May 20, 1905. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
417 
purple flowers of which, set off by the grass, or a carpet of 
Hemiaria iu the rock garden, present an effective piece of 
ornamental gardening. The same remarks may be applied to 
Crocus speciosus, whose lilac flowers, with orange-coloured 
stigmas, are so effective on sunny, autumn days; while Stem- 
bergia lutea, seldom seen outside botanic gardens, is worthy the 
attention of those in search of winter-flowering bulbous plants. 
In dealing with ornamental gardening, one is bound to give 
some attention to decorative climbing plants. Apart from 
Roses, whose usefulness in this respect is well known, and 
whose varieties are too numerous to attempt to deal with here, 
we have a number of other plants which may be effectively 
used in the flower-garden. Ipomoea versicolor, better known 
as Mina lobata, is a fine climbing plant bearing racemes of 
orange-red flowers, is very effective on a trellis or pergola, and 
it may be raised from seeds annually. Ipomoea purpurea, the 
Morning Glory, is of the same habit as the former, but bears 
open, • bell-shaped flowers varying in colour from white to 
purple and blue. 
Eccremocarpus scaber bears abundance of orange-red flowers, 
and may be used in the same way as the Ipomoeas, and may be 
raised from seeds, if desired, though the roots are perennial 
if protected. 
Tropaeolums are pretty and useful twining plants which 
may be made use of in a variety of ways, the yellow-flowered 
canariense being a beautiful old-fashioned kind which may be 
effectively used on walls or trellises. 
Tropaeolum speciosum is very fine where it succeeds, but 
does not seem to be everyone's plant, though it is worth per¬ 
severing with, for the scarlet flowers are most effective. 
Some of the Honeysuckles, as well as the variegated Hop, are 
also effective for the pergola or a trellis. 
It is impossible to pass over the claims of the Clematis as a 
decorative climber, yet I do not think we make the best use 
of these fine plants in our gardens. They are lovely in all 
sorts of positions, and the genus includes so many sections 
flowering at different periods of the year that we may have 
Clematis in flower from spring till frost comes. 
Probably the commonest type met with is Jackmanii, and a 
very good one, too, but I think that the early-flowerers belong¬ 
ing to- the patens and florida sections are worth a little more 
attention than-they receive. They flower in May and June, 
and thus are among the earliest of any hardy climbers to¬ 
ll ower. The flowers are produced on the previous year’s 
growths ; hence in pruning we must be careful not to cut away 
shoots which are to produce flowers. Only veiy thin or dead 
wood should be removed in spring, leaving the best shoots 
intact; after flowering they may be thinned out and cut back 
a little, subsequently regulating the new growths, which will 
produce flowers the following year. Of the patens type, Lady 
Londesborough, Nellie Moser, and Mrs. George Jackman are 
good, while of the florida type, Belle of Woking and Duchess 
of Edinburgh are well known. One of the earliest to flower is 
Clematis montana, and a real beauty it is, bearing abundance 
of pure white flowers in April. It is a strong grower, and 
generally does not want much pruning, though young plants 
may be thinned out a little after flowering. A large plant of 
this species is a fine sight when in flower. 
The lanuginosa group contains some fine varieties flowering 
from July onwards. In pruning this section they should be cut 
moderately hard back, as the flowers are produced from laterals 
of the current year’s growth. Lord Neville and lanuginosa 
alba are representative of this group. 
The Jackmanii and Viticella groups require to be cut back 
much harder than any of the previous sections, as the flowers 
are produced on the wood of the current year. 
Jackmanii itself is a good and well-known sort, but Jack¬ 
manii superba is a great improvement on the type Thomas 
Moore, a violet-coloured variety representative of the Viticella 
section of herbaceous kinds which die down annually. 
Clematis coccinea is worthy of extended cultivation, the 
scarlet, tubular-shaped flowers being highly ornamental and 
looking well on a wall or trellis. J. W. Besant. 
Iris Leichtlinii. 
Ihe colours of this strange and uncommon type of Iris, 
though by no means brilliant, have a peculiar beauty of their 
own, making the species highly ornamental compared with 
many already in gardens. Those who take delight in I. ger- 
manica and its varieties would probably regard this one as 
more peculiar than beautiful, but those who delight in variety 
will certainly find something in it to admire. The colours, 
such as they are, are certainly brighter than in many of the 
Oncocyclus or Cushion Irises, especially when seen in sunshine. 
The falls are coppery-brown, with a purple central band and a 
yellow beard which extends down the claw from the base of the 
blade. The standards are obovate, clawed, and of lighter 
[Photo. Maclaren and Sons 
Lisochilus Mahoni. (See p. 415.) 
brown than the falls, but they have the same purple centre 
with a yellow beard on the lower third of their length, that 
is, on the claw, thus placing the species in the uncommon 
section named Regelia. The European bearded Irises have 
the beard entirely confined to the falls. The style-arms are 
silvery-purple, shining, and deeper purple along the middle. 
They are surmounted by brown crests. The whole plant is 
12 in. to 15 in. high, the stems rising from a tuft of narrow 
sword-shaped, glaucous leaves. It may be seen in the herba¬ 
ceous ground, Kew, where it will continue flowering for some 
time. It is a native of Turkestan, and was sent to Kew in 
1901. 
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