Everybody likes a pretty vine, and there is sure to be some place where you will want to plant at least one. Where? Why, at one corner of the porch where you like to play; round the pillar at the front door, where you read, or by the window where you sit to sew; in the backyard to cover the clothespoles, hide the chicken fence, or screen some old, ugly building.

The common annual vines you probably know pretty well,—the climbing nasturtium, morning glory, moonflower, cypress vine, scarlet runner, hyacinth bean, wild cucumber, gourds and hops. They are treated very much alike, grow with little care if they only have something to climb on, and spread rapidly.

The hardy vines are not so easily disposed of. For instance, the clematis (with accent on the clem,) numbers throughout the world about one hundred and fifty species,—generally climbers,—in white, blue, purple, red and yellow, and ranges from the 2-ft. shrubby kind to the 25-ft. vine. While our common mountain clematis (Montana grandiflora) flowers as early as April, the Jackmani in mid-summer, and the Paniculata often as late as September, the Henryi is seen even in November. And while some can be grown from seed, the rest have to be propagated by cutting or grafting.

WARNING

Right here let me again urge you to make sure of the particular kind of flower, plant or vine that you get, so that you will know how to treat it, and not count on flowers in June from a variety that blossoms in September, or expect purple posies from the white sort. The gentleman printing this book will not let me take space enough to go into details about every thing I mention (he says paper is too dear!) so the only way out of the difficulty is for me to make the lists include all the colors, all the heights, all the months of bloom, and then impress on YOU the necessity of ascertaining the particular kind you want to grow.

BOOKS THAT WILL HELP

As the people you would ask might make a mistake about these things, get in the habit of looking them up for yourself. Go to the Public Library and just see the fascinating books that have been written about plants and flowers,—many for children and in the form of stories. For real facts, though, given in few words and easily found from a complete index in the back, ask for "The American Flower Garden," by Neltje Blanchan, or "The Garden Month by Month," by Mabel Cabot Sedgwick. This latter gives a little description of all the hardy plants and flowers, and is filled with beautiful pictures. And some of the big seed dealers and nurserymen get out fine catalogues that are really garden books in themselves, chock full of information accompanied by colored illustrations, which can be had for the asking!

VINES THAT MUST BE RENEWED EVERY YEAR

VINES THAT LIVE ON FROM YEAR TO YEAR