164 



IRISH GARDENING 



Shrubs and Trees with 

 Ornamental Fruits. 



By J. W. Besant. 

 Tn these rather anxious times it is somewhat 

 difficult to concentrate one's mtncl on purely 

 gardening matters, sijice the feeling is constantly 

 present that there are more serious things afoot. 

 It is a relief, however, to return occasionally to 

 the quiet joys of the autumn garden and even 

 to make plans for the future. Seldom have the 

 hardy flower borders yielded such a riot of colour 

 over so long a period, September and early 

 October rival- 

 ing gay July 

 in wealth of 

 beauty and 

 brilliance. 

 Now, with the 

 falling leaves 

 and fadijig 

 flowers. Na- 

 ture, as if still 

 determined to 

 j^rolong the 

 stay of beauty, 

 reveals m}Tiads 

 of brilliantly- 

 coloured fruits 

 not less valu- 

 able in grey 

 autumn days. 

 And what a 

 galaxy of col- 

 our is to be 

 found among 

 these fruits — 

 brilliant red, 

 orange, scarlet, 

 pink, coral, yellow. 



Berberls ACiGRECiATA, a new Chinese Barberry, witli 

 beautiful red berries. 



and pure white, sureh 



Y>ure 



sufficient to satisfy the most exacting gardener. 

 As yet plants with showy fruits are used only 

 in a more or less haphazard way, planted oddly 

 here and there. Some day, perhaps, we shall get 

 beds and borders of these planted only with 

 regard to their autumn effect, much as we now 

 plant other things for the effect of their flowers. 

 One can imagine a very striking bed, for instance, 

 of half-staixlards of Cotoneaster Franchetii, 

 with its brilliant sealing-wax-like berries, over 

 Symphoricarpus Isevigatus, loaded with pure 

 snow-white fruits, the bed edged perhaps' with 

 Berberis Wilsonae, which has pretty pink fruits. 

 The Barberries alone provide a host of kinds 

 with oniamcntal fruits, and are withal so easily 

 grown and so varied in habit that no garden 

 need be without one or more sorts to gladden 



the autumn days. Tn addition to B. Wilsonae, 

 among the newer kinds we liave B. aggregata (see 

 illustration), which loads itself with dense clusters 

 of glistening pink fruits. A mass of this species 

 would be a most attractive feature in any large 

 ])ark or garden, alone or combined with an ever- 

 green groundwork. Other good new sorts ar^ 

 B. subcauliata, with fruits somewhat like those 

 of B. Wilsonse, but smaller, and B. Prattii, with 

 clusters of red berries covered with a purplish 

 bloom. B. Stapfiana has small })ink ajid red 

 fruits, and the plant is of dwarf, rather 

 prostrate growth. The blue berries of B. 

 Darwinii are not the least attraction of this 



very popular 

 ai^d beautiful 

 shrub. 



Among the 

 C Q t o n casters, 

 one of which 

 has been 

 already noted, 

 are many valu- 

 able fruiting 

 plants. One of 

 the most satis- 

 factory of all 

 is the old and 

 well-known C. 

 frigida, a Him- 

 alayan shrub, 

 which bears 

 corymbs of red 

 berries in great 

 profusion and 

 retains them 

 for a longtime. 

 This species 

 may be grown 

 as a large 

 shrub or small tree, and can be pruned to form 

 a standard or half-standard, thus allowing of 

 its being planted ui various positions. Among 

 the newer sorts C. Henry ana is useful, though 

 the fruits are small, and Jiot retained so long as 

 those of the previous species, while a somewhat 

 similar and very graceful shrub is C. salicifolia 

 rugosa. C. dielsiana elegans is stiffer in habit, 

 the branches assumijig a more upright form, but 

 bearing quantities of reddish berries. C. bullata 

 is particularly fine in fruit, the berries being large 

 and brilliant red ; it is fairly new, and a very 

 decided acquisition, while C. moupinense lias 

 black berries. It is only necessary to mention the 

 older kinds of Cotoneaster, such as C. rotundifolia, 

 C. buxifolia, horizontalis, and others, to remiixd 

 gardening ])eople of the charm of their bright 

 fruits contrasting with the dark green leaves. 



