CLIMBING PLANTS 



INTRODUCTION 



A HANDY treatise on climbing plants for gardens is a 

 welcome addition to garden books. Mr. Watson has for 

 many years lived among climbers from all parts of the 

 world. His chapters on the best climbers for gardens and 

 greenhouses will be useful to all lovers of horticulture. 

 A clear fact in our gardening is that but little of the infinite 

 variety and beauty of the climber is seen in many gardens ; 

 this book should help to a change for the better. 



After the gift of trees of the earth-mother, the greatest 

 for the gardener are the climbers that adorn them with 

 infinite grace. It is needless to describe their beauty. 

 Botanical and gardening descriptions of them are numer- 

 ous, and nurserymen send out attractive lists of them. 

 So all is well except their cultivation, which is often a 

 dismal failure. Impressed with the fact that in many large 

 gardens it was rare to see a trace of the beauty of climbing 

 plants, and wondering why it was so, I began to make 

 little experiments ; first of all, and in obedience to their 

 natural habit, which is to grow on trees and bushes 

 in many lands of mountain copse and shore, I have 

 planted them in every position, from an orchard hedgerow 

 to a grove of Magnolias, and have had much success. 



The plan was to plant one at the base of some shrub 

 or tree in obedience to the natural habit of the climber, 



A 



