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THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



The shrubby Hibiscus or Altheas are, 

 without doubt, the most valuable flowering" 

 shrubs for lawn decoration during August, 

 as they retain the rich, glossy emerald green 

 of their foliage, and produce in profusion 

 their large showy flowers during the hottest 

 weather in August. Nothing but a severe 

 and long continued season of drought seems 

 to have any ill eff'ect on these sun-proof hy- 

 brids and descendants of the Syrian Hibis- 



FiG. 1887. Hibiscus Incanus. 



cus. These useful and beautiful shrubs will 

 continue in flower well into September if 

 g-iven an occasional watering during very 

 dry weather. Unfortunately, the different 

 varieties of this Hibiscus, so far introduced, 

 are not as proof against severe frosts, as 

 they are sun-resisting in. their character ; 

 as even in this locality they are sometimes 

 partially killed back in winter, but soon re- 

 cover, and make new growth very rapidly. 

 As they flower almost entirely on the young 

 growth made earlier in the season, this par- 



tial frost killing does not materially injure 

 them. Possibly, varieties may yet be intro- 

 duced that will be sufficiently hardy to re- 

 sist the severity of the weather in winter 

 as successfully as the beautiful single and 

 double flowering varieties we now have are 

 in resisting the hot sun in summer. 



The herbaceous species of the Hibiscus 

 are of Californian origin, and are of special 

 value, as they also produce their large fun- 

 nel shaped flowers during the month of Au- 

 gust. The variety Hibiscus Californicus, 

 and H. incanus, the latter producing an al- 

 most pure white flower, are probably the 

 best of the few varieties offered in catalogues 

 at the present time. 



Some of the dwarf growing Thuyas or 

 Arbor Vitaes are suitable for planting on 

 small lawns ; I do not consider them 

 sufficiently bright and attractive for sum- 

 mer decoration, but they have a much better 

 effect in winter when the ground is covered 

 with snow, and the deciduous trees and 

 shrubs are devoid of foliage. The beautiful 

 dwarf golden tipped Cyperus (Retinospora's) 

 from Japan, that are seen in such perfection 

 on lawns in the south of England, are, un- 

 fortunately, not hardy in this section. None 

 of the Abies or Pine family are really suited 

 for planting on small lawns, as the annual 

 and disfiguring clipping process they have to 

 undergo to keep them sufficiently under con- 

 trol, entirely spoils the beautiful symmetri- 

 cal appearance that most of these trees pre- 

 sent, when planted out singly, and left to 

 grow unmolested. 



The Aristolochia sipho or Dutchman's 

 pipe plant is a hardy useful climber for cov- 

 ering arbors, fences, rustic arches, etc, in 

 summer, as its large glossy green foliage 

 retains its beauty all through the summer. 

 A strong point also in its favor is, that no 

 insect injures to any extent its dense, closely 

 overlapping foliage. In localities farther 

 north, where this climber is of questionable 

 hardiness it could be trained on wires dur- 



