58 ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN 



and be equally serviceable if constructed on a less 

 massive scale. To my mind the dominant features in 

 any and every garden should be the living plants 

 themselves, and structures erected for their accommo- 

 dation should be subordinate to the requirements of 

 the plants. As an illustration, some friend invites us 

 to view his or her Rambler Roses. Now it is the 

 Roses we admire and it is intended that we should 

 admire them, and not the structure on which they 

 cling, no matter how costly or architecturally beauti- 

 ful this structure may happen to be. Simplicity 

 combined with mechanical stability should be the 

 sine qua non of all structures intended for the accom- 

 modation of climbing plants in the garden or the im- 

 mediate precincts of the house. 



Neat posts made of reinforced concrete and firmly 

 inserted fifteen to eighteen feet apart in the ground 

 with stout copper or galvanized wire run through 

 make a lasting trellis which if ten feet high will serve 

 for all the perfectly hardy stem and tendril-climbing 

 plants. Climbers so planted display their beauty to 

 the best advantage and this arrangement will form an 

 excellent screen to the garden or it may be so affixed 

 as to form an avenue or arbor. Note, however, that 

 it is said those "perfectly hardy" for be it remembered 

 that on a trellis the plants are fully exposed to the 



