But the climax of delicate beauty in this line of work is to throw a veil over the evergreen shrubs. The one thing that every Englishman yearns to do, and cannot, is to grow the flame flower on holly. The flame flower {Tropceolum speciosum) is a gorgeous scarlet nasturtium which glorifies the humblest cottage in Scotland and strikes every summer visitor to the Highlands with amazement. It perfectly suits the Scotch character, for the flower has the strength of "Scots wha.hae with Wallace bled," while the foliage is as delicate and tender as "Annie Laurie." Even England is not cool and moist enough for the flame flower, so you can imagine with what pride the author of "Potpourri in a Surrey Garden" showed me this nasturtium on her own holly.

Possibly we might do something of the sort with ordinary nasturtiums on rhododendrons or mountain laurel, but I fear it would be very tame by comparison, and the seeds would of course have to be sown every year, as the plant is an annual, while the flame flower is perennial.

It would be folly to trust our precious rhododendrons and laurel to any strangling honeysuckles or other rampant vines. The ideal vine for the purpose should look fragile and be hardy. The only one I think of that answers all the requirements is Clematis paniculata. Even our own wild clematis is a bit untidy in fruit. I would rather use it on deciduous shrubs, as many do. The two species recommended by Mr. Robinson are Clematis Viticella and alpina, but whether they would do well here remains to be seen.