought to the public notice, and there are 

 not many more useful climbers to-day than this plant. 

 The climbers described and recommended in this book 

 therefore are those that are known by the well-informed 



