CLIMBING PLANTS 
\ N ] HEN the beauty of our gardens is so largely dependent Wild Climb- 
on the climbing plants that veil walls and fences, and ing Plants 
break the monotony of flat beds and borders and 
stretches of lawn, it is well at times to cast aside cut and dried rules 
and regulations, and reflect for a moment how nature herself 
plants them. Close at home what is more charming than the wild 
Honeysuckle that wreathes the solitary Holly or Hawthorn stand- 
ing out on the moor; or the Briony’s scarlet berries among its trails 
of shining heart-shaped leaves; or the Wild-rose that has climbed 
a wayward course till its pale blossoms shine like stars from the 
branches of a tall Scotch Fir? While if we go further afield, the 
climbing Palm and a hundred wonders of the tropic forest, the 
wild Vine flinging its graceful tendrils over every tree beside 
the railroad in the Middle States, or Bignuonta radicans hanging 
its gorgeous scarlet trumpet flowers over the rough “snake 
fence” beside a sandy roadside in Georgia, give climbing plants 
a special charm and significance for those who have seen them 
rejoicing thus in their native lands. And certainly such 
suggestions from the best of teachers should make us pause 
before wé nail a Crimson Rambler closely to a hot wall, when 
it is longing for tree or trellis upon which to run riot at will. 
Of all garden creepers the Rose and the Clematis stand at 
the head of every list, and the exquisite combinations of colour, 
which can be produced with these two alone, are endless. 
For instance, a magnificent effect is given by grouping 
together Dorothy Perkins, Ceanothus Gloire de Versailles, 
hoy 
