Climbers

For the adornment of dwellings and gardens By T. W. Sanders, F.L.S., F.R.H.S.

Climbers and Trailers

AN accomplished American gardener, Mr. G. H. Ellwanger, says in his charming book, The Garden’s Story: ‘No garden is complete – if a garden can ever be complete – without its flowering climbers; even the kitchen garden should have its scarlet-runner beans, and the front verandah, at least, be festooned with blossoming vines.’ We would go farther, and say that no dwelling is complete unless its exterior walls are clothed with the exquisite drapery of the foliage and blossom of the wealth of beautiful climbers that are within the reach of rich and poor in this country. We may, and indeed often do, spend an enormous amount of money and time in fashioning and planting a garden with a beautiful assortment of trees, shrubs, and plants; but if we neglect the all-important point of clothing the walls of our dwellings, or covering those of our gardens with climbers, we make a grievous mistake; in fact, as Mr. Ellwanger in effect says, ‘We fail to form a complete garden – a garden beautiful in all its parts, a picture perfect in grace and beauty.’ O that men and women who admire and adore all that is beautiful in Nature, would realise the grand importance of this fact, and strive to make not only their garden, but also its immediate surroundings – the exteriors of their dwellings – more ideally beautiful and perfect!

The true art of the gardener is not alone measured by the amount of cultural skill displayed in growing superb examples of vegetables, fruit, or flowers for exhibition, nor by the florid displays of colour in the garden, nor by the intricacy and ingenuity shown in its formation, but by the taste and art displayed in the effective and pleasing adornment of every ugly spot or objectionable feature in the garden and its immediate surroundings.

Creepers and trailers may be roughly divided into several classes. First of all, there are the annual kinds represented by the Canary Creeper, Tall Nasturtium, Tall Convolvulus, Japanese Hop, Morning Glory, Mina lobata, and Thunbergias. Then come the herbaceous kinds – White and Pink-flowered. Everlasting Peas, Calystegia Pubescens flore pleno, Convolvulus dahuricus and sylvaticus, Eccremocarpus scaber, Common Hop, and Boussingaultia baselloides, Tropæolum speciosum – so called because their shoots die down to the ground in autumn, new ones appearing in spring. Next we have what are known as evergreen climbers. In this class are included Ivies, Evergreen Firethorn (Cratægus pyracantha), Cotoneaster microphylla, Euonymus radicans variegata, Evergreen Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens), Akebia quinata, Berberidopsis corallina, Escallonia macrantha floribunda, and Smilax aspera. The fourth and last class contains all those known as deciduous climbers, namely, Clematises in variety, Jasmines, Honeysuckles, Passion Flowers, Virginian Creepers, Aristolochia sipho (Dutchman’s Pipe), Grape Vines, Solanum crispum, Roses, Tea Tree (Lycium barbarum), and Trumpet Flowers (Bignonias).

Some of the kinds in the foregoing list are called twiners because of the natural habit of the shoots to twine or coil themselves round any object near to which they grow. The honeysuckle and hop are examples of twiners. Others, like the ivy, have their branches furnished with tendrils or sucker-like appendages which enable them to cling to walls, &c., for support. These are called creepers. Others again have an upward growth, but yet require artificial support to keep them in position. To this class belong Roses, Clematises, Everlasting Peas, &c. Others possess the property of being easily trained upwards to a wall or fence; or, if allowed to grow naturally, to trail their shoots along the ground, as the Nasturtium, Cotoneaster, &c.

Now, supposing you want to clothe the exterior walls of your dwelling with climbers, the first thing you have to do is to select the kinds suitable for the aspect. Just as all plants will not succeed equally well in sun or in shade in the garden, so will not all creepers thrive satisfactorily in any aspect. Indeed, the great secret of success, in the cultivation of creepers lies in the selection of those kinds that are known to do best in the various aspects. For example, there are few roses that would thrive against an east or a north wall. Variegated ivies, again, never thrive so well against a south as a west wall, and so on. To ensure success, then, you must take special care to select kinds suitable for the various aspects.

For covering a wall facing the south the self-clinging Virginian Creeper (Ampelopsis Veitchii) is an excellent plant. This plant requires no training after the first year; it will cling of its own accord to the wall and in a few years cover a large space with deep green foliage in summer, which changes in autumn to the most brilliant of red tints. The Passion Flower (Passiflora cœrulea) is another pretty climber. The shoots must, however, be trained as they grow to the wall. Every February shorten the shoots about one-third of their length. There is a white variety of this called Constance Elliott which is equally worthy of being grown. Wistaria sinensis is a most beautiful climber for a south wall. It bears large racemes of purplish pea-shaped flowers and has very prettily divided pale green leaves. The shoots require to be trained as they grow to the wall. Each year, in February, prune the previous year’s shoots back to within an inch of their base. Then there are numerous kinds of Clematis which are adapted for a south wall. The best of these are Beauty of Worcester, Lady Caroline Nevill, Mrs. James Bateman, Princess of Wales, Duchess of Edinburgh, and Henryi. All these require to be trained to the wall and to have their previous year’s shoots shortened one-third in February. The Yellow Jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorum), which flowers during the winter, is also a good plant for a south wall. In warm and sheltered districts Bignonia radicans, bearing reddish orange flowers; Escallonia macrantha floribunda, a plant with dark green foliage and small red flowers, to be seen growing against almost every cottage in the Isle of Wight; Berberidopsis corallina, evergreen, with pretty drooping crimson flowers; Solanum crispum, bearing bunches of pale lavender potato-like flowers; Magnolia grandiflora, another evergreen with handsome white flowers; and Ceanothus azureus, bearing spikes of pale blue blossoms, are all worthy of cultivation. If you have a fancy for roses, grow Madame Berard, fleshy pink; Gloire de Dijon, buff; W. A. Richardson, orange; Reine Marie Henriette, crimson; and Maréchal Niel, yellow – all deliciously fragrant tea-scented roses.

A lady in her conservatory, c. 1890

Nor is our list of plants for a south wall yet exhausted. Those who have a greenhouse and can raise plants easily from seed are advised to grow Eccremocarpus scaber (Chilian Glory Flower), Cobæa scandens (Cup and Saucer Flower), Tropæolum Lobbianum (Lobb’s Nasturtium), Mina lobata and Thunbergia alata. The Eccremocarpus will, in dry soils, survive the winter and put forth vigorous shoots in spring. All the others, however, must be treated as annuals and raised from seed each year. Those who cannot raise the latter plants from seed, nor purchase those previously referred to, may get a good display by sowing seeds of the many kinds of Tall Nasturtiums, Convolvulus, and Canary Creeper in the soil at the base of the wall in April.

As to walls facing west, variegated ivies will do well here, and so will Clematis Jackmanii, purple, flowering in August; Clematis montana, white, blooming in spring; Jasminum officinale, white; Cydonia Mauleii, bearing crimson apple-like blossoms in spring; Chimonanthus fragrans, yielding deliciously fragrant flowers in winter; Dutch Honeysuckle; Claret-leaved Grape Vine (Vitis vinifera purpurea), having leaves of a rich claret shade of colour; Fuchsia Ricartonii, gracilis and macrostema globosa; Garrya elliptica, an evergreen plant bearing greyish catkins, and very pretty; Berberis stenophylla, orange flowered and evergreen; Ampelopsis Veitchii, already referred to in connection with creepers for a south wall; Euonymus radicans variegata, silvery-leaved; and any of the roses mentioned for the south aspect form a selection of really pretty climbers for a west aspect. If cheaper plants are required, the Canary Creeper, Nasturtium, Scarlet Runner Bean, and the Variegated Japanese Hop, or the Pink or White flowered Everlasting Peas may be substituted for the foregoing permanent climbers.

For east walls there is not such a variety of plants to choose from. Here the Evergreen and the Ayrshire Roses (Félicité perpétué, Longworth Rambler, and the Dundee Rambler); the common Virginian Creeper (Ampelopsis hederacea); Cydonia japonica, crimson flowering in spring; green ivies; Cratægus Lelandii, evergreen, bearing orange-red berries in winter; Cotoneaster microphylla, also evergreen and orange berried in winter; and Forsythia suspensa, yellow flowered and spring flowering, are the best kinds for this aspect. To this list the Canary Creeper, Tall Nasturtium, and Japanese Hop may be added as cheap and easily grown kinds.

Against a wall facing north, green ivies – especially Rœgner’s Ivy – Virginian Creeper, Boursalt Rose (Amadis); American Allspice (Calycanthus macrophyllum); Cratægus pyracantha; Tea Tree (Lycium barbarum); and Clematis flammula, white, blooming in autumn, are the only kinds we can recommend. The Tall Nasturtium and the Japanese Hop frequently do well in such a position. In the northern, cooler and moister parts of the kingdom the beautiful Flame Flower (Tropæolum speciosum) succeeds admirably against a north wall. In Scotland it may often be met with thriving luxuriantly and flowering profusely against cottage walls. In the south it rarely succeeds unless grown in a deep moist bed of peat, leaf mould, and sand, against a cool north wall. It will not succeed in hot positions, nor in dry soils. The roots should be planted in October.

So much for the house walls. Now we will turn our attention more particularly to the garden, and say something about climbers for arches, &c. Supposing the reader wishes to cover a wire arch with some climber, he cannot do better than plant a Clematis Jackmanii; an Evergreen, Gloire de Dijon, or a Madame Berard tea rose; a Convolvulus sylvatica, white and pink flowered; Calystegia pubescens flore-pleno (Double Convolvulus); Lonicera caprifolium (Honeysuckle); Jasminum nudiflorum (Winter flowering Jasmine), or the Evergreen Firethorn (Cratægus pyracantha). Either of these will form excellent permanent climbers. The Common Hop (Humulus lupulus) and the Pink Everlasting Pea (Lathyrus latifolius) are often used with great success for the same purpose. All these are permanent plants. For temporary effect in summer, Tropæolum Lobbianum and any of the excellent varieties of Tall Nasturtiums offered for sale in the ‘One & All’ Seed Catalogue issued by the Agricultural and Horticultural Association; the Canary Creeper, the green and variegated sorts of the Japanese Hop (Humulus Japonicus); Tall Convolvulus (Convolvulus major); also Cobæa scandens, a greenhouse plant, which may be grown outdoors in summer, and Clianthus Dampieri may be employed with success for decorating arches in summer.

In small gardens there are often ugly objects which it is desirable to hide from view during the summer. Among such objects the dust bin, water butt, dog kennel, rubbish corner, or entrance to an outdoor w.c. are familiar examples. A temporary framework of pea sticks, bean stakes, or timber may be erected; or, better still, a lattice-work trellis may be fixed up and painted green. If the position does not get much sun the green or Japanese Hop or the Tall Nasturtium may be used for covering the trellis or framework. If sunny, use the Canary Creeper, Tall Convolvulus, Scarlet Runner Bean, Tropæolum Lobbianum or the Tall Nasturtium. Where permanent climbers are preferred the Virginian Creeper is the best plant for a shady spot, and the Common Hop, Everlasting Pea, Clematis Jackmanii, Clematis montana, Jasminum nudiflorum, and the following roses: Crimson Rambler, Flora, Dundee Rambler, and The Garland.

Ladies in the garden, c. 1900

For a sunny arbour there is nothing to equal a combination of Clematis montana, Clematis Jackmanii, Jasminum nudiflorum, Honeysuckle; Gloire de Dijon, Madame Berard, and Flora roses; Forsythia suspensa, Berberis stenophylla, Claret-leaved Vine and Aristolochia sipho. Any or all of these will make splendid permanent climbers. To the list may be added the Common Hop and the Everlasting Pea. Of temporary climbers, the Tall Nasturtium, Tropæolum Lobbianum, Canary Creeper, Cobæa scandens, Eccremocarpus scaber, and the green and variegated Japanese Hop may be used with good effect.

Then for covering garden fences, what can be more beautiful than many of the free-growing and free-flowering roses? Such sorts as Dundee Rambler, Félicité perpétué, Rampant, Queen of the Belgians, and The Garland, are absolutely unsurpassable for the purpose. If to these we add the Everlasting Peas, Double Convolvulus, Japanese Quince (Cydonia japonica), Jasminum nudiflorum, and many of those advised for walls, we shall have a good selection of beautiful plants that will greatly improve the appearance of any fence they are grown against. The cottager or artisan whose means will not allow him to purchase roses or permanent climbers may get a great deal of pleasure and add greatly to the attractiveness of his garden by cultivating Runner Beans, Nasturtiums, and Canary Creepers against his fences.