Glorious in flower, on occasions regally temperamental, this richly endowed genus must surely lay strong claim to contain the most beautiful climbers ever to grace our gardens. As I stand each spring under a 30-ft. high hawthorn through which has intertwined a Clematis montana Elizabeth I would be the last to disagree. The white of the hawthorn and pink of the clematis intermingle to make the complete floral curtain.
I always use a soft string which will not chafe even the most tender bark and, which is perhaps more important, it will rot after a year or two. When indestructible material is used I grow careless about the annual inspection to ensure the stem is not being constricted by the tie. All wall plants must be looked over at least twice a year to make certain the stems are not being chafed or strangled by the supporting media.
I grow C. alpina through and amongst deciduous rhododendrons. It comes so readily from seed that -some x)f my experimental plantings border on the reckless. Nothing, however, matches a plant I saw in the wild growing through Rhododendron ferrugineum. The blue flowers with a, central boss of white stamens overlaid the brick-red blooms of the rhododendron like a SpaniSh mantilla.
A good mixture consists of 5 parts of garden soil to 2 parts of peat plus a 6-in. pot of bonemeal to every barrowload of the mixture. Only a narrow border need be made, 2 ft. wide by 15 in. deep, for given a good start healthy roots will penetrate less profitable fields.
Climbers need not be confined to walls. Stumps of old trees, venerable apple or other fruit trees, chain-link fencing, indeed anything capable of supporting the extra weight. For climbers some support will be necessary and modern invention provides a richly varied choice. A well-made wooden trellis, plastic-covered mesh, vine eyes with wire stretched between, or a nail hammered in where required - there is something to suit every depth of pocket.
Although ceanothus can be grown as a bush in the open garden, it is only happy in the colder gardens when given wall protection. However, it is worth all the devotion lavished on it. I remember a very old house in Hurworth, County Durham, which supported an enormous specimen of the variety A. T. Johnson. The brick mellowed by age to a warm buff pink made an ideal background to the blue flowers. See main list for full description.
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