Planting for Winter Effect in the NortK^ 



George Edward McCIure, Buffalo 



ONE of the chief delights of a winter 

 garden is the effect of the berried 

 shrubs and trees, and of course we 

 always think of the berried plants in rela- 

 tion to Christmas, and very naturally of 

 the holly that is so extensively used at 

 that time. The northerner is denied the 

 use of this most regal plant, but when- 

 ever evergreen leaves and red berries can 

 be combined, it is regarded as the highest 

 perfection of winter effect. 



A few years ago I conceived the idea 

 of using the winter berry, or leafless 

 holly (//ex vertictllata), which is far 

 more profuse with its berries than the 

 southern holly, along with the English 

 privet (Ligustrum vulgare), mixing the 

 tvt'o kinds and planting in masses. The 

 privet retains part of its green leaves un- 

 til January and has splendid trusses of 

 brilliant black berries, and the effect of 

 these black berries and green leaves, 

 with the dense masses of red berries of 

 the leafless holly, give the effect that is 

 obtained in English gardens by th^ fam- 

 ous holly plant. The ilex is vigorous, as 

 also is the privet, and the whole in time 

 becomes a tangled mass and the effect 

 glorious. Sometimes the leafless holly 

 is planted along with the mountain 

 laurel, but as the laurel is low and the 



IX high, the green leaves and berries 



Celutrot Orbicolatoi 



•The first installment of this article appeared 

 mthe February issue. It will be concluded in 



« 



are not together, and the effect not as 

 good. Even though it is not al ays pos- 

 sible to secure a background of green 

 for berried plants in the winter, it is not 

 always desirabb as the snow itself is a 

 sufficient background for n.any berried 

 plants. 



Among the most common and best of 

 our berried plants are, the common bar- 

 bery {Berberis vulgaris), with its racemes 

 of brilliant berries which remain well 

 into the winter, and the Japanese bar- 

 bery (Berberis Thunbergii), with its sin- 

 gle yet thickly borne berries of as bril- 

 liant a hue. The high bush cranberry 

 {Viburnum opulus), whose bright and 

 large trusses of berries last until the 

 new leaves are formed in the spring and 

 are very striking. Many of the endless 

 number of forms of crataegas are 

 useful for winter effect, and though their 

 fruit are not persistent during the entire 

 winter season, yet many are glorious in 

 the early winter. The sea buckthorn 

 [HippophcB rhannoides) is also attrac- 

 tive in winter because of its yellow black 

 dotted fruit, which is very persistent. 



Many of the roses are extremely beau- 

 tiful, as their fruits are often large. One 

 of the best is the Japanese rose (Rosa 

 rugosa), whose large haws or berries 

 are highly colored and remain long on 

 the plant to brighten up the landscape. 

 Rosa muhiflora, whose fruits although 

 smaller, are borne in large clusters and 

 last all winter. Rosa lutescens has the 

 largest fruit, some of which are one inch 

 long, and are borne in clusters of four. 

 Rosa blanda is also useful. 



The privets, both the common (L. 

 vulgare), and the Japanese (L. Ibota), 

 have large clusters of shining black ber- 

 ries, and are very striking with a back- 

 ground of the snow. The snow-berry 

 (Symphoricarpus racemosus), with its 

 profuse masses of white berries, and the 

 coral berry (S. vulgaris), are both splen- 

 did sp cies for f>ffective winter planting. 

 When planted in masses in richly pre- 

 pared borders, they produce riotous 

 masses of fruit. The European buck- 

 thorn (Rhamnus cathartica), so often 

 used for a windbreak, has attractive 

 black fruits, as has also Rhodotypos 

 l.errio\des. The stag horn sumach 

 (Rhus typhina) produces a marked ef- 

 fect in a winter landscape with its antler- 

 like dense clusters of berries. The 

 smooth sumach (R. glabra) is also use- 

 ful as a winter fruited plant. 



The European mountain ash (Sorbus 

 Aucuparia), with its bright red berries in 

 large clusters, is especially useful for 

 winter effect, and the yellow berried 

 form is also useful for variety. With 

 an evergreen background they are es- 

 pecially attractive. Among the vines for 



S3 



winter effect nothing can surpass the bit- 

 ter-sweet (Celastrus scandens), with its 

 winter array of orange berries, when the 



Elaeagnus Umbellata 



vine is allowed to grow as a shrub, form- 

 ing an uneven mass of twining stems, 

 covered with attractive fruits it is par- 

 ticularly fine. C. orbiculatus is also a 

 splendid berried vine similar to the bitter- 

 sweet. Vitis Heterophylla, whose grape- 

 like clusters of whitish-blue berries offer 

 a variety in berry color, is also interest- 

 ing from the standpoint of winter effect. 



Simplicity and dignity should be the 

 key-note of all landscape gardening. 



Take a series of photographs of your 

 garden from planting time until fall 

 and send them for publication in The 

 Canadian Horticulturist. 



Wooden labels may be preserved by 

 soaking them in a strong solution of cop- 

 peras (sulphate of iron) and laying them, 

 after they are dry, in lime water. By 

 this process, a very insoluble salt, sul- 

 phate of lime, is formed in the wood. 



