GREEN DRAPERIES 251 



says, has become a troublesome weed in parts of the 

 west, very difficult to eradicate, but how splendid must 

 be the wastes illumined by its vivid bloom. 



It climbs by means of aerial rootlets and will cling to 

 wood or stone, which makes it valuable for covering 

 buildings, as there is no trouble in fastening it up, but 

 it is a great, tumbling, boisterous thing, fitter to climb 

 the walls of the stables or outbuildings than of the 

 dwelling. For pergola and trellis it is a bit too free and 

 energetic, but for positions where a bold, striking effect 

 is desired there is nothing better. Its orange-scarlet 

 flowers are borne in August and seem a fitting intro- 

 duction to the ruddy tints so soon to prevail. Any 

 necessary pruning should be done in spring, as the 

 flowers form on the new wood. If given a rich soil and a 

 sunny situation the vine is capable of a height of forty 

 feet. The Chinese Tecoma grandiflora with its variety 

 atrosanguinea are better in most ways than T. radi- 

 cans. 



A slender climber, very dear to me from long associa- 

 tion, is Akebia quinata. I think I have never seen it in 

 any garden save my own and the garden of my child- 

 hood. There it formed, in its luxuriance, a deep reveal 

 around the library windows, and in spring rendered the 

 room almost untenable with its clouds of warm perfume. 

 This was a very old vine, for the Akebia is a slender 

 thing, and the cushionlike growth that I remember 

 must have been the result of many years. This climber 



