IRISH GARDENING 



VOLUME VI 



No. 70 



A MONTHLY JOURNAL DEVOTED TO THE 



ADVANCEMENT OF HORTICULTURE AND 



ARBORICULTURE IN IRELAND 



DECEMBER 



Winter Colour in Shrubs, 



Bv ). W. Besant. 



T 



O the lover of shrubs the 

 winter months brings tlieir 

 share of pleasure and enjoy- 

 ment. Then the varied colours of 

 iJfUM tl""*? shoots of many of the deciduous 

 ^.uM^M shrubs and the dark green and 

 bronze of many evergreens replace 

 the brighter hues of summer and the 

 deep rich tones of autumn. So 

 warm and bright are the shoots of 

 some dogwoods and willows that, 

 when judiciously planted, extremely 

 fine winter eflfects are produced. 

 A background of evergreens acts 

 as a good foil for coloured shoots, 

 and the planter who works thought- 

 fully season by season will secure 

 good results. 



Quite a luniiber of shrubs are 

 attracti\e in winter by reason of 

 their coloured stems. Several of 

 the deciduous Barberries have beau- 

 tiful light brown shoots, notably Ber- 

 heris Thunbergii, which, when it has shed its 

 autumn tuantlc of scarlet leaves, is still attrac- 

 tive in a wealth of warm brown shoots, while B. 

 \'ulgaris petiolaris is worth a place for its strings 

 of coral berries on light -brown stems. Other 

 shrubs with conspicuous brown and light-brown 

 shoots are the Philadelphuses, Deutzias, some of 

 the bush Honeysuckles, Potentilla fruticosa, 

 Forsythia suspensa, &c. Shrubs with red stems 

 are found among the dogwoods, notable ex- 

 amples being Cornus alba, C. Baileyi, C 

 glabrata, and C. stolonifera. Grown in masses 

 or as single specimens these'are highly attractive 

 in winter, and should have some at least of the 

 older shoots thinned out annually to encourage 



the production of young growths, these being 

 the most brilliantly coloured. Some of the 

 Japanese maples are so slow-growing as to be 

 practically shrubs, and among the varieties of 

 Acer japonicum and A. palmatum are some with 

 bright red twiggy shoots, very effective on lawn 

 or rockery. Of shrubs with yellow shoots there 

 are the golden Osiers, which are most effective 

 when cut hard back every spring, while there are 

 varieties with orange and led shoots, all making 

 fine winter effects and flourishing best in moist 

 ground. The greenish -yellow stems of Cornus 

 stolonifera flaviramea are conspicuous in winter, 

 likewise the lively green shoots of Kerria ja- 

 ponica. Other shrubs with green shoots are 

 found among the Brooms, notably Cytisus 

 albus, C. pr^ecox, C. purgans, and the Spanish 

 broom, Spartium junceum, all of which will 

 flourish in dry places not suitable for many 

 shrubs with e\ ergreen leaves. The white stems 

 of Rubusbiflorus are conspicuous at this season ; 

 and other good brambles are Rubus leucoder- 

 mis, Rubus lasiostylis, R. leucostachys. Some 

 of the species of Roses produce good effects 

 with their ruddy red stems in winter ; a few 

 sorts for this purpose are R. oxyodon, R. 

 blanda, and Rosa virginiaua, while the prickly 

 shoots of the Scotch roses, some bearing red 

 and others black hips, are by no means un- 

 attractive. 



Shrubs with persistent leaves become more 

 conspicuous in winter when their deciduous 

 neighbours have shed their summer attire. The 

 various shades of green become more pro- 

 nounced from the deep dark-green of rhodo- 

 dendrons to the yellowish -green of Griselinia, 

 and the grey-green of Olearia Haastii. 



Non-deciduous shrubs with grey or silvery 



