192 THE MAGAZINE OP HORTICULTURE. 



This species thrives remarkably well and flowers most abund- 

 antly ; the flowers sometimes three and four inches in diameter. 

 When first expanded they are creamy white, but change to 

 yellow, which gives the plant a peculiar appearance. When 

 these plants are in bloom, in May, they fill the whole place 

 with a spicy odor, but are a little too strong for a hand 

 bouquet. 



Ne'^rium oleander, &c., all chiefly known by the appella- 

 tion of oleanders, (for we are not very nice in our nomencla- 

 ture at times) are nearly as hardy as the orange trees, bearing 

 about 14° of frost with merely having their tender twigs 

 destroyed. They are sometimes cut down to the ground, 

 but their roots survive, and they spring up with surprising 

 vigor. When uninjured by the frost they flower very freely, 

 and to see them waving their pink trusses in the breeze, im- 

 pregnating the air with their genial odor, is sufficient to 

 inspire us with the hallowed feelings that inspired Linnaeus 

 when he saw the field of broom, (Cytisus scoparia) and 

 kneeled down and thanked the God of Nature. 



Metroside^ros floribunda, &c., are also hardy, except in 

 extremely severe seasons, when it gets killed down. This 

 is an exceedingly fine shrub ; its waving branches and the 

 peculiar looking brush-like flowers ; it has also the seed cap- 

 sule adhering to the wood, tending to make it a conspicuous 

 and admirable plant for this latitude. 



The foregoing are the most important of our evergreen 

 shrubs. Tree Box, Ligustrum, and some others I will omit. 

 I shall only mention two or three of our deciduous shrubs. 



Lagerstr(e^mia i'ndica is the finest, and stands our winters 

 well ; indeed, it is hardy several degrees north of this ; grows 

 almost to a tree, flowering very freely in May, June, and 

 July. 



Stua'rtia pentagynia is a shrub of considerable merit, a 

 native of the south ; flowers in April ; at which time the 

 plant has a very delicate and pretty appearance. The bark 

 smooth, light colored ; branches, dichotomus ; leaves, villose, 

 alternate ; flowers, sessile, somewhat resembling the mallows; 

 but the distribution of its stamens places it in the natural 



