200 IN A GLOUCESTERSHIRE GARDEN 



Verticillata, which here is deciduous, but by the end of 

 May it produces grand shoots, 1 4 ft. or 1 5 ft. in length, 

 clothed from top to bottom with lovely sprays of deep- 

 green feathery foliage, which last all the summer till 

 cut down by frost. Another is A. acutifolius, not so 

 beautiful and not so hardy, as it seldom does well away 

 from a wall, but evergreen ; and the third is A. medeo- 

 loides (Medeola asparagoides), from the Cape of Good 

 Hope, a universal favourite, generally grown in green- 

 houses, but perfectly hardy. 



As to the way of growing these creepers, it must be 

 left to the taste of each gardener. They may be 

 grown on arches of iron or chain, or on arcades built 

 after the fashion of an Italian pergola. Either of these 

 ways Avill give pleasant shade, and when properly 

 treated become good additions to any garden. But I 

 prefer poles of oak or fir, roughly trimmed, because I 

 think the plants prefer them. They may be placed 

 singly in the centres of flower-beds, or by the sides of 

 paths, or two or three together, with different plants 

 to each, allowed to intermingle. These rapidly get 

 covered, and foi"m excellent ornaments to a garden, 

 taking up very little room. 



It is impossible to speak of climbing plants without 

 a short reference to Darwin's researches into their 

 nature, as shown first in his paper on the Movements and 



