VI 



VARIETY IN SHRUBS 



Under this heading, with one exception, we shall discuss only- 

 shrubs less familiar to the average gardener. We pass by, though 

 not as obsolete, the commonly used spiraeas such as Vanhouttei, 

 the better known viburnums (F. opulus for instance and its 

 Japanese variety), the common barberries and flowering cur- 

 rants, the older kinds of lilacs and of mock orange. And for this 

 reason: among recent introductions in all these families there 

 are such beauties as only need to be made known, to be tried, in 

 order to become as precious as those we have so long grown in 

 quantity. How shall we create variety in our gardens if we grow 

 only Thunberg's barberry, the common lilac, SpircBa Vanhouttei, 

 and Philadelphus coronarius to fill every foot of space allotted 

 to shrubs? One of the main pleasures of planting is the looking 

 forward to the behavior of a shrub new to us. What will its leaf- 

 buds be like.'^ How early will they appear? How soon may 

 flowers be expected? How will this shrub flourish in this soil, 

 climate, exposure? These are questions that imfailingly arise 

 after an indulgence in new shrubs. It is the sort of question that 

 sustains the eager spirit through all the months when tree and 

 shrub stand bare. These months must be faced, got over; and 

 the best weapon with which to vanquish them is the anticipation 

 of change, of variety. 



Before proceeding to some of the newer viburnums, lilacs, and 

 cotoneasters, I have a word to say on the Japanese quince, for 

 I hold this one of the shrubs indispensable — this which flares 

 so gloriously into bloom each May. Among many on this place, 

 we have six whose flowers are decidedly different from each 



