May, 1907 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



227 



The best support for sweet peas is a brush hedge. 

 Set it before the plants are four inches high 



shrub over which it will quickly clamber, 

 covering the eyesore with its delicate foliage, 

 which is similar to that of the florists' maiden- 

 hair fern. Its pretty pale pink flowers are 

 produced freely, giving a tone and effect 

 hard to reproduce. Though the Allegheny 

 vine is a twiner, it is a weakling and requires 

 a little attention at all times to keep it properly 

 trained on any object. 



Give a good, sunny location and light, yet 

 well-enriched soil, and this vine will grow 

 to a height of fifteen feet, forming perfectly 

 fairy-like festoons of flowers and foliage. 



Another vine, valuable alike for both leaf 

 and flower, is the cup and saucer vine {Cobcea 

 scandens). The foliage is green but the 

 stems and the veins of the leaf are tinted with 

 purple running into a peculiar bronze hue, 

 so pronounced that from a short distance the 

 entire plant gives a decidedly bronzy effect. 

 The growth is loose and very irregular and 

 uncertain in its direction, thereby adding 

 still more beauty to the plant. It is an 

 excellent boundary fence vine. 



The flowers of the cobcea greatly resemble 

 those of the cup and saucer {Campanula 

 Medium, var. calycanthemd) are of about 

 the same size; hence, the common name. 

 The cobcea's flower is deep blue, and although 

 not produced in overwhelming quantities, 

 there are sufficient to justify its use as a 

 flowering plant. It is, therefore, well adapted 

 to porches and city gardens. 



The cobcea is a good grower, reaching a 

 height of twenty feet, and clings very close 

 to its support by means of tendrils with 

 which it is abundantly supplied. I have 

 found that the cobcea is most comfortable 

 in a sunny location, if kept freely watered 

 during the summer, but it will also do well 

 in not very densely shaded places, such as 

 the east or west sides of buildings. There 

 is, however, one essential point in its culti- 

 vation ; never plant the cobcea close to other 

 large plants that will interfere with its root 

 action. The cobcea is a rank feeder; it must 

 not be restricted in any way, and must have 

 an abundance of good soil. 



To have good results seeds must be sown 

 in the greenhouse or frame, not later than 



March ist. If sown about February 15th, 

 the plants will be in flower by July 15th. 

 They will germinate much better if sown 

 edgewise. It is not advisable to sow the 

 seed of the cobcea in the open ground. 



There is a white-flowered variety of the 

 cobcea; the foliage is whitish and the stems 

 and leaf veins are a yellowish white. There 

 is also a variegated form but, on account of 

 its slow weak growth, is not much esteemed. 

 Neither are not nearly as attractive as the 

 blue-flowered form. 



THE BEST DECORATIVE FOLIAGE VINE 



Without any doubt, the grandest and best 

 of all annuals for foliage is the Japanese hop 

 (Hamulus Japonicus). The large leaf meas- 

 ures from six to seven inches across, and by 

 its rapid growth, the plant will soon shut an 

 object from view. 



Do not plant the hop close to any slow 

 growing vine, like the nasturtium or morning- 

 glory (six feet is a safe distance), as the rank 

 growth of the first named will overpower its 

 neighbor, killing it. 



Seeds can be sown out of doors about the 

 middle of April, but much better plants are 

 raised by sowing in the greenhouse or frame 

 about the middle of March. By earlier sow- 

 ing you get a much larger plant for after the 

 flowering period (August) all growth ceases. 

 The hop climbs by means of tendrils and is 

 a good close dinger, growing to a height of 

 ten and twelve feet. It has a free branching 

 habit. The branches stretching out hori- 

 zontally to such a degree that an almost 

 square space will be well covered. It needs 

 a sunny location and should be watered freely 

 during dry weather. 



There is a variegated form of the Japanese 

 hop (Humulus Japonicus, var. variegaius) 

 which is much more ornamental than the 

 plain-leaved. In this, the leaves are white 

 and green, beautifully mottled and striped, 



The climbing nasturlium is an excellent covering for 

 fences, trellises, or unsightly objects 



and unlike most vines where the variegated 

 form is weaker in growth than the type, the 

 variegated hop is just as strong a grower and 

 is usually preferred in planting near a house. 



THE EASIEST VINE TO GROW 



Very popular because it requires so little 

 attention is the tall nasturtium (Tropceolum 

 ma jus). This vine is grown for its great 

 profusion of flowers, and although not as 

 valuable as the sweet pea for cutting, it has 

 many good qualities. 



Nasturtiums can be had in flower early in 

 June if the seed be started in the greenhouse 

 about the middle of March; they will flower 

 about the middle of July if sown out of doors. 

 A common blunder in planting nasturtiums 

 is to mix the different colors; a mass of one 

 color is alwavs more effective than a lot of 



The Japanese hop grows ten to twenty feet high from seed sown out doors in May 



