Shrubs and Shrubbery 



6s 



of good foliage. You would not put a pump in the center of your front 

 yard : then why put a hydrangea there ? The beauty of any planting will 

 be enhanced by due consideration of the surrounding conditions of landscape. 



The value of shrubbery really lies less in its bloom than in the foliage 

 and the general character as to form and "habit." Many shrubs have 

 merit in both flowers and fohage. Of such is the Japanese quince. In 

 spring the bush is on fire with flowers ; in summer, if the plant is not sheared, 

 the habit and foliage are good. The forsythia, however, while excelling in 

 early spring bloom, has a thin and sparse summer eftect that lacks both 

 strength and individuality. Therefore, it is well to make the forsythia an 

 integral part of a shrubbery-mass, in order that its summer aspect may be 

 blended with other foliage. Roses are rarely good for shrubbery effects. 

 They are essentially flower-garden 

 subjects, valued for their bloom 

 alone. They do not produce their 

 best bloom when massed with other 

 shrubbery. Therefore, it is best to 

 grow them in a place by them- 

 selves, and in rows, where they 

 may receive the best of care. 

 There are some exceptions to these 

 remarks in the case of the Japanese 

 rugosa rose and some of the 

 natives ; these may be good shrubs 

 as well as good flower-bearers ; but 

 even in these the blooms are 

 secondary. 



The whole subject of purple- 

 leaved, yellow-leaved, variegated- 

 leaved and cut -leaved shrubs may 

 be considered in this connection. 

 These objects should always be 

 mere incidents in a place. They 

 are curiosities. When planted spar- 

 ingly and near some shrubbery- 

 mass, some of them give very 

 pleasing effects, adding richness and 



The swamp leucothoe(L. racemosa), a shrub with waxy 

 white flowers 



