IRocfts 173 



(sempervivums), which do well in these difficult places. 

 Hardly any other kinds can be used for the purpose. 



At the base of these walls ferns, iris, saxifrage, and 

 other medium-sized herbaceous plants that bloom at 

 different parts of the season may be grown, but the 

 kinds should be selected so that only the base of the 

 wall for a foot or two is covered, because the beauty 

 of the grain and colouring of the wall is quite as impor- 

 tant as the plant growth. 



Judgment should be carefully exercised in the quan- 

 tity of climbing plants used, — roses, clematis, Virginia 

 creeper, euonymus, Japanese ivy, etc., — ^because the 

 growth of these vines is so luxuriant that without 

 proper control they will soon cover the entire wall and 

 hide the beauty of the stone itself and its moss-covered 

 crevices and surface. The right way is to plant climb- 

 ing vines nearly always at the back of the wall, in which 

 case they will grow up to the top and then can be trained 

 longitudinally along the coping. Unless this training is 

 carefully followed up, the vines grow out in all directions 

 and, more or less, droop down and cover too much of 

 the beautiful surface of the front wall. The Euonymus 

 radicans is a small evergreen vine of great beauty and 

 has the advantage of growing in a moderate way in 

 front of the wall, fitting itself into some of the large 

 crevices which are difficult to cover with the sedums 

 and sempervivums, but even this vine needs consider- 

 able attention to prevent its spreading too much over 

 the picturesque wall surface. 



The accompanying illustration shows the appearance 



