Evening star., 1933-06-06
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES Z. TRACEWELL.

A book on climbing roses alone
this has recently appeared, to delight
the thousands Of lovers of the queen Of
flowers. They deserve it.
II roses, in general, are called "the
queen" the climbers might be named
"the princesses," without much strain
ing the imaginationy
They are the best Justification Of the
humble fence, II 1t needs any.
Now more than ever is It beginning
to be seen, even by the most obdurate,
that the garden fence is q necessity,
If for no other reason than as some
thing on which to grow the beautiful
climbing roses
No other support for them is so
natural, so durable, so entirely In keep
ing with their character.
Climbers may be grown on houses,
of course. Notable among those suited
for this usage Is that noble specimen,
the DR.. Van Fleet, but 1t grows too
large.
What memorial Walter Van Fleet
left to himself!
Surely, as long as America exists,
this great climber, with its glorious
pinksh- white blossoms, like 50 much
wax, will testify to his ability as a
hybr1dizer, and as lover of beauty.
This Is one of the two favorite climb
ing roses In this section Of the coun-
try. The other. Of course, is Paul's
Scarlet.
These two have made city yards and
suburban gardens bowers Of beauty for
the past three weeks.
Nature was kinder to these climbers
in this locality than to the smaller
Thousand Beauties, that old fashioned
thornless climbing rose beloved of
many. The heavy rain of Memorial
day dealt severely with its smaller
blossoms.
No matter, It Is a fine climber, liked
by many, with a secure place. ON ac-
count OF its adaptability to positions
where the lusty growth of Dr. Van
Fleet and Paul's Scarlet is not de-
sirable.
More than l 200 varieties Of climbing
roses have been listed.
One wonders, In view Of the wide
spread planting Of those named, Just
who plants the remaining thousand
or 50.
Yet 1t is satisfying to feel that there
are SO many varieties, no matter how
few one may have in his own garden.
Satisfying, because there can never be
too many, since practically every one
OF them will have some purchasers
who will find in each certain good
points.
It Is obvious that the average home
owner has neither the money nor the
space to experiment with such q huge
number Of climbers.
The fact that they exist, however,
should not worry him In the least.
He should not join the number Of
those who cry out loudly against the
piling Of new roses upon new roses
year after year.
The creation Of new varieties Of fiow-
ers is an important work. one which
naturally tends to take care Of itself,
In the long run.
The effort Is to secure more and
beautiful flowers, at the same time to
eliminate some OF the obvious imper-
fections Of older varieties.
One Of the major trends Of the mo-
ment Is the creation Of "ever-bloom-
ing" climbing roses. Several have been
developed but just how successful they
are remains to be seen.
Every one who admires the DR.. Van
Fleet, in its season, thinks how much
more wonderful 1t would be If 1t would
repeat the performance even once, say
In the Fall.
It may be questioned, however,
whether there is not something whole
some in the fact that 50 many Of our
most glorious flowers bloom but once
during the year.
1t Is Natures law.