98 



How to Make a Flower Garden 



My next favourite of the hard-wooded vines (those that do not die back 

 in winter) is also a Japanese plant— Celastrus orbiciilatus, a relative of our 

 bittersweet. It is not adapted to porch decoration, as its long, waving, 



semipendant 

 arms are too 

 vigorous and 

 rampant, and 

 would be seri- 

 ously in the 

 way, but for 

 arbours or 

 large arches it 

 i s admirable. 

 While its 

 foliage is good 

 at all times, its 

 chief beauty is 

 its berried 

 effect in late 

 autumn and 

 throughout 

 the winter 

 months, just 

 at the time 

 when the 

 echoes of the 

 summer glories 

 are most wel- 

 come. Fortu- 

 nately (for me, 



at least), where the ravine-nested birds are so numerous, its berries are 

 unmolested by the feathered tribe, and remain pendant all winter, like 

 coral beads floating in the air. In this species they are more numerous 

 than in its American relative, C. scaiideus. I imagine the Japanese form 

 to be the stronger grower of the two. 



An effective way to grow the American bittersweet is to allow it to 

 twine around an iron rod. I use a three-inch iron pipe, set in a block of 



Vines overrun it on all sides, and 



spacious verandas into avenues of shade 



