64 THE BOOK OF THE WILD GARDEN 



Jasminum. — The well-known Jasmine or Jessamine of 

 the cottagers, a hardy climber valuable for its white, 

 deliciously-scented flowers. It will often ascend to a 

 height of twenty feet or thirty feet, but does not as a 

 rule prove as satisfactory if grown against a thick- 

 foliaged evergreen tree as does a vigorous Clematis. 

 Where it is thought desirable for it to climb a tree one 

 with a thin habit of growth, such as Robinia, should be 

 selected. It is, however, more at home creeping through 

 and over a thicket or hedge. The yellow winter- 

 flowering J. nudifiorum is excellent for rambling over 

 banks and rocks. 



Lathyrus. — L. /atifolius, Syn. L. sylvestris platyphyllus , 

 the Everlasting Pea, is a fine trailing plant, excellent for 

 rambling over old tree-stumps, dwarf shrubs, low 

 bushes or steep banks. The type is rose-coloured, but 

 there is a beautiful pure-white variety much its superior. 

 In the summer when in full flower it mantles its support 

 with an unbroken sheet of white. Though not particular 

 as to soil or site, an open position and fairly good soil 

 will increase its effectiveness. 



Lonicera. — Honeysuckle. The wild species, L. 

 Periclymenum y is to be met with on all sides in our 

 woods and lanes, creating enchanting pictures. Here, 

 for fifty yards, the tall hedge seems to be composed 

 entirely of Honeysuckle, here it has surrounded the 

 towering trunk of a Scotch Fir with a flower-spangled 

 column fully forty feet high, here its blossom-laden 

 trails hang from the outstretched arm of a withered oak 

 swaying idly in the breeze. Though forming an 

 admirable tree-climber there are other uses to which the 

 Honeysuckle may be put. It offers a pretty sight 

 when planted on a steep slope and allowed to rove over 

 the ground at will, when falling in masses of flower 

 over a rocky declivity or when garlanding the upturned 

 roots of some monarch of the woods laid low by the 



