BRIGHJ^ GARDEXS BEXEATH BLEAK SKIES. 



be made by placing the Euonymus, with its scar- 

 let berries., and the witch-hazel, with its twink- 

 ling yellow stars, side by side in front of hem- 

 lock or Colorado blue spruce trees. 



The best shrub with white berries is the 

 Snowberry, which if grown in partial shade out 

 of the full rays of the autumn sun will keep its 

 berries fresh a long time. For black fruit the 

 common Privet is the best. Groups of the 



should be remembered that some evergreens, 

 such as the Arbor vitae, that are attractive in 

 summer are dull and uninviting in winter, whilst 

 others, such as the Retinosporas seem to warm 

 as the weather grows colder. Many too of the 

 choicer evergreens are rather tender, and the 

 planter would do well to write to the Director 

 of Experimental Farms, Ottawa, for the catal- 

 ogue (which is furnished free), of trees and 



Fig. 1720. Evergreens and Barberries at "Hillcrest," Toronto, Dec, 1899. 



Sumac with the crimson tufts look well after 

 the snow falls. Fig. 17 19 shows a group of 

 these at the gateway of " Benvenuto," the resi- 

 dence of the President of the Toronto Street 

 Railway. Glittering masses of the Mahonia 

 with its glossy holly like leaves should be dis- 

 posed here and there. The leaves are attrac- 

 tive all winter, and in spring are succeeded by 

 pretty little clusters of yellow flowers. 



In the choice of conifers, some of which 

 should have a place in the middle ground, it 



shrubs found hardy there. Nor should the 

 garden maker forget that many long-lived ever- 

 greens are apt to early become unsightly. 

 They become rusty or their lower limbs die. 

 Mr. Parsons in his recent book, " How to plan 

 the Home Grounds," mentions as teing most 

 free from this fault the white and Swiss pines, 

 the dwarf Mugho pine, the red cedar and the 

 Oriental spruce. 



For a conspicuous position p)erhaps there is 

 no choicer tree than a good specimen of the 



