CLIMBERS FOR THE GARDEN AND HOUSE. 
No garden seems complete without climbers, and the 
window-garden in winter does not look quite finished 
without a hanging-basket of vines. The climbers I 
shall speak of are: 1st, Hard wooded and hardy; have 
only to be planted once to last many years and increase in 
beauty each succeeding year. 2d, Herbaceous climbers; 
those that die to the ground every fall and come up 
again in the spring. 8 d, Annual climbers; those that are 
raised from seed, bloom, perfect seed, and die in the 
fall, to be raised again from seed the following season. 
4th, Tender climbers; those that can be set out the first 
of June and taken up before frost; this includes some of 
the green-house climbers. One of the best and well 
known of our hardy climbers is Ampelopsis quinque- 
folia, generally called Woodbine; the foliage is good, 
especially in autumn; the flowers and hemes are pleas¬ 
ing, and it is a rapid grower. Its foreign cousin, Ampe¬ 
lopsis beitcliii, is more delicate in appearance. The 
foliage is small, glossy and pretty; even in winter the 
delicate tracery of its branches, stretching upward and 
outward on the wall, are pleasant to look upon. I am 
glad to see it is being largely planted to cover not only 
private dwellings, but churches and public buildings. 
The Wistaria, both Chinese and American, are good 
climbers. Honeysuckles, especially the Japanese ( Loni- 
cera Halliana), is the prettiest of all to my mind; has 
evergreen leaves, begins to bloom in June and keeps on 
until frost; flowers white, with a fragrance like Azalias. 
Alcebia quinata , from Japan, has pretty foliage, small 
chocolate-brown flowers, fragant, and grows fast. Big- 
noma radicans, or Trumpet Creeper, has pretty foliage 
and very showy orange-scarlet flowers in July; it looks 
well trained on a straight pole and the branches allowed 
to droop. Our native climbers, Celastrus scandens 
(climbing Bitter-sweet) and Clematis Virginiana, are 
worth cultivating; the first-named for its handsome red 
berries in the fall, the last for its ornamental feathery 
seeds. Man 3 - ladies gather them to trim pictures with 
in winter, and are disappointed at their falling to 
pieces just when they' should look lovely. The secret is 
to gather them in August just as soon as the blossom 
drops, hang them in a cool, dark room, and they will 
feather out and stay on. There are many beautiful 
varieties of Clematis, but they are slow growers and do 
get winter-killed sometimes, although called hardy. 
[The shrubby species of clematis, of which Jackmanni 
is the type, is perfectly hardy after the wood has had 
two seasons’ growth. It is a very simple matter to lay 
the plant down in the fall and protect with a slight 
mulching of straw or evergreen boughs, and the growth 
thus protected one winter will withstand our coldest 
weather ever afterwards.—E d.] Of the herbaceous 
climbers, the perennial Sweet Pea and Cinnamon vines 
(Dioseovca bulatas) are good; the latter is tuberous 
rooted, has pretty, shining, heart-shaped leaves, and very 
small, white, cinnamon-scented flowers. Adlumia cir- 
rhosa is a native biennial climber; is grown from seed; 
does not run the first year; it should be planted where 
it is to flower, or transplanted in the fall; the second 
season it will grow twenty feet in moist soil. The 
foliage is light green; flowers delicate pink, looking 
like a fringe; it is known as Wood Fringe in some places. 
There is a large family of annual climbers. The Morn¬ 
ing Glory always comes first to mind, because we have 
seen it from childhood; even now it seems like a fresh 
revelation of beauty each year. What other flower has 
its charms in early morning ? Even before old Sol is 
up, they bestir themselves and silently unroll their lovely 
twisted buds, into cups of pink, white and purple, and 
are ready to welcome the god of da 3 r , when he slowly 
emerges from his morning bath in old ocean. They 
want to be planted thick in good soil, sunny situation, 
plent 3 r of strings to run on. Nasturtiums are as old as 
Morning Glories, but who would miss having some, 
especially now when 3 r ellow and orange are so fashion— 
I mean aesthetic. The}' are really very beautiful, not 
onl} r shades of orange and yellow as in the old time, but 
velvety maroon, brown, scarlet, and many' shades be¬ 
tween; some are striped and spotted, and they' are called 
Tropmolums now, and are thought worthy of names 
such as Edward Otto, Caroline Smith, and so' on. Tro- 
qiceolum pereg'i'inum, or Canary-bird Flower, has small 
flowers of canary-color. I must not pass by the Sweet 
Pea, for it belongs to one of the old families. It is one 
of the hardiest of annual climbers, and yet some never 
succeed with it. Buy' mixed seed, plant the first of May 
(for the climate of New England), form inches deep 
(measure), not over an inch apart; before they' begin to 
climb, give them some brush to cling to; hoe up the soil 
toward the plants, so as to keep the roots moist; water 
whenever dry; keep all seed-pods cut off, and you can 
gather a handsome bunch of flowers every day from 
June until Jack Frost lays them low. Don’t put any¬ 
thing else with them unless you add a little Mignonette 
or a few sprays of Fern. 
The Thunbergia is a tender climber, can be grown 
from seed or cuttings. Flowers orange, buff and white, 
with dark centres. Should be started in the house and 
set out the first of June. The Maurandyu is another 
tender climber, grows freely from seed and from cut¬ 
tings of the half-ripened wood ; m the fall it can be 
potted for the house, cutting off most of the branches ; 
it will soon start, and grow and bloom; in the spring 
cut back again and set out. Give it a place sheltered 
from the noonday sun, good soil, plenty of string and 
water, and it will delight your eyes all summer with its 
graceful foliage and hundreds of its lovely fox-glove¬ 
shaped flowers strung like bells all along the branches. 
It is one of the most lovely summer climbers we have; 
the white variety is the most delicate looking ; the rosy 
purple is very pretty. [Note. —We would like to say 
that our experience with the Maurandya differs from 
that of our esteemed correspondent. We find it does 
best in the most sunny situation, when planted in a 
deep rich soil. In such a one we have seen it completely 
covered with bloom, in a city garden, at Christmas; a 
few degrees of frost does not injure it.—E d.] Manetti 
cordata is a pretty climber, grown from cuttings. A 
small plant set out the first of June, trained to a trellis, 
will have a profusion of its peculiar waxy-looking, tube¬ 
shaped flowers all summer; they are orange-scarlet 
tipped with the brightest yellow; foliage small, glossy 
