128 TREES AND SHRUBS 



considering its character at other seasons and its 

 adaptability to its special surroundings. A due sense 

 of proportion will also hold us back from planting 

 a spreading, hungry-natured shrub in limited space, 

 or where it would rob and over-run more valuable 

 but weaker plants. Such considerations as these 

 must be left to the planter who, in his turn, must 

 be guided by the incidental circumstances of his 

 particular locality. It is only possible here to set 

 down some of the best shrubs available for the 

 purpose, and to indicate, in a very general way, the 

 positions for which they are suitable. 



Occasionally, where there is ample space, a deci- 

 duous tree of low growth may be planted to great 

 advantage. Not long ago, in a picturesque district 

 bordering on Western Germany, a mental note was 

 made of the excellent effect of Wild Medlar trees, 

 scarcely more than good-sized bushes, growing about 

 the boulders and overhanging the edge of quarried 

 rocks. The white flowers in spring, and the fine 

 form and tint of the russet-brown fruit as it gradually 

 swells during the summer months give this tree a 

 peculiar claim on our attention where the position 

 is suitable. But in planning the main features of 

 the Rock Garden, we naturally turn our thoughts 

 first to evergreen trees and shrubs, because the 

 plants grown in such positions, being usually either 

 alpine or herbaceous, are mostly in abeyance during 

 the winter, and it is desirable that the rockery, no 

 less than every other part of the garden, should 

 be interesting even if it cannot be gay, during the 



