156 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



FLOWERING SHRUBS. 



MRS. A. W. MASSEE, ALBERT LEA. 



(So. Minn. Hort. Society.) 



Nothing adds more to the appearance of the home than 

 flowering shrubs judiciously planted. In planting shrubs, you 

 must study your surroundings. If your place is small you 

 can have but few, and I would have them the choicest that can 

 be grown here and preferably of dwarf growth. But truly, I 

 suppose, I should have those I like best, and you will too. If 

 your grounds are large you may have more, perhaps a specimen 

 of every kind that can be grown in this climate, or, rather, I 

 would have two or three specimens of the kinds I particularly 

 like and leave out some I do not care for. Do not make the too 

 common mistake of crowding for the sake of having everything 

 that can be grown. A few well grown specimens scattered on 

 the lawn, preferably near the borders, in the angles of the 

 buildings, at the back of the premises, will give a more pleasing 

 effect than crowding many kinds into a small space. They will 

 grow better, in better shape and give you more blooms. Most 

 shrubs should have a good dressing of manure in the fall ; they 

 repay you for it in fine blooms, more of them, better foliage 

 and added growth. 



There are many very beautiful shrubs which will not en- 

 dure our climate under any conditions; others that can be grown 

 if protected more or less in some way; but many of them are so 

 rigid that it is difficult to protect them when they become large, 

 so we let them go and lose them. I have lost many that way. 

 While we may regret that we cannot have those that are so 

 desirable yet so much trouble to protect and so uncertain, we 

 have quite a list that is ironclad even in Minnesota, from which 

 we can select those that will bloom most of the time from spring 

 till late autumn and ought to satisfy any reasonable person. 



We all know the old fashioned lilac, both purple and white, 

 and now we have some new varieties, in new shades, and some 

 that are double flowered, that are claimed to be as hardy as the 

 old varieties. I cannot vouch for this, as I have not tried them, 

 but I intend to do so. The Snowball Syringa, or Mock Orange ; 

 upright Honeysuckle, two varieties ; Spirea, several varieties, 

 are ironclad. The Flowering Almond is lovely in May, but it 

 will winter-kill some years unless planted in a sheltered position. 

 I have two quite large bushes that have never failed to give me 

 blooms though planted in quite an exposed situation. I have to 



