December, igio 
HOUSE AND GARDEN 
3 6 9 
The partridge vine grows under the fallen leaves in moist woods. In taking it up be care¬ 
ful not to break the long trailing roots. Planted in woods earth and brought indoors with 
a few ferns, it will keep on growing 
Growing Heliotrope Successfully 
o NE „ thing I have learned — not gener¬ 
ally known—that to be at its best 
heliotrope must be started from cuttings 
every year. I write this particularly tor 
the benefit of gardeners on the Pacific 
poast, where in most cases this favorite 
plant remains in the ground year after 
year, often blooming right through the 
winter if given a sheltered position. But 
it never compares in beauty of color, in 
size of panicles, or most of all, in fra¬ 
grance, the second year with the first. 
Start fresh cuttings for early spring 
planting and pull up the old roots. They 
are very easily started by trailing. In the 
many varieties offered—I am familiar 
with most of them — I find the climbers 
far in advance of the bush varieties. 
“Royal Highness” and “Pink Beauty” 
—one with great panicles of rich purple 
and the other of shaded pink mauve — are 
nearly perfection. Strong, vigorous climb¬ 
ers they are, growing easily six feet, with 
great spreading capacity and literally cov¬ 
ered with blossoms borne on long, strong 
stems, that keep perfectly for three days 
as cut flowers. These, with several other 
fine, lately introduced varieties, are of 
California origin, scarcely known outside 
of their immediate birthplace. The im¬ 
proved varieties are so strong and vigor¬ 
ous in their habits that I believe they 
could be easily grown in almost any cli¬ 
mate if planted close to the south wall of 
a building. 
Cuttings may be taken any time when 
the wood grows hard—September or la¬ 
ter. They are best rooted in sand, I find, 
and the little tips of branches two or 
three inches long do best. Trailing may 
be done any time when the branches are 
long enough to bring down to the ground. 
E. S. 
For Christmas Time—and After 
T has long been tacitly conceded that 
red is the Christmas color, and for 
more years than I can remember the sprig 
of holly has held the place of honor at 
Yuletide festivities. 
Lately there has appeared—we will 
not say a rival, but perhaps a supplement 
to the time-honored hollyberry — the 
splendid poinsettia, as brilliant as the 
breast of the Kentucky cardinal and 
nearly as large as his spread wings. 
Not to intimate aught against either, I 
have a new candidate to offer for election 
to favor, and as Mrs. Dana tells us, “It 
grows not only in the moist woods of 
North America but also in Mexico and 
Japan,” it seems as if most of us should 
have at least a bowing acquaintance with 
the dainty little plant. The berry, when 
we find it tucked away under the fallen 
leaves of late October, is as red as the 
holly and close to the ground, terminating 
the long trailing leafy stem. 
Be careful in pulling it, not to sever 
the roots, because you want them; take 
also some tiny ferns, some very small 
evergreens and a few little orchids of the 
rattlesnake plantain, if you are fortunate 
enough to find them; they are distin¬ 
guished by low-growing tufts of curiously 
white-veined leaves. Lastly, pack in a 
supply of woods earth in which these little 
beauties thrive. 
The partridge vine is offered for sale 
upon the streets of Boston, placed in 
closed glass globes of different sizes. 
These are partly filled with water, and 
with nothing else to nourish it the plant 
will grow all winter. If kept closed very 
little water needs to be added, as that 
which is imprisoned is used over and over. 
I like better a large and spreading bowl 
as, open, the berries are seen to much bet¬ 
ter advantage. 
Be sure, in planting the vine in its na¬ 
tive soil, that every root is carefully placed 
just where it belongs, at the bottom and 
in the earth—a feat not as easv as it 
seems, as the stems are so long and slen¬ 
der. Put it out-of-doors for awhile, re¬ 
membering that the partridge vine lives 
through the coldest weather in the open. 
These vivid berries will not only make 
a charming centerpiece for the Christmas 
table, but will remain “a thing of beauty 
and a joy” all winter, when the faded, 
dejected-looking poinsettia has been sent 
back to the greenhouse, and the holly 
leaves have stiffened and, together with 
the withered fruit, have gradually fallen 
and been swept into the waste pile. 
Not only will the berries keep plump 
and handsome but the vine will send out 
tender young shoots to terminate in deli¬ 
cate white blossoms. While the older 
stems still hold the brilliant berries, the 
new buds nestle in fragrant breath among 
them, the very essence and spirit of the 
early spring. Helen W. Ross 
You can have your garden all winter long, under glass. It is not necessary to build a large 
greenhouse or an expensive one, but you can have flowers and some vegetables all winter 
if you will but make up your mind to have a small greenhouse next year 
