262 Ornamental Shrubs. 



may begin almost at the water's edge, and follow with 

 more desirable plants suited to such localities though in a 

 less degree, and thus proceed until the most barren situa- 

 tions can be covered with herbage and made attractive. 

 The beach plum answers for this good purpose in the 

 vicinity of the inland lakes as well as near the salt water, 

 and, indeed, in exposed and sandy situations everywhere. 



P. pissardii is understood to have come from Persia, 

 and is sometimes known as the purple-leaved Persian plum. 

 It is a somewhat recent introduction to American gardens, 

 but is already widely distributed, and universally popular, 

 though its blossoms are quite inconspicuous, and of little 

 ornamental worth. It is prized chiefly as a small tree or 

 shrub, and has both colored bark and foliage. Perhaps in 

 this respect it is without a rival in its class. In springtime 

 the bark on the new growths is deep purple, and the 

 bursting leaves as they come from the buds are violet- 

 crimson. As they mature they take on a darker hue, 

 equal to that of the finest of the purple beeches, and this 

 they hold during the entire summer. Most trees and 

 shrubs with such distinct foliage fade under the influence 

 of the sun's hot rays, and become dingy, but such is not 

 the case here. The flowers are small and single, and the 

 fruit, which ripens in early autumn, is correspondingly 

 inferior, and is scarcely visible as it is of the same color 

 as the leaves. 



P. triloba, a Chinese shrub with three-lobed leaves and 

 somewhat spreading branches, only needs to be known in 

 order to be admired. It proves well adapted alike to 

 North and South, and thrives in a much wider climatic 



