HOUSE, AREA, AND WINDOW GARDENING. 



281 



will clothe it with verdure and beauty in less time. 

 There is also a rich -variety of form and colour, as 

 Veil as size of foliage, and the leaves are not only 

 heautiful on the walls, hut' most useful for the 

 garnishing of desserts. Several kinds have leaves 

 which change to a deep red before they fall off. 

 Others are downy white on the under side of the 

 leaves ; and one or more have deeply divided leaves. 



Yitis riparia is a hardy North American species 

 with large, heart-shaped leaves, and contrasts well 

 on this account with either of the varieties men- 

 tioned of the comnion Grape-vine. Like them, its 

 flowers are small and inconspicuous, and also, like 

 all other Grape-vines, very fragrant. 



Ampelopsis hederacea. — The Virginian creeper is so 

 weU known, and generally grown, as hardly to need 

 description. It will grow in any soil, and on any 

 aspect, its beautiful green leaves changing to glow- 

 ing crimson in September. It belongs to the Vine 

 family, is a true creeper, and climbs to a height of 

 from thirty to fifty feet. 



Ampelopsis tricuspidata (also known under the 

 name of A. Veitchii) is of a more slender and 

 olegant habit, and grows to about half the height. 

 It is somewhat difficult to start, being more fastidious 

 •about soil ; but when once thoroughly established it 

 grows rapidly, and develops leaves of large size and 

 greater beauty than the common sort. Both these 

 plants thrive in the smoky atmosphere of towns. 



Tecoma radieans. — This fine plant, known also 

 under the name of Bignonia radieans, is worthy of a 

 place on any warm wall. In Kent we have, seen it 

 doing weU even upon an east wall. It is a plant 

 with noble foliage, and very handsome, long, tubular, 

 orange and scarlet flowers, the form of which has 

 caused it to be called by some the Trumpet Flower. 



Wistaria sinensis. — This is more commonly grown 

 for house decoration, than any other flowering 

 climber, and it is perhaps the most suitable for 

 the purpose; it flowers freely on south walls in 

 May and June, and more sparingly a second time in 

 August and September. Its blossoms are of a lovely 

 bluish-violet colour, and they hang like bunches of 

 Laburnum blooms, but are very much larger. A 

 very pretty effect can be produced by training this 

 plant and the Scotch Laburnum together. It is 

 commonly said to grow thirty feet, but specimens 

 are to be met with having branches four times that 

 length. There is a white variety which is seldom 

 met with. 



Menispermmn canadense. — This hardy, deciduous. 

 North American twining plant may be used for 

 covering trellis-work or walls. It will grow in 

 common soil, and can be raised from seed, from 

 cuttings, or by division of the root. Its flowers are 

 small and inconspicuous. 



Piplantltus uepalensis. — This Laburnum-like plant, 

 which was formerly called Aiiagyris indica, is not 

 often met with, though it is hardy enough to grow 

 against any warm wall, provided that it is planted 

 in a rich, loamy soil. It is very handsome when in 

 flower, and from the fact of its blossoming in the 

 autumn it is certain to attract attention, from the 

 scarcity of Laburnum-like plants at that season of 

 the year. 



I'assiflora earuha. — This Passion Flower is quite 

 haidy on warm walls in the South of England, and 

 is very ornamental both in flower and in fruit ; the 

 flowers are pale blue, and the long, egg-shaped fruits 

 are orange ; the latter, however, are only produced 

 after warm summers. It likes a light, rich soil, and 

 requires good drainage. 



Aristolochia Sipho,- — The large heart-shaped leaves 

 of this climber are unlike any other foliage, and have 

 a fine appearance when well gxown. It requires 

 a warm aspect and a rich soU. Its flowers are of 

 very curious form, being long and tubular, but bent 

 in the middle like some horns. 



Clematisi — The hardy species of this genus are so 

 numerous and so varied that, did space permit, our 

 walls might be adorned with their flowers during 

 nine months out of the twelve. Their colours run 

 through red, white, blue, purple, and approach to 

 green. The yellowish-white, C. balearica, blooms in 

 February; the white evergreen, C. cirrhosa, in March; 

 the violet, C. cmrulea, in April ; G. montana in May ; 

 the evergreen white, C. Fortunei, in June; the 

 white, G. Flammula, and the large pale blue, G. 

 lanuginosa, in July; the purple, C. Viticella, in 

 August ; the yellow, G. orientalis, in September ; 

 and G. Jaehiiani, with its rich pui-ple flowers, until 

 frosts commence. 



Many of these are smaU-flowered, but what they 

 lack in size they make up for in quantity of bloom. 

 As a mere covering for a wall, the evergreen sorts 

 are, of course, to be preferred. Of the large-flowered 

 kinds there are many beautiful hybrids, which natu- 

 rally fall into one or other of three groups — spring- 

 flowering, summer-flowering, and autumn-flowering. 

 If one of each of these were selected, and they were 

 trained together, or allowed to ramble over an estab- 

 lished evergreen sort, the eifect would be exceed- 

 ingly good, and a, succession of blooms would be 

 secured for seven or eight months at very little 

 expense of time or trouble. 



Soses. — The following are among the best for the 

 walls of suburban houses, though the majority fail 

 to thrive in London, or other crowded towns : — 



Aimee Vibert. 

 Celine Porestier. 

 Cheshnnt Hybrid. 

 ClimblDg Devoiiiensis. 

 Climbing Tiotor Verdier. 



Gloire de Dijon. 



Jaune Desprez. 



liEimarque. 



Martehal Mel. 



William Allen Eichardson. 



