40 THE feLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 



for masses of beauty in any part of the grounds this Spiraea is 

 invaluable to the landscape artist. 



For strength and durability there is no hedge plant that 

 can equal Citrus trifoliata^ the Japan Hardy Orange, and while 

 it is not an evergreen, the hardy wood of a rich olive-green color 

 makes it not unsightly in Winter. If cut closely three times a 

 year it may be kept within bounds and nothing can penetrate it 

 "from a rabbit to an elephant." The blossoms that show in 

 early Spring are very fragrant and add much to the attractive- 

 ness of the hedge at this season. This is said to be hardy as far 

 north as New Jersey. 



Prunus caroliniana, the Mock Orange of the South, is almost 

 too well-known to need mention. It grows very rapidly, and 

 must be kept closely sheared and watched carefully in order to 

 keep it within bounds. It is, however, a beautiful evergreen 

 hedge plant and for large boundaries where quick growth and 

 strong protection are needed nothing will give better results. 



Rhamnus catharticus, the common Buckthorn, thrives in 

 moist, loamy soils and in partial shade and is recommended for 

 a defensive hedge where it is advisable to use a large-growing 

 species. It has not only handsome foliage but showy berries. 

 It is also extremely hardy and such a vigorous grower that it can be 

 depended on for protection at an early date after planting. 



For the old-fashioned formal garden, such as our grand- 

 mothers used to make. Boxwood, Buxus sempervirens, is in great 

 demand. All along the Atlantic Coast from Boston to New 

 Orleans, these old gardens are to be seen. Most of them were 

 planted with formal beds outlined in the Boxwood, inclosing 

 shrubs and perennials and annuals at random. Some of them 

 are unkempt and uncared for, others are trim and neat and in 

 perfect condition, and in their quaint and stilted way they stand 

 as monuments to that ante-bellum period of the geometric design 

 and the formal garden. They belong to the day of brick paths 

 and tangled shrubs with an Arborvitse boundary hedge, with the 

 lower Boxwood borders outlining the designs. These old Box- 

 wood borders are certainly attractive, the old evergreens are 

 many of them stately and beautiful at this time, and both seem 



