HARDY CLIMBING PLANTS 273 



rapid-growing climber, and a distinct autumn and winter shrub.* It 

 loves a cool soil. 



Chimonanthus fragrans. This is hardly a climbing plant; it 

 is more one of those deciduous shrubby things that one puts against 

 a wall for the sake of its flowers or leaves. The Chimonanthus is 

 called the " winter sweet " because of the sweet spicy perfume of its 

 flowers in winter ; their lemon-yellow colour is very quiet, but their 

 fragrance is perceptible for many yards away. The way to increase it 

 is by seed, suckers, and layers. Suckers become established with moder- 

 ate rapidity when detached with a few roots from the parent plant. When 

 layering choose the strong shoots from the base of the plant ; they should 

 be put down in autumn or after flowering. Cut each shoot halfway 

 through on the underside, pegging it firmly in the soil, and keeping the 

 cut part open. Cover over with soil and leave the layers for a year. 

 Layering is the method of propagation we advise. The shrub must be 

 carefully pruned. Cut the shoots back in spring to within about four 

 inches of the main branches. Upon the new growths from these shoots 

 the flowers appear. Grandiflorus has larger flowers than the type. Good 

 loamy soil suits it best. 



Clematis. In almost every garden there is a Clematis, as a rule 

 the rich, purple-flowered C. Jackmani. The majority of the Clematises 

 are quite hardy, and the best known are 



Clematis balearica, which bears yellowish-white flowers, spotted 

 with purple in the interior, about two inches in diameter. In the south 

 of England it often commences to flower as early as January. C. coccinea 

 bears scarlet, bell-shaped flowers. Several hybrids of this Clematis have 

 lately been raised which are valuable for the greenhouse. C. Flammula 

 (the Virgin's Bower), perhaps the commonest of the family with the 

 exception of C. Vitalba, the Traveller's Joy or Old Man's Beard, which 

 grows wild in our hedgerows bears small, white, scented flowers in great 

 profusion during the month of August, and is useful for covering trellises, 

 archways, and arbours. C. florida. The type of this species bears large 

 white flowers. Several varieties have, however, been raised by nursery- 

 men bearing both single and double flowers of different tints, among the 

 best of these being Duchess of Edinburgh, double, white ; John Gould 

 Veitch, double, lavender-blue ; and Lucy Lemoine, double, white. C. 

 graveolens is a yellow-flowered species from China, bears its flowers in 

 July, and is a very rapid climber, the flowers being followed by feathery 

 seed-vessels. C. Jackmani, a hybrid, is well known by its large, purple 

 flowers, and is grown in almost every town and village in England. 

 Some of the best varieties of this Clematis are the type, Jackmani alba, 

 white ; Gipsy Queen, velvety-purple ; rubro violacea, maroon ; and 

 velutina purpurea, blackish mulberry. C. lanuginosa bears the largest 

 flowers of any Clematis, some of these exceeding seven inches in diameter. 

 Anderson Henryi is the best white ; while Otto Frcebel, pale lavender- 

 white ; Fairy Queen, flesh-colour with pink stripe ; La France, violet- 

 purple ; and the two doubles, Venus Victrix, lavender ; and Enchan- 

 tress, white, are also beautiful flowers. C. montana. This is a very 



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