For December, 1923 



299 



Bright Barked Shrubs and Trees, and Herbaceous 

 Evero^reen Plants for the Winter Garden 



FLORUM AMATOR 



BERRIED shrubs and trees are a large factor in a 

 \\'inter garden, but shrubs with bright colored bark 

 set among the former, and trees with bark in such 

 colors set among the latter, and herbaceous evergreen 

 plants set beneath these trees are the supplement of the 

 berried plants and trees in such a garden. 



In Winter the boles and branches of the trees, and the 

 stems and twigs of the shrubs, since they then are devoid 

 of foliage, stand out more prominently and the color of 

 the bark is brighter than in any other season of the year. 

 The small herbaceous evergreen plants, too, peeping 

 through the leaves or snow give a ground finish, so to ex- 

 press it, to our Winter garden. 



Green-barked shrubs are rare, but there is at least one. 

 namely, Kerria japonica. This bright green-barked shrub 

 is of a notably graceful form, and of low growth, and is 

 admirably suited for planting between such red berry- 

 bearing shrubs as Berberis thunbergi. Furthermore, it 

 has the merit of being one of the prettiest shrubs in Sum- 

 mer as regards both flower and foliage. 



The number of red-barked shrubs is larger than that 

 of green. The brightest colored of all these, and the least 

 seen, is Cornus alba sibirica, whose bark in niid-\Mnter 

 is very notably red, especially when seen in sharp contrast 

 with the snow-covered ground. There are two other 

 varieties of red-barked Cornus, C. sanguinea, whose 

 branches are red-barked in Winter, and stand out con- 

 spicuously, and C. stolonifera, whose slender branches 

 are usually red, but not always, in Winter. The first two 

 may be planted for contrast between black-berried shrubs, 

 such as Ligustrum vulgare and Rhodotypos kerrioides. 

 The graceful drooping branches of Tamarix africana also 

 have a red bark, but this is not so pronouncedly red as 

 that of the Cornus. 



There are at least two well known yellow-liarked 

 shrubs, Cornus flaviramea, also called aurea, which has 

 bright yellow bark, and I*"orsythia fortunei, which has 

 bark of approximately the same color. Placed between 

 either red or black-berried shrubs the yellow bark helps 

 by contrast to bring out the color of the berries and vice 

 versa. 



The Betula, Birch, has several species and varieties 

 with conspicuously white bark. We have Betula alba, 

 European AX'hite Birch, and its several varieties, the bark 

 of which is of a very pleasing silvery white; also B. 

 papyrifera. Canoe or Paper Birch, and B. populifolia, the 

 American White Birch. 



Fagus americana or ferruginea. American Beech, has a 

 handsome light gray bark, and Platanus orientalis, Orien- 

 tal Plane, after the outer bark peels ofif in the Autumn 

 has a beautiful and unique creamy white trunk and 

 branches throughout the Winter season. 



Several of the Salix, Willows, have yellow bark. S. 

 elegantissima, Thurlow's W'eeping \\'illow, has on its 

 long, spreading and drooping branches a yellow bark 

 spotted with brown. S. vitellina, Yellow Willow, has a 

 yellow bark on its branches, and that of S. vitellina aurea 

 is even more yellow than any of the other Willows. Sa- 

 lix vitellina britenzis has strikingly conspicuous bright 

 red bark. There is at least one quite handsome tree, 

 namely, Tilia euchlora (dasystyla) the Crimsean Linden, 



whose young branches are covered with a bright green 

 bark. It would seem as if Nature had reserved green 

 almost exclusively as the color for the leaves of trees, 

 shrubs, and herbaceous plants, and had been very nig- 

 gardly in her contribution of that color for bark and for 

 flowers. 



All of these trees should find a place in our \\'inter 

 garden. The smaller trees with bright colored bark may 

 be set to advantage between and on the same line with 

 berry-bearing trees, and the larger between and somewhat 

 back of the line. 



First in this class come the hardy evergreen ferns, to 

 which the partial shade afTorded by the trees and shrubs 

 in \Mnter and the heavier shade in the Summer, wlien the 

 trees and shrubs are clothed with leaves, is grateful. In 

 this cate.gory are our well known native ferns found in 

 rich, and rocky woodlands over a wide extent of our coun- 

 try ; Asplenium marginalis (Aspidium marginale) Ever- 

 green wood fern, whose fronds are quite thick ; Asplenium 

 Spinulosum (Aspidium spinulosum) Shield Fern, whose 

 fronds are finely dissected, and Polystichum acrostichoides 

 (Aspidium acrostichoides) Christmas Fern, the best 

 known of all, whose fronds are a shining dark green. 

 These will soon become established in our garden. 



Iberis sempervirens. Hardy Evergreen Candytuft, and 

 its variety. Little Gem, and also I. gibraltarica should find 

 a place in the foreground of our AMnter garden, where it 

 will flout old Hiems by blooming soon after he gets out of 

 the gate, making way for Spring. 



\'inca minor. Periwinkle, is admirable in a Winter gar- 

 den ; the thick leaves of the species are of a dark, shining 

 green. This evergreen trailer, once established, will soon 

 cover bare or strong places. There is a variety of V. 

 minor, namely, argentea, whose foliage is splashed and 

 marbled handsomely with gray and white and is known 

 as the Silver Periwinkle, and another variety aurea, the 

 Golden Variegated Periwinkle, whose leaves are varie- 

 gated prettily with golden yellow. 



There are a number of native plants, besides the ferns, 

 which are evergreen and which should surely have a 

 place in our Winter garden. Here Epigsea repens, Trail- 

 ing Arbutus, one of the smallest, shyest, sweetest, and 

 prettiest of all our wild flowers, with its neat evergreen 

 foliage will thrive if anywhere in cultivation. Well under 

 the shade of the trees we may plant the two Pyrolas, 

 namely, Pyrola elliptica, shinleaf and Pyrola rotundi- 

 folia. the former found in rich woods from New England 

 to Maryland, Iowa, Minnesota and northward, and the 

 latter in damp sandy woods throughout the continent, 

 south to Southern Georgia. The thick, shining leaves of 

 P. rotundifolia resemble strongly those of Galax. Eligible 

 also for our W' inter garden are Chimaphila (which means 

 Winter-loving) umbellata, commonly called Prince's Pine, 

 and Pipsissewa. whose sharply serrate leaves are of a shin- 

 ing green, and P. maculata, whose common name is 

 Spotted \\'inter,green. because its leaves are varigated 

 with white, but this is not to be confused with the true 

 aromatic wintergreen. These two Chimaphite are 

 found in dry woods, the former from Nova Scotia to 

 Georgia and west to the Pacific, the latter from New 

 England to Georgia and west to ]\Iinnesota and Missis- 

 sippi. 



