THE BEST HARDY SHRUBS. 



509 



SELECTION OF THE BEST HARDY SHRUBS. 



BY AN AMATEUR, NEW-YORK. 



I SEND you, for beginners, a selection of 

 choice shrubs, that will grow in almost any 

 good garden soil in the northern states, and 

 require little care. The nursery catalogues 

 contain double the number of species that 

 follow, but there is always a choice ; and, 

 as the young planter is often puzzled to 

 choose from mere names, perhaps the fol- 

 lowing selection, with brief descriptions ap- 

 pended to each, may prove an assistance. 

 It is the result of many years attention to 

 ornamental gardening. I ought, also, to 

 mention that when beautiful effect, alone, is 

 the point aimed at, it is often better to hold 

 on to fine old species of flowering shrubs 

 than to take new ones, that are prized mere- 

 ly on account of their novelty. 



What is chiefly wanted in the shrubbery, 

 it appears to me, is either fine foliage, or 

 good habit of growth, or beautiful bloom. 

 Where all these can be found combined in 

 one shrub, that shrub may be considered as 

 perfect. But such shrubs are rare ; and 

 we must often be content with fine foliage 

 with indifl'ferent flowers, or fine flowers^with 

 indifferent foliage. For general effect, pijr- 

 haps the latter class of shrubs are the most 

 to be prized, — since the flowers last but a 

 short time, while the beauty of the foliage 

 is a source of every day pleasure. 



For the sake of convenience, I shall ar- 

 range my shrubs in classes according to 

 their height, as follows : — 



I. Shrubs from 2 to ^ feet high. 



Mezereum, {Daphne mezereum.) Almost 

 the first flowering shrub that blossoms in 

 the spring, (coming out even before the 

 crocus ;) its charming little pink blossoms 

 thickly scattered along the branches, ren- 



der it highly interesting in every garden. 

 There is a white blossomed variety, and 

 also another {D. m. autumnale,) which blooms 

 in the autumn. 



Japan Quince, {Cydonia japonica.) This 

 is one of the finest of early shrubs. The 

 original species, (commonly known as Py- 

 rus japonica,) has a profusion of flowers, of 

 such a brilliant red that it is called "Fai- 

 rie's fire" in some parts of England. They 

 appear early in April or early in May. The 

 white Japan Quince has, properly, blush- 

 coloured flowers, quite like those of the ap- 

 ple tree. 



Oak-leaved Hydrangea, ( Hydrangea 

 quercifolia.) One of the handsomest of all 

 small shrubs, both in foliage and flower. 

 The blossoms are white, and remain in 

 bloom for two months. The leaves are 

 large, and, in figure, are like those of the 

 oak. This plant is, I think, from Florida ; 

 yet it bears a northern winter of lO'^ below- 

 zero without injury. The common green- 

 house hydrangea, {H. kortensia,) is one of 

 the most magnificent of flowering shrubs, 

 and maybe cultivated in the open air about 

 New-York with very slight protection. It 

 is naturally a swamp plant ; and if planted 

 by the side of a pond, in the shelter of thick 

 evergreens, will stand our winters without 

 any protection, and bloom superbly. In 

 common garden soil, its stems should be 

 thinned out, bent down, and covered with 

 sandy soil at the approach of winter. In 

 this way I have known a single plant to at- 

 tain a circumference of 20 feet, and pro- 

 duce more than a hundred bunches of blos- 

 soms in a season. 



Jersey Tea, ( Cearwthus americanus.) This 



