AGRICULTURAL BULLETIN 



OF THE 



STRAITS 



AND 



rEDERATCD riALAY STATES. 



No. 4.] APRIL, 1911. [Vol. X 



ORNAMENTAL CLIMBERS. 



Many are the uses to which plants coming under this heading 

 may be put to, and indeed no garden or house seems complete without 

 them. To appreciate them fully it is only necessary to think for a 

 moment and imagine what like our gardens would be without the 

 gorgeous display given by such plants. 



So many varieties are now obtainable, that with a little care and 

 forethought, plants may be had which will adapt themselves to almost 

 any situation be it in shade or sunshine. Nothing can be more pleas- 

 ing to the nature-loving eye than to see a few of those plants rambl- 

 ing over ugly walls, concealing outhouses and other unsightly places. 

 For fences round tennis courts too, no more effective method could be 

 obtained for concealing the unsightly, rusty wire netting. 



In England, no garden of any pretensions whatever, would be 

 considered complete without its arbours, pergolas and wild garden 

 covered with creeping or climbing plants. Here, however, arbours 

 and pergolas are almost out of the question, unless, of course, expense 

 were no deterrent. Were they made of wood, white ants would soon 

 play havoc with them, and perhaps iron uprights would prove too 

 fxpensive for many, these also soon succumbing to the influences 

 of our weather. However, by a few simple devices, these may be 

 dispensed with and a delightful result obtained. 



Trees may be utilized for many of these plants, but care must be 

 taken to select such climbers or creepers as will not ultimately cause 

 the death of the tree itself. Mention may be made of the lovely though 

 expensive climbers in this respect— Passiflora laurifolia and Thmibergia 

 laurifolia, which are of such luxuriant growth that they invariably 

 strangle any tree on which they become established. Such plants, 



