THE IVY. 281 



with in suburban gardens ; and even in large towns it 

 generally thrives well, suffering from the smoke less than 

 most evergreens. For covering walls, fences, trees, and 

 rockwork, for screens when supported by lattice, for 

 pillars, edgings of beds, and arches, or arcades, in flower 

 gardens it is alike suitable. My collection here, which 

 consists of more than 40 sorts, is grown in three separate 

 ways; (i) as pillars; (2) to cover old roots, laid on the 

 ground to form a screen ; and (3) in pots. Pillars of Ivy 

 form beautiful objects, especially in the winter season. 

 Those who have seen the gardens at Elvaston in winter 

 will no doubt remember the pleasing effect of the masses 

 of golden Ivy which abound there. When planted and 

 trained on rockwork or old trees, it is curious and. interest- 

 ing to watch the shoots creeping and clinging to the sur- 

 face, now losing themselves in the recesses, then emerging 

 and spreading to the light their broad masses of beautiful 

 leaves of green, gold, or silver. A well-kept mass of Ivy, 

 whether on wall, or tree, or rock, is in winter a beautiful 

 sight. When grown in tubs or pots as low pyramids, the 

 varieties of this plant are also extremely useful for garden 

 decoration. In the collections of climbing plants shown 

 at the International Exhibition in the spring of 1866, no 

 plants were admired so much as the masses of Ivy. 

 Associated with the water and the rock as they judiciously 

 were, the shoots which formed the base of the pyramids 

 drooped gracefully over the sides of the baskets, hiding the 

 latter, and calling up a new feature of beauty by being 

 reflected in the water below. Of the many variegated 

 kinds it must be told that some only are completely happy 

 as pillars, at least such is my experience ; but the most 

 delicate are beautiful in pots, and even against walls, and 

 are quite worthy of such positions. Further, the Ivy is 

 not only valuable as a climbing and creeping plant, but 

 also as an evergreen shrub. The tree or bush forms which 

 it assumes, and of which there are several, are first-class 

 front-row evergreens for beds and borders. A little prun- 



