HOUSE AND GARDEN 
U 2 
September, 
1914 
them. There is a wide choice open for the prospective grower. 
A classification of vines which will be helpful in enabling one 
to make intelligent selection, is to consider them in groups, accord¬ 
ing to their habit of growth : climbing or self-clinging, like the 
ivies; twining, like the Madeira vine and the cinnamon vine; and 
trailing or scrambling, like the well-known native bitter-sweet and 
the briar roses. 
In selecting vines for permanent use, a number of things must 
be kept in mind: habit of growth ; density of the foliage; com¬ 
parative amount of shade during 
the winter months; whether or 
not it has flowers as well as deco¬ 
rative foliage; and, especially for 
the northern States, the degree 
of severe weather it will stand 
without being winter-killed. 
Even where the roots may be 
saved by protection, it is very 
annoying to have the tops occa¬ 
sionally killed down to the 
ground, and to have to wait a 
season or two for a satisfactory 
regrowth. 
Probably the most valuable 
group of the hardy vines is the 
ivies, the best known of which, 
and on the whole our most valu¬ 
able hardy climber, is the Japan 
or Boston ivy, Ampelopsis 
Veitchi. This climbs and clings 
by itself successfully to walls of 
all sorts—brick, stone or wood. 
Every square inch of space is 
covered and the leaves lap over 
one another in such a way as to 
make an effective thatch. It will 
not cover a large amount of 
space the first year or two, as 
will a number of the other vines, 
but when once well started, 
grows very rapidly. During 
summer the leaves are a beauti¬ 
ful green, and change in autumn 
to shades of crimson and scarlet. 
Fortunately, the Japan ivy is 
very hardy, withstanding suc¬ 
cessfully the severe winters of the northern States, whence its 
popular title of Boston ivy. 
Similar to the Japan ivy is Amelopsis Lourii, but the leaves are 
more, deeply, lobea and smaller, and the effect of the whole vine 
-is exceptionally graceful. It is as hardy and as good a climber 
as t;he Japan ivy. 
Next to the Boston or Japan ivy, the most popular hardy 
climber is probably the Virginia Creeper or American ivy, Ampe¬ 
lopsis Quinequipfolia. This is extremely hardy and very rapid 
growing, almost as much as some of the fast growing annual 
vines. The leaves are quite large—some six inches across—and 
this .makes it a little less desirable to the taste of some people. 
Where a smaller leaved vine is desired, Ampelopsis Engelmanni 
may be used. This is a Virginia Creeper also, but with foliage 
much finer and more dense, and it is also a better dinger than 
the Quincquinfolia , the climbing propensities of the type seeming 
to vary in different specimens. The foliage of both sorts, like 
that of the Japan ivy, turns to the most attractive shades of crim¬ 
son and scarlet with the approach of cold weather. 
Ampelopsis Tricolor, Vitis herterophylla variegata , is another 
good ivy entirely distinct from any of the above. The foliage is 
more scanty, and deeply lobed; dark green variegated with pink 
and white; and equally conspicuous with the foliage are the berry 
clusters of a shining metallic blue. It is not adapted to wall climb¬ 
ing, but is very desirable for training over low walls or trellises. 
One of the best of the newer hardy vines is Vitis Henryana. 
It is a recent introduction from China, with leaves of deep green, 
similar in shape to those of the Virginia Creeper, but having ribs 
of silver white, making an effective contrast, especially as the 
leaves turn in the fall to shades 
of dark red. Vitis Humulifolia 
is extremely hardy, with foliage 
that will withstand the most ad¬ 
verse conditions It is especially 
useful for planting in exposed 
places or where the climate is 
severe. 
Of the several types of hardy 
flowering vines, the various 
members of the clematis family 
are easily first in importance. 
There are but two distinct types : 
the climbing, small-flowered 
sorts, and the garden or large- 
flowered clematis. Of the for¬ 
mer our native variety, or 
American white clematis, C. 
Virginiana, is familiar to most 
people who have ever spent an 
autumn in the country. It bears 
a great profusion of small white 
flowers in August, followed by 
the feathery seed-pods, which 
give almost the effect of a float¬ 
ing white mist in the bushes 
along roadsides. The Japanese 
clematis or Virgin's Bower, C. 
paniculate, is an ideal flowering 
hardy vine. It is very hardy and 
succeeds under almost all condi¬ 
tions, climbing up any suitable 
support placed within its reach, 
or spreading over walls or 
fences. The foliage itself is ex¬ 
tremely pretty, and the star¬ 
shaped white flowers, of a pecul¬ 
iarly charming fragrance, borne in abundance in early autumn, 
are exquisitely beautiful both in their massed effect and indi¬ 
vidually. The seed-pods keep up their attractiveness until late in 
the fall. 
Another variety of clematis, not so well known, but of great 
value because it begins to flower very early in the spring—about 
the first of May—is Montana Grandidora. It has, in addition to 
its beauty and earliness, proved hardy where practically every 
other clematis has failed. There is also a reddish variety of this 
kind which is very pretty, but unfortunately it is not so hardy, 
requiring protection in the north. 
The large-flowering sorts, such as Jackmani, which has deep 
purple flowers and is probably the best known of the several won¬ 
derfully beautiful varieties of this type, will not thrive under 
adverse conditions. Care should be taken, in setting them out, to 
get the crowns at least three inches below the surface. They re¬ 
quire a rich, perfectly drained soil, and do best where they can 
have partial shade at least during the middle of the day. 
The various honeysuckles constitute another important group 
(Continued on page 172) 
