CLIMBING PLANTS. 



CLIMBING PLANTS FOR THE GREENHOUSE. 



A GREENHOUSE without a judicious selection of climbing plants loses greatly in interest 

 and charm. In this group many of the most beautiful of all indoor flowers occur, 

 plants not only graceful in growth and bearing a profusion of bright flowers, but 

 , frequently filled with sweet perfume. Too many creepers are a mistake, for they 

 darken the house, and therefore prevent the light from reaching the pot plants underneath, 

 which naturally become much drawn. Greenhouse climbers are not sufficiently considered 

 in gardens — less of late years than formerly, when it was no uncommon sight to see 

 Fuchsias hanging their trails of blossom from the rafters, or Marechal Niel Roses diffusing 

 their sweetness around. Some gardeners care little for climbers for the greenhouse, one 

 reason being that they encourage greatly insect pests, mealy bug in particular, which spread 

 in time to the plants underneath. This is true when the climbers are not carefully attended 

 to, and growth must not be so dense as to shade injuriously the things upon the stages. 

 Climbers flower with great freedom when in vigorous health, and the flowers may be cut 

 for the house, to use in many pretty ways. There is, however, another side to the 

 question of shading. Climbers provide a natural shade during the summer months, and 

 the growth of plants is a thousand times preferable to mixtures of whiting or even roller 

 blinds. A well-known gardener writing in a horticultural journal with respect to permanent 

 shade, stated that " it was not a good system to adopt as a rule, be it as regards colour 

 either white or green, or in preparations of lime, whiting, or any special mixture. It is 

 more of an eyesore than anything else, and is not sound in practice by reason of the 

 variable character of our climate. By means of climbers, what would otherwise appear of 



