AZALEAS AND CAMELLIAS 53 



kept separate or surrounded by masses of green and against a 

 green background they are magnificent. 



The last-mentioned five of these shrubs are deciduous and 

 natives of the Alleghany Mountains, of the Georgia and Carolina 

 swamps, and without exception have responded to cultivation 

 and become worthy of prominent places in any garden. 



Nurserymen advise the planting of all the Azaleas at any 

 time from October to April or May. If they are put out in the 

 Fall they must be protected during the first Winter. Planted 

 after the blooming season is over, in either March or April, in a 

 partially shaded situation where they are sheltered from the 

 heated Summer suns, they will go through the Summer's heat 

 and the Winter's cold and come into full blossom the next Spring. 

 The main thing to do is to plant them — ^just as many as you can 

 aflford — both of the evergreen and deciduous kinds — mass them, 

 group them, tend them, water them, and next year, and every 

 year thereafter, enjoy them. 



For the same reason that April is the best time to plant the 

 Azaleas, it is also the accepted time to plant Camellia japonicas, 

 which attract so much attention in our southern gardens and 

 are unquestionably striking plants. The foliage is a rich, dark 

 shiny green and the flowers are handsome and showy. They 

 also thrive best in fertile, porous soils and in partial shade. They 

 must have protection from the Winter's cold. They come into 

 bud about Christmas time, and if the weather is propitious, the red 

 and pink and vari-colored japonicas and the pearly white Camellias 

 will be in full bloom by St. Valentine's Day. The cold seems 

 not to injure the leaves, but the buds and blossoms are very 

 tender, and often turn brown and fall off just in the midst of the 

 blooming season. 



There is one variety, Mercedes, a clear rose-color, not closely 

 double, v/ith many bright yellow stamens, that is not only beauti- 

 ful, but has a delicate odor that is delightful making it, to me, 

 the most attractive of the species. The waxen blooms of the 

 other varieties, absolutely odorless, seem like ghost flowers. 



These two groups of evergreen shrubs, which should be planted 

 in the Springtime instead of Fall, are generally considered more 



