290 BOARD OF AGRIGULTUEE. 



ORNAMENTING THE HOME WITH SHRUBS. 



BY MRS. R. A. NEWMAN, LAGRANGE. 



Ladies aud Gentlemen of Our State Horticultural Society— I greet 

 j'ou, and should like to have been able to meet with you at this time, but 

 I Avill send my paper and hope you may get some good out of it. In plant- 

 ing shrubs to be ornamental, one must use considerable judgment as to 

 the selections, and the place to plant them. A small yard does not look 

 well crowded with a lot of shrubs and never pruned or trained. To orna- 

 ment a small place I would have a japonica in a sheltered place as it is 

 apt to freeze out, if much exposed, and at one side so as not to obstruct 

 the view. I would have a French lilac and a syringa. I should like them 

 to be near enough to the house to get the perfume wafted in on the 

 breeze. They are both very fragrant. Then, near the porch, a dentzia 

 and a spiraea and an Anthony Waterer, as that usually blooms all summer. 

 Then I would like a crimson rambler rose to climb up on the porch to 

 shade it, or a honeysuckle, perhaps. 



A lai'ge space of ground to be ornamented is a grand chance for one to 

 indulge in shrubs to their heart's content. I do not like snowballs very 

 well, as they are so clumsy one can never have a bouquet of them; still, 

 they are nice in a large place, and as they grow quite high, they might do 

 to plant as a screen somewhere. The French lilac is far superior to the 

 others, as the branches are more willowy and the blooms are just as fine, 

 and besides it does not sprout up like the others. It just grows in a clump 

 like a currant bush, and I get quite good satisfaction by planting some 

 shrubs in groups of about three different varieties. I have a group I 

 like. It is a white cedar trimmed back to make it thick clear to the 

 gi'ound. By it is a rose that has bloomed all summer and it is at least 

 seven feet high with deep rich pink flowers. By this is a rudbeckia full 

 of double yellow blooms. The cedar is about nine feet, and a good back 

 ground for the others. The rudbeckia is seven feet and bends and sways 

 in the wind as it pleases. I could stake it up, but I like it best is it is, as 

 it is more graceful looking. 



A number of years ago I got some seeds of hibiscus. They came on 

 fine and bloomed the second yeai'. One was white with a red center, an- 

 other pink and one red. They are well worth cultivating, as they bloom 

 a long time. Their blooms are about as large as a china saucer. They 

 grow about three feet high. 



Now, if you want something nice, get a tamarix and plant in a sunny 

 place, not too near the house, as it sometimes gets good size. 



