PLANTING BEFORE THE WALL 89 
As far as he can, Joseph Is making his garden of 
plants that know pretty well how to take care of 
themselves. He wishes them, as I have already 
said, to be like the wild flowers In the woods, which 
return each year in definite seasons. 
It was not for their flowers that Joseph planted 
so many Virginia creepers along the wall, since 
these are insignificant, but for the leaves of the 
vines, which, from the time they unfold in the 
spring until they turn a brilliant crimson in the au- 
tumn, are always beautiful. These Virginia creep- 
ers, therefore, will form the foliage of the wall, 
while the nasturtiums, the clematis and the honey- 
suckles will give it flowers. 
Mr. Percy advised Joseph to plant the native 
Virginia creepers, and together they found the 
vines by the edge of a near-by wood. Afterwards, 
Timothy went with wheelbarrow and spade and 
took them up. Had we bought them at the nur- 
sery, we could have had no better specimens than 
these which were found growing wild. Joseph had 
often seen poison-ivy In the woods before he came 
to the Six Spruces to live, and he thought he was 
being urged to transplant It to our wall; but Mr. 
Percy, by opening a miniature leaf, soon showed 
him that, though the two vines resembled each 
other, the Virginia creeper has five leaflets, while 
the poison-ivy has but three. 
We were discussing this point of difference be- 
tween the two vines, when Queenie Perth surprised 
