satisfaction for an indefinite period if given a small amount of
attention each season. I can think of none that are not better when ten
or twelve years old than they are two and three years after
planting--healthier, stronger, like a person who has "got his growth"
and arrived at that period when all the elements of manhood are fully
developed. Young vines may be as pleasing as old ones, as far as they
go, but--the objection is that they do not go far enough. The value of a
vine depends largely on size, and size depends largely on age. During
the early stage of a vine's existence it is making promise of future
grace and beauty, and we must give it plenty of time in which to make
that promise good. We must also give such care as will make it not only
possible but easy to fulfil this promise to the fullest extent.
While many vines will live on indefinitely under neglect, they cannot do
themselves justice under such conditions, as any one will find who
plants one and leaves it to look out for itself. But be kind to it, show
it that you care for it and have its welfare at heart, and it will
surprise and delight you with its rapidity of growth, and the beauty it
is capable of imparting to everything with which it comes in contact.
For it seems impossible for a vine to grow anywhere without making
everything it touches beautiful. It is possessor of the magic which
transforms plain things into loveliness.
If I were obliged to choose between vines and shrubs--and I am very
glad that I do not have to do so--I am quite sure I would choose the
former. I can hardly explain how it is, but we seem to get on more
intimate terms with a vine than we do with a shrub. Probably it is
because it grows so close to the dwelling, as a general thing, that we
come to think of it as a part of the home.
Vines planted close to the house walls often fail to do well, because
they do not have a good soil to spread their roots in. The soil thrown
out from the cellar, or in making an excavation for the foundation
walls, is almost always hard, and deficient in nutriment. In order to
make it fit for use a liberal amount of sand and loam ought to be added
to it, and mixed with it so thoroughly that it becomes a practically new
soil. At the same time manure should be given in generous quantity. If
this is done, a poor soil can be made over into one that will give most
excellent results. One application of manure, however, will not be
sufficient. In one season, a strong, healthy vine will use up all the
elements of plant-growth, and more should be supplied to meet the
demands of the following year. In other words, vines should be manured
each season if they are expected to keep in good health and continue to
develop. If barnyard manure cannot be obtained, use bonemeal of which I
so often speak in this book. I consider it the best substitute for
barnyard fertilizer that I have ever used, for all kinds of plants.
The best, all-round vine for general use, allowing me to be judge, is
Ampelopsis, better known throughout the country as American Ivy, or
Virginia Creeper. It is of exceedingly rapid growth, often sending out
branches twenty feet in length in a season, after it has become well
established. It clings to stone, wood, or brick, with equal facility,
and does not often require any support except such as it secures for
itself. There are two varieties. One has flat, sucker-like discs, which
hold themselves tightly against whatever surface they come in contact
with, on the principle of suction. The other has tendrils which clasp
themselves about anything they can grasp, or force themselves into
cracks and crevices in such a manner as to furnish all the support the
vine needs. So far as foliage and general habit goes, there is not much
difference between these two varieties, but the variety with
disc-supports colors up most beautifully in fall. The foliage of both is
very luxuriant. When the green of summer gives way to the scarlet and
maroon of autumn, the entire plant seems to have changed its leaves for
flowers, so brilliant is its coloring. There is but one objection to be
urged against this plant, and that is--its tendency to rampant growth.
Let it have its way and it will cover windows as well as walls, and
fling its festoons across doorway and porch. This will have to be
prevented by clipping away all branches that show an inclination to run
riot, and take possession of places where no vines are needed. When you
discover a branch starting out in the wrong direction, cut it off at
once. A little attention of this kind during the growing period will
save the trouble of a general pruning later on.
Vines, like children, should be trained while growing if you would have
them afford satisfaction when grown.
The Ampelopsis will climb to the roof of a two-story house in a short
time, and throw out its branches freely as it makes its upward growth,
and this without any training or pruning. Because of its ability to take
care of itself in these respects, as well as because of its great
beauty, I do not hesitate to call it the best of all vines for general
use. It will grow in all soils except clear sand, it is as hardy as it
is possible for a vine to be, and so far as my experience with it
goes--and I have grown it for the last twenty years--it has no
diseases.
[Illustration: HONEYSUCKLE]
For verandas and porches the Honeysuckles will probably afford better
satisfaction because of their less rampant habit. Also because of the
beauty and the fragrance of their flowers. Many varieties are all-summer
bloomers. The best of these are Scarlet Trumpet and _Halleana_. The
vines can be trained over trellises, or large-meshed wire netting, or
tacked to posts, as suits the taste of the owner. In whatever manner you
train them they lend grace and beauty to a porch without shutting off
the outlook wholly, as their foliage is less plentiful than that of most
vines. This vine is of rapid development, and so hardy that it requires
very little attention in the way of protection in winter. The variety
called Scarlet Trumpet has scarlet and orange flowers. _Halleana_ has
almost evergreen foliage and cream-white flowers of most delightful
fragrance. Both can be trained up together with very pleasing effect.
There are other good sorts, but I consider that these two combine all
the best features of the entire list, therefore I would advise the
amateur gardener to concentrate his attention on them instead of
spreading it out over inferior kinds.
Every lover of flowers who sees the hybrid varieties of Clematis in
bloom is sure to want to grow them. They are very beautiful, it is true,
and few plants are more satisfactory when well grown. But--there's the
rub--to grow them well.
The variety known as _Jackmani_, with dark purple-blue flowers, is most
likely to succeed under amateur culture, but of late years it has been
quite unsatisfactory. Plants of it grow well during the early part of
the season, but all at once blight strikes them, and they wither in a
day, as if something had attacked the root, and in a short time they are
dead. This has discouraged the would-be growers of the large-flowered
varieties--for all of them seem to be subject to the same disease. What
this disease is no one seems able to say, and, so far, no remedy for it
has been advanced.
But in Clematis _paniculata_, we have a variety that I consider superior
in every respect to the large-flowered kinds, and to date no one has
reported any trouble with it. It is of strong and healthy growth, and
rampant in its habit, thus making it useful where the large-flowered
kinds have proved defective, as none of them are of what may be called
free growth. They grow to a height of seven or eight feet--sometimes
ten,--but have few branches, and sparse foliage. _Paniculata_, on the
contrary, makes a very vigorous growth--often twenty feet in a
season--and its foliage, unlike that of the other varieties, is
attractive enough in itself to make the plant well worth growing. It is
a rich, glossy green, and so freely produced that it furnishes a dense
shade. Late in the season, after most other plants are in "the sere and
yellow leaf" it is literally covered with great panicles of starry white
flowers which have a delightful fragrance. While this variety lacks the
rich color of such varieties as _Jackmani_ and others of the hybrid
class, it is really far more beautiful. Indeed, I know of no flowering
vine that can equal it in this respect. Its late-flowering habit adds
greatly to its value. It is not only healthy, but hardy--a quality no
one can afford to overlook when planting vines about the house. Like
Clematis _flammula_, a summer-blooming relative of great value both for
its beauty and because it is a native, it is likely to die pretty nearly
to the ground in winter, but, because of rapid growth, this is not much
of an objection. By the time the flowers of either variety are likely to
come in for a fair share of appreciation, the vines will have grown to
good size.
For the middle and southern sections of the northern states the Wistaria
is a most desirable vine, but at the north it cannot be depended on to
survive the winter in a condition that will enable it to give a
satisfactory crop of flowers. Its roots will live, but most of its
branches will be killed each season.
Ampelopsis _Veitchii_, more commonly known as Boston or Japan Ivy, is a
charming vine to train over brick and stone walls in localities where it
is hardy, because of its dense habit of growth. Its foliage is smaller
than that of the native Ampelopsis, and it is far less rampant in
growth, though a free grower. It will completely cover the walls of a
building with its dark green foliage, every shoot clinging so closely
that a person seeing the plant for the first time would get the idea
that it had been shorn of all its branches except those adhering to the
wall. All its branches attach themselves to the wall-surface, thus
giving an even, uniform effect quite unlike that of other vines which
throw out branches in all directions, regardless of wall or trellis. In
autumn this variety takes on a rich coloring that must be seen to be
fully appreciated.
[Illustration: JAPAN IVY GROWING ON WALL]
Our native Celastrus, popularly known as Bittersweet, is a very
desirable vine if it can be given something to twine itself about. It
has neither tendril nor disc, and supports itself by twisting its new
growth about trees over which it clambers, branches--anything that it
can wind about. If no other support is to be found it will twist about
itself in such a manner as to form a great rope of branches. It has
attractive foliage, but the chief beauty of the vine is its clusters of
pendant fruit, which hang to the plant well into winter. This fruit is a
berry of bright crimson, enclosed in an orange shell which cracks open,
in three pieces, and becomes reflexed, thus disclosing the berry within.
As these berries grow in clusters of good size, and are very freely
produced, the effect of a large plant can be imagined. In fall the
foliage turns to a pure gold, and forms a most pleasing background for
the scarlet and orange clusters to display themselves against. The plant
is of extremely rapid growth. It has a habit of spreading rapidly, and
widely, by sending out underground shoots which come to the surface many
feet away from the parent plant. These must be kept mowed down or they
will become a nuisance.
Flower-loving people are often impatient of results, and I am often
asked what annual I would advise one to make use of, for immediate
effect, or while the hardy vines are getting a start. I know of nothing
better, all things considered, than the Morning Glory, of which mention
will be found elsewhere.
The Flowering Bean is a pretty vine for training up about verandas, but
does not grow to a sufficient height to make it of much value elsewhere.
It is fine for covering low trellises or a fence.
The "climbing" Nasturtiums are not really climbers. Rather plants with
such long and slender branches that they must be given some support to
keep them from straggling all over the ground. They are very pleasing
when used to cover fences, low screens, and trellises, or when trained
along the railing of the veranda.
The Kudzu Vine is of wonderful rapidity of growth, and will be found a
good substitute for a hardy vine about piazzas and porches.
Aristolochia, or Dutchman's Pipe, is a hardy vine of more than ordinary
merit. It has large, overlapping leaves that furnish a dense shade, and
very peculiar flowers--more peculiar, in fact, than beautiful.
Bignonia will give satisfaction south of Chicago, in most localities.
Where it stands the winter it is a favorite on account of its great
profusion of orange-scarlet flowers and its pretty, finely-cut foliage.
Farther north it will live on indefinitely, like the Wistaria, but its
branches will nearly always be badly killed in winter.
It is a mistake to make use of strips of cloth in fastening vines to
walls, as so many are in the habit of doing, because the cloth will soon
rot, and when a strong wind comes along, or after a heavy rain, the
vines will be torn from their places, and generally it will be found
impossible to replace them satisfactorily. Cloth and twine may answer
well enough for annual vines, with the exception of the Morning Glory,
but vines of heavy growth should be fastened with strips of leather
passed about the main stalks and nailed to the wall securely. Do not use
a small tack, as the weight of the vines will often tear it loose from
the wood. Do not make the leather so tight that it will interfere with
the circulation of sap in the plant. Allow space for future growth. Some
persons use iron staples, but I would not advise them as they are sure
to chafe the branches they are used to support.
The question is often asked if vines are not harmful to the walls over
which they are trained. I have never found them so. On the contrary, I
have found walls that had been covered with vines for years in a better
state of preservation than walls on which no vines had ever been
trained. The explanation is a simple one: The leaves of the vines act in
the capacity of shingles, and shed rain, thus keeping it from getting to
the walls of the building.
But I would not advise training vines over the roof, unless it is
constructed of slate or some material not injured by dampness, because
the moisture will get below the foliage, where the sun cannot get at it,
and long-continued dampness will soon bring on decay.
On account of the difficulty of getting at them, vines are never pruned
to any great extent, but it would be for the betterment of them if they
were gone over every year, and all the oldest branches cut away, or
thinned out enough to admit of a free circulation of air. If this were
done, the vine would be constantly renewing itself, and most kinds would
be good for a lifetime. It really is not such a difficult undertaking as
most people imagine, for by the use of an ordinary ladder one can get at
most parts of a building, and reach such portions of the vines as need
attention most.
THE HARDY BORDER
The most satisfactory garden of flowering plants for small places, all
things considered, is one composed of hardy herbaceous perennials and
biennials.
This for several reasons:
1st.--Once thoroughly established they are good for an indefinite
period.
2d.--It is not necessary to "make garden" annually, as is the case where
annuals are depended on.
3d.--They require less care than any other class of plants.
4th.--Requiring less care than other plants, they are admirably adapted
to the needs of those who can devote only a limited amount of time to
gardening.
5th.--They include some of the most beautiful plants we have.
6th.--By a judicious selection of kinds it is possible to have flowers
from them from early in spring till late in fall.
I have no disposition to say disparaging things about the garden of
annuals. Annuals are very desirable. Some of them are absolutely
indispensable. But they call for a great deal of labor. It is hard work
to spade the ground, and make the beds, and sow the seed, and keep the
weeds down. This work must be done year after year. But with hardy
plants this is not the case. Considerable labor may be called for, the
first year, in preparing the ground and setting out the plants, but the
most of the work done among them, after that, can be done with the hoe,
and it will take so little time to do it that you will wonder how you
ever came to think annuals the only plants for the flower-garden of busy
people. That this _is_ what a great many persons think is true, but it
is because they have not had sufficient experience with hardy plants to
fully understand their merits, and the small amount of care they
require. A season's experience will convince them of their mistake.
[Illustration: SHRUBS AND PERENNIALS COMBINED IN BORDER]
In preparing the ground for the reception of these plants, spade it up
to the depth of a foot and a half, at least, and work into it a liberal
amount of good manure, or some commercial fertilizer that will take the
place of manure from the barnyard or cow-stable. Most perennials and
herbaceous plants will do fairly well in a soil of only moderate
richness, but they cannot do themselves justice in it. They ought not to
be expected to. To secure the best results from them--and you ought to
be satisfied with nothing less--feed them well. Give them a good start,
at the time of planting, and keep them up to a high standard of vitality
by liberal feeding, and they will surprise and delight you with the
profusion and beauty of their bloom.
Perennials will not bloom till the second year from seed. Therefore, if
you want flowers from them the first season, it will be necessary for
you to purchase last season's seedlings from the florist.
In most neighborhoods one can secure enough material to stock the border
from friends who have old plants that need to be divided, or by
exchanging varieties.
But if you want plants of any particular color, or of a certain variety,
you will do well to give your order to a dealer. In most gardens five or
six years old the original varieties will either have died out or so
deteriorated that the stock you obtain there will be inferior in many
respects, therefore not at all satisfactory to one who is inclined to be
satisfied with nothing but the best. The "best" is what the dealer will
send you if you patronize one who has established a reputation for
honesty.
The impression prevails, to a great extent, that perennials bloom only
for a very short time in the early part of the season. This is a
mistake. If you select your plants with a view to the prolongation of
the flowering period, you can have flowers throughout the season from
this class of plants. Of course not all of them will bloom at the same
time. I would not be understood as meaning that. But what I do mean
is--that by choosing for a succession of bloom it is possible to secure
kinds whose flowering periods will meet and overlap each other in such a
manner that some of them will be in bloom most of the time. Many kinds
bloom long before the earliest annuals are ready to begin the work of
the season. Others are in their prime at midsummer, and later ones will
give flowers until frost comes. If you read up the catalogues and
familiarize yourself with the habits of the plants which the dealer
offers for sale, you can make a selection that will keep the garden gay
from May to November.
On the ordinary home-lot there is not much choice allowed as to the
location of the border. It must go to the sides of the lot if it starts
in front of the house, or it may be located at the rear of the
dwelling. On most grounds it will, after a little, occupy both of these
positions, for it will outgrow its early limitations in a few years. You
will be constantly adding to it, and thus it comes about that the border
that _begins_ on each side of the lot will overflow to the rear.
I would never advise locating it in front of the dwelling. Leave the
lawn unbroken there. While there is not much opportunity for "effect" on
small grounds, a departure from straight lines can always be made, and
formality and primness be avoided to a considerable degree. Let the
inner edge of the border curve, as shown in the illustration
accompanying this chapter, and the result will be a hundredfold more
pleasing than it would be if it were a straight line. Curves are always
graceful, and indentations here and there enable you to secure new
points of view that add vastly to the general effect. They make the
border seem larger than it really is because only a portion of it is
seen at the same time, as would not be the case if it were made up of
straight rows of plants, with the same width throughout.
By planting low-growing kinds in front, and backing them up with kinds
of a taller growth, with the very tallest growers in the rear, the
effect of a bank of flowers and foliage can be secured. This the
illustration clearly shows.
Shrubbery can be used in connection with perennials with most
satisfactory results. This, as the reader will see, was done on the
grounds from which the picture was taken. Here we have a combination
which cannot fail to afford pleasure. I would not advise any home-maker
to confine his border to plants of one class. Use shrubs and perennials
together, and scatter annuals here and there, and have bulbs all along
the border's edge.
I want to call particular attention to one thing which the picture under
consideration emphasizes very forcibly, and that is--the unstudied
informality of it. It seems to have planned itself. It is like one of
Nature's fence-corner bits of gardening.
For use in the background we have several most excellent plants. The
Delphinium--Larkspur--grows to a height of seven or eight feet, in rich
soil, sending up a score or more of stout stalks from each strong clump
of roots. Two or three feet of the upper part of these stalks will be
solid with a mass of flowers of the richest, most intense blue
imaginable. I know of no other flower of so deep and striking a shade
of this rather rare color in the garden. In order to guard against
injury from strong winds, stout stakes should be set about each clump,
and wound with wire or substantial cord to prevent the flowering stalks
from being broken down. There is a white variety, _Chinensis_, that is
most effective when used in combination with the blue, which you will
find catalogued as Delphinium _formosum_. If several strong clumps are
grouped together, the effect will be magnificent when the plants are in
full bloom. By cutting away the old stalks as soon as they have
developed all their flowers, new ones can be coaxed to grow, and under
this treatment the plants can be kept in bloom for many weeks.
"Golden Glow" Rudbeckia is quite as strong a grower as the Delphinium,
and a more prolific bloomer does not exist. It will literally cover
itself with flowers of the richest golden yellow, resembling in shape
and size those of the "decorative" type of Dahlia. This plant is a very
strong grower, and so aggressive that it will dispute possession with
any plant near it, and on this account it should never be given a place
where it can interfere with choice varieties. Let it have its own way
and it will crowd out even the grass of the lawn. Its proper place is
in the extreme background, well to the rear, where distance will lend
enchantment to the view. It must not be inferred from this that it is
too coarse a flower to give a front place to. It belongs to the rear
simply because of its aggressive qualities, and the intense effect of
its strong, all-pervading color. You do not want a flower in the front
row that, being given an inch, will straightway insist upon taking an
ell. This the Rudbeckia will do, every time, if not promptly checked. It
is an exceedingly valuable plant to cut from, as its flowers last for
days, and light up a room like a great burst of strong sunshine.