THE GARDEN BOOK OF CALIFORNIA 



climbers. Morrenia odorata is a splendid vine with distinct 

 foliage and very fragrant white bloom. The plumbagos 

 have a very delicate fragrance, hardly perceptible to some. 

 Plumbago capensis has a beautiful sky-blue flower, while 

 Plumbago capensis alba is the same in pure white. Just 

 why the splendid rose-colored variety is not frequently grown 

 I cannot say, as it seems to be easy of culture. Thunbergias 

 are heavy-sounding but they are really graceful members 

 of the climbing class. Of the annuals there are many sweet- 

 scented. The morning-glories, the sweet peas, and last but 

 not least the much-abused nasturtium. I prophesy that some 

 day the nasturtium will be made a fashionable flower. It 

 is sweet-scented, a remarkable climber in some varieties, and 

 of colors that make it valuable in lighting up dark corners. 

 Truly no garden is complete without many varieties of 

 nasturtiums, and that they are sweet, is attested by birds 

 and bees as well as flower-loving girls. 



City porches are apt to seem dreary, dusty places. A 

 few hardy vines can make a transformation, however. There 

 are the lovely Mexican morning-glories, and the Japanese 

 varieties grow as quickly and furnish a delightful variety for 

 the eye with their curious markings. 



Cypress, with its tiny crimson trumpet, is a vine that 

 belongs to the city porch. In California, wherever frost 

 does not strike, Asparagus plumosus will grow as rankly 

 and readily in the heart of the city as in a glass house in 

 other States. In the city there is often the ugly straight 

 passageway to the rear area. A little green drapery of 



1721 



