IVY.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XCIV, Issue 10703, 12 July 1895, Page 2

IVY.

{The Field.) Surely nothing that comes from the tropica or any other country can be more delightful then ivies may be made by those who grow and place them well. They are so simply grown that few people ever think of the best ways of placing them so as to get a fair idea of their great beauty. In many parts of North America and northern and central Europe the ivy is not hardy, and people would give much for the privilege, which we may enjoy, of making really artistic things of these beautiful hardy northern climbers. We know that, ivy generally grows on a wall, and perhaps it cannot grow on anything better; but it is by no means the only use for it. Many people fear ivy on trees. We should not hesitate to allow ivy to grow on trees of secondary value, and, if not allowed to overrun the tree entirely, it will not do it much harm. That is only one way. Bunk fences, banks, walls, are all places in which we may plant our ivies ; and another pretty, though very much neglected, way is that of making screens of ivy instead of the wretched hedges of privet we often sea cutting up gardens. Where a screen is needed, nothing is more beautiful for it than almost any kind of ivy. The one moat commonly used in that way, and by no means the best, is the Irish ivy, which is so popular in Continental gardens ; but it is better to make a change and use other kinds for this purpose. Tha screens we speak of are easily formed with trellis work of any kind—iron, stout wire, oak slabs, or any like material that may bo handiest. Planted ia fairly rich ground, the ivies in a few years will cover the screen. Another plan wa like very much is that of growing the choicer kinds of ivy as pyramids, each on a stout prop, the shoots falling down gracefully, and it is very charming in all ways. Where there is a large area of dead walls it ia a very wise thing to use so valuable a plant for covering them. Why, instead of the thatch and the rotten things we use for bowers and the like, should wa not form wigwam's and bowers of this delightful evergreen ? Construct a stout and simple framework of the desired shape, and, in a belt of good soil round the base, plant one or more good forms of ivy, and leave the rest to time. A roof of ivy would be very much pleasanter than many things that are used for this purpose, and would not decay in the offensive way common to such thatching material as heath, straw, and reed. The roof should be well tied together, and an occasional clipping of the ivy will suffice to keep it out of the power of the wind. We are not sure that, with a little patience and care, it could not be made to do for sheltered sheds in pastures, instead of faggots and other rough material commonly used; and where a sheltered shed is placed near a wood, as is very often the case, the body of the shed might bo built back into the wood, eo as to leave only the front exposed to the field, and in that way we should protect our ivy from browsing animals.

Another interesting phase of the question is the tree forms of the ivy, which must not be supposed to be distinct kinds, as the ivy itself when fully grown and exposed is very apt to take this form. The form we generally see is the ivy .in its creeping state, but when it gats fully developed it breaks out into what we call the tree form, which gives another opportunity to enjoy the variety of aspects of thiaplant. Allivies are good until we come to the wretched variegated kinds, which are not worth growing; collections of these are sure to disappoint; the so-called variegation is only disease, and it is almost as well that it is so, because if such things grew freely the effect would be far from beautifulhard,.spotty, and unnatural. Among the more beautiful forms cut on the occasion referred to, without noticing the curious splashed kinds, there are the Himalaica or northern In lian ivy, a very pretty form; Atro-purpurea, a leathery looking leaf, and very dark; Azorica, a very leathery, vino-like leaf ; Triloba or Tridentata, a handsome arrow shaped leaf; Obovata, a very pretty slightly bronzed leaf; Palmata, a most graceful

ivy for a tree or wall; H. amurensis, a tall very vigourous kind; Scu Lata, or shield ivy; 11. Bcogneriana, what they call the old Irish abbey ivy, an immense aralia-like leaf, much larger than what is called the Irish ivy; Dentafca, a very graceful leaf, massive' and leathery too; Algeriensis rhomboidea, a spoon-shaped and very distinct leaf, and so on through a long list, scarcely one of which ia not a distinct and valuable climbing shrub. It would, of course, be possible to make a very delightful garden of these ivies alone on walls, rocks, or even the ordinary surface of the ground, with groups of Porsythias or Japan pear, or any other hardy flowering shrubs one might care for among them.