It is scarcely possible for us to bee too emphatic in our praises of the
most distinct forms of ivy, since but few other hardy climbing plants
ever give to us a tithe of their freshness and variety. A good long
stretch of wall covered with a selection of the best green-leaved kind
is always interesting, and never more so than during the winter months,
especially if at intervals the golden Japanese jasmine is planted among
them or a few plants of pyracantha or of Simmon's cotoneaster for the
sake of their coral fruitage. The large-leaved golden ivy is also very
effective here and there along a sunny wall, especially if contrasted
with the small-leaved kind--atropurpurea--which has dark purple or
bronzy foliage at this season. Of the large-leaved kinds, one of the
most distinct is canariensis, or large-leaved Irish ivy, and Raegner's
variety, with leathery, heart-shaped foliage, is also handsome. The
birdsfoot ivy (pedata) is curious, as it clings to the stones like
delicate leaf embroidery, and for shining green leafage but few equal
to the one called lucida. The two other kinds sketched are hastata and
digitata, both free growing and distinct sorts.
[Illustration: VARIOUS FORMS OF IVY. Heart-leaved Ivy (Hedera
Raegenerana). Glossy Ivy (H. lucida). Arrow-leaved Ivy (H. hastata).]
_Ivy Leaves_.--Common ivy is tolerably plentiful nearly everywhere, but
it is not common to find a good distinct series of its many varieties
even in the best gardens. Of all the different forms of ivy, I think
the large-leaved golden one of the best; certainly the best of the
variegated kinds. Raegner's variety is also very bold, its great glossy,
heart-shaped leaves most effective. Algeriensis is another fine-leaved
kind, the form dentata producing foliage even still larger when well
grown. For making low evergreen edgings on the turf, for carpeting
banks, the covering of bare walls and the old tree stumps, we have no
other evergreen shrub so fresh and variable, or so easily cultivated as
are these forms of the ivy green. Perhaps one reason why the finer kinds
of ivy are comparatively uncommon is the fact that a strong prejudice
exists against ivy in many minds. It is an erroneous notion that ivy
injures buildings against the walls of which it is planted; it never
injures a good wall, nor a sound house, but on the contrary, hides and
softens the stony bareness of the one and adds beauty and freshness to
the other.--_The Garden_.
[Illustration: VARIOUS FORMS OF IVY. Finger-leaved Ivy (H. Itata). Irish
Ivy (H. canariensis). Rira's foot Ivy (H. pedata).]
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