Missouri Botanical 
Garden Bulletin 
Vol. XII JUNE, 1924 No. 6 
WHAT TO PLANT IN CITY GARDENS 
A problem which confronts both amateur and professional 
gardeners is how, when, and what to plant for permanent 
effect in our city gardens where conditions are often so un- 
favorable for plant growth. The Garden Club of St. Louis 
at its recent show at the Garden distributed a list of various 
shrubs, perennials, vines, and annuals, recommended for 
planting in city gardens which cannot but be helpful. It is 
more than likely, however, that amateurs in certain areas of 
St. Louis would have many disappointments if they attempted 
to carry out all the suggestions unless they went to the annual 
expense of replacing such plants as larkspur, columbine, 
gaillardia, lyehnis, oriental poppy, pyrethrum, ete. Experi- 
ence has shown that in gardens located in proximity to the 
railroad terminals and rights-of-way, brick yards, and con- 
gested downtown districts it is an almost hopeless task to 
establish such plants. 
The City Park Department has made repeated attempts 
to establish trees and perennials around the Municipal Courts 
building, the Public Library, and at the Lucas garden, with 
little or no success. Sycamores and poplars, supposedly 
smoke-resistant, succumb within two or three years; in fact. 
the only tree which seems to thrive in such localities is the 
Tree-of-Heaven (Ailanthus). Of the large number of shrubs 
which have been repeatedly planted, only Ligustrum, Rhus, 
Lycium, and Aralia pentaphylla remain, Lycium standing 
out as the most resistant to smoke. Permanent blue-grass 
lawns in the downtown district are out of the question. A 
green lawn in early spring is the result of annual seeding 
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