CHAPTER IX. ORNAMENTAL VINES. "Flowers! bright, beautiful, love-beaming flowers, They are linked with life's sweetest and sunniest hours; Like stars about our pathway They shine so pure and fair, Trees and flowers are not enough with which to adorn and beautify our surroundings; we must have vines, an abundance of vines. A house without vines is like a bird without a mate; it wears a look of desolation. Vines grow so thriftily, bloom so profusely, and can be twined into so many beautiful forms are so fresh, blooming and fragrant that they should be trained about every house. The most modest little cot can be transformed into a flowery bower by the aid of a few climbing plants. Your homes may lack the paint, gilding and tapestry that adorn those of your neighbors, but if vines are trained over the doors and windows, they will present a fresh beauty and glory every Summer's morn, which the products of art cannot surpass. Nature has given us the means of adorning our surroundings, and they are innocent, animating, and contribute to our piety towards her. We do not half avail ourselves of the cheap riches wherewith she adorns the earth. A few seeds, for instance, and a little trouble, would clothe our houses every Summer as high as we choose, with draperies of green and scarlet, and after admiring the beauty we might eat the produce. But then this produce is a bean, and beans are vulgar. Nobody despises a vine in front of a house, for vines are polite, and the grapes seldom good enough to be of use. Hops are like vines, yet who thinks of adorning his house with them? No, they also are vulgar! Thus writes Leigh Hunt in his flowery "Essays." There are many despised things that are, if properly cultivated, capable of great beauty; but I should prefer the Scarlet Bean as a covering to my pantry windows, and the Hop and Grape Vine to trail over the kitchen garden wall, while the Morning Glory, with all its wealth of entangled vines and flowers, should throw its radiance around the dining-room piazza, and shield its windows from the scorching sun at noonday. These same Morning Glories are glories indeed, and are not half appreciated. The delicate Japonica receives far more attention than its coarser parent, but it is infested with bugs, which make it a nuisance, while none dare as yet to molest my "Glories." We pay high prices for exotic vines and climbing roses, and let the lovely vines of our own woods remain uncultivated in their wildness. There is no country that does not possess rarely beautiful vines, which well reward the cultivator with their luxuriant beauty. They are scattered from the White Mountains to the Gulf of Mexico, and all through the Western States on to the Pacific Slope. Climbing roses are bowers of beauty for a few weeks, but after that are only briars, wormy and miserable. There is little beauty in their foliage; it is all compressed in their flowers; yet the Prairie Rose is more commonly used to twine over a verandah, while the Wistaria, Jasmine, Woodbine, Honeysuckle, etc., are planted in less conspicuous places, or not at all. I delight in Climbing Roses-do not think I would disparage them— but they are far prettier the greater part of the year, if trained to pillars rather than to piazzas. Ampelopsis quinquefolia (Virginia Creeper or Five-Fingered Ivy), is a very hardy vine that will withstand the coldest New England winter. It grows most rapidly, and its dark green foliage, which changes to scarlet and brown in the Autumn, makes it very desirable for piazzas, rustic arbors, or trellis work. It will cling to brick walls as readily as the English Ivy; it is perfectly free from insects, and so flexible that it can be trained to any position. Akebia quinata is an imported vine from Japan, with gracefully cut foliage, and large clusters of very fragrant, chocolate colored flowers. It is perfectly hardy. Aristolochia Sipho (or Dutchman's Pipe), is a handsome climber for verandahs; its flowers resemble a short-stemmed pipe, are of a brownish hue, and the leaves are very large and of a bright green. It requires a rich soil to grow well. Bignonia radicans (or Trumpet Creeper), is a very showy, robust plant, and produces a profusion of reddish-orange flowers. It is well adapted to plant against old trees, or to cover unsightly walls. Bignonia grandiflora is fine for pillars or trellises, being of a more graceful habit than the radicans. Bignonia Venusta is a very beautiful half-hardy climber, but requires age to perfect its blossoms, which are of a beautiful orange scarlet. For the Southern States it is unsurpassed in beauty, but for the Northern it needs the protection of a greenhouse. Jasminum nudiflorum (or Carolina Jessamine), is tender north of Maryland, but is one of the most attractive vines in the United States. Its plentiful yellow flowers are rarely fragrant, and it grows in profusion all through the South, turning its luxuriant branches among the forests. No matter whether it is located in the piney barrens, or the rich swamp lands, it is a bower of beauty. Celastrus scandens (or Bitter-sweet), is a very attractive climber, particularly in the Autumn, when its orange berries are very handsome. The scarlet seed-covers are surrounded with orange-colored capsules, which open as the seeds become ripe, and make it very ornamental. It twines so close to the trees that it will frequently choke out the life of young saplings. In Massachusetts it is called Roxbury Wax Work. It grows abundantly all through New England, and bears transplanting and cultivating with good effect. Cocculus Carolinus is a native of the Carolinas, and has bright red fruit, resembling the common currant. Of Honeysuckles (or Loniceras), we have a numerous variety. The scarlet or coral species are well-known, and the fragrant pink and white monthly is very popular. Of late years different varieties have been imported from China and Japan, which are very desirable. Among the Chinese, the Golden Leaved Lonicera is one of the finest. It is a rapid grower, with small wiry stems, the foliage is netted with gold, the flowers are white and very fragrant. Lonicera Halliana is evergreen; its flowers pure white, turning to yellow; perfectly hardy, and flowers monthly in profuse clusters. Lonicera brachypoda, or Japan Honeysuckle, is a very beautiful vine; its flowers are of the most delicious fragrance, and there is no hardy vine that can excel it; its leaves are evergreen, and very glossy. The Clematis are rapid growers, the native varieties flowering in August when other vines are not always in beauty. Great improvements have been made in them by the English florists, and there are no lovelier vines for piazzas and verandahs. The following are the most prominent of the cultivated varieties, flowering from June onward: Clematis Fortuni has very large, double-white flowers. Clematis Jackmanii is a profuse bloomer, with large, violet-colored blossoms. Clematis Standishii is blue, and flowers finely. Clematis Rubella has rich purple blossoms. All of these varieties are new hybrids, and cannot fail to give satisfaction to the cultivator. Hedera helix (or English Ivy), is the most popular of evergreen vines, and very suitable for covering rock work, fences, walls, trees or arbors. It adheres readily to a tree or to stone, but does not take as kindly to brick, requiring some slight support, frequently to keep it attached to the walls. It is much used for covering houses, but in climates where it will live throughout the year it is unequaled for a bordering to flower beds. Grass will force its tiny roots into the borders, but the Ivy is contented to twine its branches along the edges. A quantity of strong young plants are desirable to commence with, and they should be planted rather thickly and kept well mingled together. In the Summer, their fresh green leaves contrast perfectly with the darker foliage, and all through the winter their verdure is pleasing. Such edgings form a beautiful setting for flowers, while they are so charming as to make it desirable to cultivate the "dainty plant" for its own worth. After the edging has once become established, by pinching off and cutting back the young shoots, it can be easily kept in perfect order. Nearly every courtyard in Paris displays the English Ivy, either covering trellises as a dark background to brilliant thickets of Geraniums, or trained over a bower. The plants are grown in large boxes, filled with a rich turfy soil, and thus supplied they make rapid growth. At the French Exposition, the garden was filled with all that was richest and rarest, yet Mr. Robinson tells us, in his book upon "French Gardens," that a pretty circular bower covered with Ivy attracted first the attention of every passer-by. It was composed of a wire frame, shaped like an umbrella, with the handle inserted in a huge tub of very rich earth, in which the roots were planted. Boards were laid over the tub, which formed a circular seat, and with these simple means a most lovely bower was produced. The Ivy was trained so as to cover every part of it, and entirely shade the seat. Any ingenious boy could make a similar one, and, with proper appliances, some girls could accomplish it. As a screen, this plant is in great demand in France, and entire garden walls are often covered with it, making a most perfect background for the brilliant hues of the flowers. Those of us who live in colder climates could substitute the German Ivy for edgings. I tried it last season, and it grew beautifully, but it will winter kill. An old umbrella frame, stripped of its dilapidated covering, will make a fine trellis for delicate vines like the Canary Bird Flower, Thunbergia, Maurandya, and Cypress Vine. Sharpen the handle to a point, and fix it firmly in the ground, pressing in the ivory tip of each end, so that the wind cannot disturb it. It will look prettily on the lawn, or in the center bed of the garden, when the graceful twining vines have covered it with their beautiful flowers and foliage, and almost every garret can furnish the skeleton, if the closet cannot provide one. A worn-out sunshade will make a baby trellis that will be very charming, when covered with the gorgeous hues of the Tropæolum, which should not be neglected in a chapter upon Vines. They grow readily from seed, and their butterfly-colored flowers are always beautiful. If branches are broken off in the Autumn, and put into vases filled with water, the flowers will bloom for a long time; the roots starting out at each joint will furnish a support for them. Coba a scandens is a rapid growing vine, with large purple bellshaped flowers. It is not hardy in the Northern States, but can be kept in pots during the Winter, and will twine over the windows. Cobæa scandens variegata is like the former, only its leaves are margined with yellowish-white. If planted in rich soil, these vines can be made to grow thirty feet in a season. Glycine Sinensis (or Chinese Wistaria), is a very elegant vine of quick growth; it has long, pendulous clusters of pale blue flowers both in the Spring and Autumn, and will soon cover a large surface. Wistaria Sinensis Alba is a white variety, not so robust as the blue. |