io THE BOOK OF SHRUBS 



to their making a vigorous growth and flowering freely. 

 They attain a height ranging from three to five feet, are 

 elegant in habit and produce funnel-shaped flowers, these 

 being borne in clusters in the axils of the leaves. They, 

 however, are not sufficiently hardy to be successfully 

 grown in the open border except in the south and west 

 of England, and in the more southern districts of 

 Ireland. In the midland counties of England they may 

 be grown against walls with a southern aspect provided 

 they are given a little protection in severe winter. With 

 so large a number of perfectly hardy shrubs available, 

 shrubs that are somewhat tender should as a rule be 

 planted in those districts only in which they can be 

 satisfactorily grown without protection. They require a 

 well-drained border and a light soil, a soil somewhat 

 sandy to which liberal additions of peat and leaf mould 

 have been made being the most suitable. 



The most desirable of the deciduous species are A. 

 chinensis (syn. A. rupestris}, a dwarf-growing species bear- 

 ing clusters of tubular, fragrant, pale pink flowers ; the 

 season of flowering extending from early in August 

 until the end of September. A. triflora, a charming 

 species from the Himalayas, flowering throughout the 

 summer months ; the flowers are borne in clusters of 

 three, the corolla rose-pink on the outer, and pale yellow 

 on the inner side. 



BERBERIS OR BARBERRY. The finest of the barberries 

 are so extremely beautiful and effective that they should 

 be liberally planted in gardens of all sizes, more par- 

 ticularly as they are quite hardy and can be grown to 

 a high degree of perfection without special attention. 

 Several of the finest of the species and their hybrids have 

 persistent leafage, and will be found enumerated in the 

 chapter devoted to ornamental evergreens. All the 

 deciduous species may be planted in any ordinary garden 

 soil with the assurance of their making a vigorous growth 



