66 



EVERY WOMAN HER OViN FLOWER GARDENER. 



It was composed of a wire frame^ shaped like an umbrella^ with the 

 handle inserted in a huge tub of very rich earth, in Avhich the roots 

 w^ere planted. Boards were laid over the tub, which formed a circular 

 seat, and with these simple means a most lovely bower was produced. 

 The Ivy was trained so as to cover every part of it, and entirely shade 

 the seat. Any ingenious boy could make a similar one, and, with proper 

 appliances, some girls could accomplish it. 



As a screen, this plant is in great demand in France, and entire garden 

 walls are often covered with it, making a most perfect background for 

 the brilliant hues of the flowers. 



Those of us who live in colder climates could substitute the German 

 Ivy for edgings. I tried it last season, and it grew beautifully, but it 

 will winter kill. An old umbrella frame, stripped of its dilapidated 

 covering, will make a fine trellis for delicate vines like the Canary Bird 

 Flower, Thunbergia, Maurandya, and Cypress Vine. 



Sharpen the handle to a point, and fix it firmly in the ground, pressing 

 in the ivory tip of each end, so that the wind cannot disturb it. It will 

 look prettily on the lawn, or in the center bed of the garden, when the 

 graceful twining vines have covered it with their beautiful flowers and 

 foliage, and almost every garret can furnish the skeleton, if the closet 

 cannot provide one. 



A worn-out sunshade will make a baby trellis that will be very 

 charming, when covered with the gorgeous hues of the Tropaeolum, 

 w^hich should not be neglected in a chapter upon Vines. They grow 

 readily from seed, and their butterfly-colored flowers are always beautiful. 

 If branches are broken off in the Autumn, and put into vases filled with 

 water, the flowers will bloom for a long time ; the roots starting out at 

 each joint will furnish a support for them. 



Cobaea scandens is a rapid growing vine, with large purple bell- 

 *shaped flowers. It is not hardy in the Northern States, but can be kept 

 in pots during the Winter, and will twine over the windows. 



Cobaea scandens variegata is like the former, only its leaves are 

 margined with yellowish-white. If planted in rich soil, these vines can 

 be made to grow thirty feet in a season. 



Glycine Sinensis (or Chinese Wistaria), is a very elegant vine of quick 

 growth ; it has long, pendulous clusters of pale blue flowers both in the 

 Spring and Autumn, and will soon cover a large surface. 



Wistaria Sinensis Alba is a white variety, not so robust as the blue. 



