200 THE COMPLETE GARDEN 



when the soil is well drained or light and sandy. There are some 

 plants, however, like the moss pink, the sea thrift, and the Japanese 

 evergreen ivy, which seem to thrive almost equally well in moist 

 situations or dry situations. The plants shown in Group A are those 

 which have proved their value as being adapted to conditions which 

 are continually moist, and should preferably be grown in the open 

 sunlight and not subjected to any considerable degree of shade. 



Plants which are adapted to dry situations, especially conditions of 

 sandy soil or extreme drainage where grass will not thrive, include a 

 small group which have proved themselves very hardy. The bar- 

 berry, the Japanese spurge, the moss pink, and the stonecrops are fully 

 representative of this group. The mat of foliage formed by the plants 

 in their more mature development serves to shade the ground beneath 

 and, to a certain extent, to retain much moisture in the soil which 

 otherwise would be lost through evaporation. This group includes the 

 close-growing types of plants which are selected mostly because of their 

 ability to form a definite mat. Many of them such as the stonecrops, 

 the tunica, and the moss pink, are extremely valuable because of their 

 flowering habit, although effective during a short period only. The 

 Japanese spurge, the partridge berry, and the bearberry are valuable 

 distinctly on account of their foliage habits. 



The plantsman is often called upon to select material which may be 

 vines, perennials, or low-growing shrubs, to be used for ground-cover 

 purposes under large trees, and in situations heavily shaded by build- 

 ings. Most of these plants should have, for their most successful 

 growth, an excellent topsoil containing a small percentage of clay, or a 

 rich woodland loam consisting mostly of well-rotted leaf mold and 

 fibrous roots. These plants are valuable because of their ability to 

 thrive under extreme shade. One often sees in large lawn areas and 

 at the edges of woods, or on the shady side of buildings, spots which 

 receive little or no sunlight where grass will not thrive and where most 

 of our ordinary shrubs and perennials grow thin, leggy, and not vigor- 

 ous. In such locations the only real solution lies in the selection of 

 plants which will form a ground cover and thus preserve a mat of 

 interesting green foliage. Many of these plants also, like the bunch- 

 berry, the ground yew, and the partridge berry, have interesting fruit. 

 The waterleaf, the moneywort, and the Japanese evergreen spurge are 

 types valuable only because of their foliage, and the stonecrops, the 

 periwinkle, and the wake robin are valuable also because of their inter- 



