THE BEST HARDY SHRUBS. 



611 



warm, deep, sandy loam, suits them best ; 

 and while the plants are young, let the 

 earth be hilled up about them at the ap- 

 proach of winter. May is the season of 

 their bloom. 



Sweet Scented Shrub, {Calycarthus flo- 

 ridas.) Remarkable for its brown flowers, 

 (a colour rather rare among flowers,) and 

 for the delicious pine-apple perfume which 

 they give out ; a few plants scenting a whole 

 garden. May and June. 



II. Shrubs from 4 to 8 feet high. 

 DwAKF HoRSE-CHESTNUT, {Pavia macro- 

 stachya.) This is a great favorite of mine. 

 Planted alone, it forms a neat, small, round- 

 ed bush, of excellent foliage all the sum- 

 mer ; and, in July, its numerous long spikes 

 of white blossoms are truly beautiful. It is 

 not half so much planted as it deserves to 

 be. 



Virginia Fringe Tree, ( Chionanthus vir- 

 ginica.) Among the most refined and at- 

 tractive of flowering shrubs are the White 

 Fringe trees of Virginia and Carolina, which 

 are quite hardy farther north than New- 

 York. The flowers, which appear early in 

 June, in great profusion all over the branch- 

 es, look like tissue paper fringe, most ex- 

 quisitely cut, and contrast, in their snowy 

 whiteness, admirably with the dark green 

 foliage. There are two sorts ; the broad, 

 and the narroio-leaved. I think the latter 

 grows best in our gardens ; and its foliage 

 is, also, of a richer and darker green. A 

 little leaf mould or well rotted peat earth, 

 mixed in the soil in which they are planted, 

 improves their growth. 



Rose Acacia, {Robiyiia hispida.) An old 

 favorite in our gardens, with rich, fine, 

 deep-pink, locust-like blossoms, appearing 

 in May and June. It is a fine shrub, and 

 deserves well of the ornamental planter. 



Syringa, {Philaddphus.) All the Spin- 

 gas are highly ornamental in their thick fo- 



liage and abundant white blossoms. There 

 is a variety of the common sjTinga, with 

 double, (really, semi-double,) flowers, rather 

 prettier than the type, and equally sweet. 

 The Carolina syringa, (P. grandiforus,) is 

 the most showy species, with very large 

 flowers, blooming two or three weeks later 

 than the common syringa, and therefore 

 very desirable, though the flowers are not 

 fragrant. The variegated-leaved variety is 

 one of the best of all those shrubs with 

 parti-coloured foliage. May and June. 



Privet, {Ligustrum vulgare.) Common 

 as the privet is, still it is one of the most 

 valuable things for general shrubbery plant- 

 ing. Its white flowers are pretty, and its 

 foliage, which hangs on till December, is 

 thick and of a good colour. It will grow 

 in any situation, — open, or under trees, etc. 

 It will, therefore, be found valuable for 

 thickening-up shrubby plantations, conceal- 

 ing unsightly banks, and many other pur- 

 poses. No plant is more easily grown from 

 cuttings. July. 



Altheas, [Hybiscus syriacus.) In mid- 

 summer, when most shrubs are done bloom- 

 ing, the altheas are in full beaut)'; and they 

 then give a gay appearance to pleasure 

 grounds for a long time. The sort with 

 double variegated flowers is, perhaps, the 

 finest, though there are a great number of 

 various shades worthy of cultivation. All 

 seem quite hardy, and grow with great ease 

 in all soils, except the double ichite, which 

 is usually quite tender north of NeAv-York. 

 August and September. 



Indigo Shuvb, {Amorpha fruticosa.) The 

 lively, rich, purple flowers of this plant, re- 

 lieved by gold coloured stamens, render it 

 quite ornamental in its blooming season. 

 It is rather ugly in its habit of growth, and 

 needs a little pruning and shortening-in at 

 midsummer to correct this. June. 



Chinese Purple Magnolia, {Magitalia 



