246 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



Fig. 2086. Weigelia Varikgata. 



I have summer pruned a shrub of forsythia 

 annually for the past fifteen years. Only once 

 or twice during^ that period have the 

 plants had but little fall or spring- prun- 

 ing. The plant is now (May 6th) a pretty 

 and conspicuous feature on the lawn, 

 laden as it is with its wealth of golden- 

 bell flowers from the ground to the tips of 

 its longest branches, before but few flower- 

 ing trees or shrubs are showing any signs 

 of their coming summer beauty. It is 

 also a matter of regret that the for- 

 sythias are not quite hardy in the 

 more northern parts of Ontario. Even in 

 this section during very severe winters the 

 tips of the growth are sometimes partially 

 killed out. The past winter seems to have 

 been favorable not only to this variety but 

 also to the varieties F. suspensa and F. 

 viridissima, as plants oi the three varieties 

 are giving splendid flowering results this 

 spring on the lawns here at " Inglewood." 



The Weigelia rosea as shown in the centre 

 of Fig. 2085, is another shrub that has had 

 no pruning for the past twenty years, ex- 

 cepting the summer thinning before describ- 

 ed, when both this and other similar plants 



have furnished quantities of their beautiful 

 sprays of rosy-pink blossoms, to supply 

 large vases and jardinieres for house-decora- 

 tive purposes. 



Many of the spireas and deutzias and 

 other shrubs are also useful to furnish a sup- 

 ply of cut-flowers in summer, but the blossoms 

 of many of them do not retain their fresh- 

 ness for as long a period as do those of the 

 forsythias and weigelias, after being cut. 



Flowering shrubs are one oi the most 

 suitable classes of plants for decorating the 

 surroundings of our homes, if judiciously 

 planted and a little care bestowed on them 

 afterwards. But the growth of the plants 

 must not be ruthlessly slaughtered by un- 

 necessary and unnatural clipping or pruning, 

 if the best results possible of their free-flow- 

 ering habit is to be attained. 



Old plants that have endured the clipping 

 process for years will be hard to redeem, so 

 as to induce them to give good flowering re- 



FiG. 20S7. Spirea Douglasii and Bumalda. 



