For an out-door annual climber, what can be prettier than the dainty,
graceful Canary Flower? Mine have scorned the limitations of the twine I
had fastened to the lower limbs of a small pear tree and ascending far
above them, have run out a full yard on a large branch. The light green,
finely lacinated foliage is very handsome of itself, but when the Canary
bird flower is added, how lovely it is! It is so easily grown from seed
that I wonder so few have it. A paper costing only ten cents would give
you a score of plants, and they are much prettier for the bay window
than Madeira vines.
A writer from England says: "While in the north of England, last fall,
we paid a visit to Alnwick Castle, the seat of the Duke of
Northumberland, and the ancient home of the Percy family.... The first
thing that struck me on entering the town was a bay window most
charmingly draped with light green climbers, and literally covered with
bright lemon yellow flowers. Now this appeared so strange to me (for the
chilly night air had already affected the geraniums and other tender
out-door plants), that I had to cross the street, take the Yankee
liberty to open the gate, go inside and examine this thrifty beauty. I
confess I was not only surprised but greatly interested to find it was
_only_ the Canary flower, _Tropaeolum peregrinum_, a member of the
Nasturtium family, and I concluded at once that there should be one
cottage in America next summer worth coming miles to see on account of
its climbing plants of light green foliage and rich yellow masses of
Canary bird flower."--WALTON, in _Vick's Magazine_.
Do not forget to include this pretty vine in your seed order next year.