For April, 1920 



147 



The Use of Wild Plants in Ornamental Planting 



ALEXANDER LURIE 



IX the great abundance of native and foreign jilant 

 material which is commonly utilized for beautifying 

 the landscape, the plants which are growing wild 

 in the surrounding country are often overlooked. The 

 fact that they are a common sight along the roads, in 

 the fields, through the woods and along the creeks is 

 often considered a detriment. Yet in naturalistic plant- 

 ing what is more appropriate than the use of material 

 native and suitable to the region. .\ great ado is made 

 of the possession of exotic plants and even monstrosities 

 by enthusiastic gardeners but the numerous showy and 

 useful plants which surround us are looked upon with 

 scorn. Great pride is usually taken in the successful 

 growing of foreign plants through various expedient-' 

 of petting and painstaking care known to the skillful gar- 

 dener, while the easily grown and readily adaptable 

 native flowers are discarded as not worthy of attention. 

 It is a pity that such a state of affairs should exist. So 

 many city homes look gloomy and unattractive, so many 

 .suburban and country homes lack the finishing and en- 

 framing touches of Nature, so many houses appear bare 

 and unsightly because of the feeling that means of floral 

 decoration are so costly and not to be afforded except 

 by the well-to-do. Yet why cannot a school teacher of 

 a country school undertake a short expedition with a 

 class into the surrounding country and with a little 

 judicious efifort and very little time carefully dig up 

 plants indigenous to the region and plant them around 

 the school house, making it attractive and instructive to 

 the younger generation, instilling a spirit of reverence 

 and appreciation of the beauties of Nature instead of 

 destruction. This surely is one of the means of de- 

 veloping the usually latent artistic taste in the average 

 boy or girl. W'hy cannot the house owner or tenant 

 profitably spend a day with his family in the same pur- 

 suit, making his' dwelling not merely a house but a home. 

 To the uninitiated, it is surprising what a great deal of 

 luaterial may be collected and brought in during a day. 

 The one cause of failure and disappointment lies in 

 the fact that the amateur collector uses little judgment 

 in the selection of plants with regard to their suitability 

 to the environment and growing conditions. No pains 

 are taken to observe closely the conditions under which 

 the plants thrive in the natural state. A common occur- 

 rence is to see moisture loving flowers placed in the 

 driest of locations or the reverse ; or to find shade loving 

 things compelled to endure the scorching rays of the 

 sun throughout the day ; or to prepare a rich soil in- 

 tended only for gross feeders, for plants growing among 

 rocks or poor sandy soils ; or to neglect the use of a 

 Summer or a Winter mulch as the case may be, for plants 

 naturally thriving only by such means. Proper observ- 

 ance of these various seemingly unimportant details 

 may spell success and save countless disapjjointments 

 and abandonment of ftirther efTorts. 



It is true that all plants possess a certain amount of 

 adajrtivc powers, which may be depended upon to aid 

 the gardener in his elTorts in naturalization. Depend- 

 ence may be placed upon this quality providing it is cor- 

 rectly translated into the garden conditions. It must 

 be remembered that at best gardening is not a natural 

 process, and very few plants receive the mo.st ideal con- 

 ditions, and it is only by application of common sense 

 combined with knowledge of natural conditions and 

 limits of plant adaptations that the .skillful gardener 

 .achieves apparently magical results. The case ot man- 



ure is the c<jmnione.st of examples. It is used as an 

 artificial aid to the growth and as a protection from 

 drought or cold. There are many plants that thrive 

 through its use, while others are injured by direct con- 

 tact with it requiring it merely as a mulch. It is in such 

 cases as this that discretion and caution must be exer- 

 cised. The selection following includes trees and shrubs 

 which abound in Nature, are showy, ornamental and de- 

 sirable from many points of view, but which are either 

 rarely used in ornamental planting or not at all. In a 

 great many cases they make fitting substitutes for the 

 commoner plants seen in gardens. 



The host of trees available for ornamental planting 

 would seemingly preclude the advisability of adding still 

 others to the list for fear of confusing the ambitious 

 amateur, who generally is already bewildered and un- 

 certain of his choice. Yet a few trees stand out so 

 prominently among our native flora and adapt them- 

 selves so admirably to conditions near their nativity 

 that at least a brief mention needs to be made. When 

 thinking of oaks, the white, red, scarlet, pin and one or 

 two others are generally considered. Of course, oaks 

 are to be recommended with caution because of the diffi- 

 culty of transplanting because of their long tap rooting 

 propensities, but when properly handled what is more 

 desirable than the majestic llurr Oak (Qucrciis macro- 

 carpa) with its rounded top of parti-colored foliage and 

 its large mossy acorns. Another of the oaks deserving 

 of a wider use is the shingle oak (Quercus imbricaria) . 

 It is a medium sized, round-headed, dense tree, particu- 

 larly conspicuous for its large entire glossy leaves, which 

 often remain all Winter. Still another oak worthy of 

 mention is the swamp white oak {Quercus bicolor). Its 

 pyramidal form during the early stages and the broad 

 top at maturity combined with its lustrous foliage make 

 it a peer among specimen trees. The chestnut oak 

 ( Quercus Mtihlcnber,s:ii) may also be added to the list. 



To the list of AMliows may be added Sali.v humilis. 

 Sal'tx U'ardii, Sali.r tnstis. The Prairie Willow (S. 

 humilis) and the Dwarf Gray Willow (S. tristis) are 

 very useful for quick low eflf'ects. They are so dwarf 

 as to be really classed with shrubs and may be used 

 for such ct purpose. 5". humilis reaches a height of 10 

 feet, while S. tristis rarely ever grows higher than 3 to 4 

 feet. Sali.v Wardii is a small tree reaching 30 feet in 

 height and may be substituted for the black willow. 



The Cork Elm (Ulmus racemosa) cannot replace the 

 particularly pleasing vase form of the American Elm or 

 the stately shape of the Scotch Elm, but it is an ex- 

 tremely useful narrow headed tree with pendulous 

 winged branches attaining a height of 60 to 70 feet. 



What has been said of trees applies even in a greater 

 measure to the shrubby material which is so essential in 

 every planting scheme. There is a sad want of variety 

 among the shrubs used in the average garden. Faith 

 is placed only in a few of the tried and true plants which 

 Ml many cases are not even ornamental at their best. 

 The great wealth of material available for the purpose 

 is rarely known even by some of the professional plant- 

 ers. The brief accompanying list merely includes the 

 native shrubs which are little used and are not often 

 listed in nursery catalogs. This list does not by any 

 means exhaust the desirable shrubs which may be found 

 with a slight cfl'ort. It merely serves as a reminder 

 of the good things close at hand waiting to be used in 

 company witli their more commoiilv cultivated relatives'. 



