156 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Some Native Shrubs and Their Uses. 



ERNEST MEYER, ROSE GROWER, MINNEAPOLIS PARK BOARD. 



Through our woods, especially along the edges, around low 

 places and swamps, along roads and railroad right-of-way, or 

 wherever the trees have been cut down for some reason or other, 

 or the ground is too rough for cultivation, or neglected for other 

 reasons, we find an abundance of native shrubs suitable for the 

 decoration of our home grounds, equal and often superior to the 

 horticultural varieties. 



Whoever is able to distinguish the different kinds in their 

 dormant state may collect enough of them for his plantings, if 

 time is no object and facilities for transportation are at hand. 

 Otherwise, they may be bought at some of the nurseries; espe- 

 cially the ones that are also catering to landscape work. 



Of course, one is apt to hear the remark, "I wouldn't have 

 that in my yard, it grows all over the woods." A remark that 

 sounds just as much out of place to me as, for instance, "I 

 wouldn't have such and such an article. Why, it was made right 

 here in town." The types of all shrubs are native somewhere, 

 and why should we despise the ones that grow all around us more 

 than the ones that come from China or Japan ? People who live 

 in the suburbs and in the country, and the farmer who is wise 

 enough to improve his place by the judicious planting of shrubs, 

 trees, vines, evergreens and flowers, be it for the sake of just 

 making his place more beautiful or to add to its future value, or 

 for both reasons, will achieve better results and create a more 

 harmonious effect by using our native shrubs and vines. 



The nurserymen and landscape architects, laying out big 

 country estates, are making some use of them, but do not always 

 use the full collection, probably because some of them are rather 

 scarce and difficult to procure. This, however, should not excuse 

 our nurserymen from having them, even if they should have to 

 keep their own stock plants to propagate from. By using such 

 shrubs for the planting out of their own yards and buildings, 

 they would give, also, an object lesson to prospective customers. 

 The most common and most widely distributed shrub is the 

 Meadow Rose. It is, at the same time, one of the best all around 

 shrubs. It thrives in either sunny or shady exposure, and in 

 almost pure sand, but, of course, it also responds to good treat- 

 ment. In June and July it is loaded with pink blossoms two to 

 two and one-half inches in diameter, and later in the season, and 



