SHRUBS UNDER TREES 261 



large tree branches should also be noticed in summer, 

 as sometimes one or two of the lower ones may be 

 removed with benefit to the shrubs, judicious cutting 

 away letting in light and air. 



The best of the larger growing evergreens to use 

 under trees are Laurels, both common and Portugal, 

 Yews, Box, Osmanthus, Aucubas, Phillyraeas, com- 

 mon and oval-leaved Privet, Ligustrum sinense, and 

 Rhododendron ponticum. Of these Yews, Box, and 

 Osmanthus are perhaps as successful as any. The 

 Osmanthus is not usually considered suitable for this 

 purpose, but it succeeds well in the shade, and keeps 

 a good dark-green colour. Hollies are sometimes 

 recommended, but, though they may occasionally 

 thrive under trees, it is not advisable to use many 

 of them, as they are more often a failure, becoming 

 thin and straggling in the course of a year or two. 

 Of dwarf-growing evergreens Berberis Aquifotium, 

 Butcher's Broom (Ruscus aculeatus and R. Hypoglossum), 

 Cotoneaster microphylla y Euonymus japonicus, and E. radi- 

 cansj with their respective varieties, Skimmias, Gaul- 

 theria Shallon, Ivies, especially the common English, 

 Irish Ivy, and Emerald green, Pernettya mucronata y 

 St. John's Wort (Hypericum calycmum), and Vincas 

 can all be recommended, as they all do well in the 

 shade, and most of them will flower freely. 



For a very dry spot where nothing else will grow 

 the Butcher's Broom and St. John's Wort should be 

 planted, as both will grow and thrive where other 

 plants die. With deciduous shrubs under trees the 

 difficulty is not so much in getting them to live as 



