216 MY GARDEN 



ful shrubs, but somehow they awaken little enthusiasm 

 in my soul. The white-flowered sorts, Candida and 

 Dame Blanche, are the prettiest, I think; but the pink- 

 flowered varieties enjoy much favour. Eve Rathke 

 blooms quite late and bears very handsome claret- 

 coloured flowers; Abel Carriere is a good bright rose; 

 Esperance, pale salmon, and Fleur de Mai, purplish- 

 pink, flower earlier than the rest; and there are also La 

 Perle, a pretty blush-colour, and Saturn, very nearly 

 carmine. Little pruning is required, save to keep the 

 sturdy bushes free from old and useless wood, and they 

 succeed well in almost any situation. 



A shrub familiar to most garden-bred folk is the old 

 Snowball tree, Viburnum opulus var. sterilis. Great 

 bushes of it were in the garden where I grew up and we 

 called it " Summer snowball" and not infrequently usedit 

 as such. It will grow eight feet high and almost as thick 

 through, the long branches bending under the weight of 

 the heavy blooms. The bushes grow thickly in a rich 

 soil and require an annual thinning out of old wood. 



With the opening summer comes the lovely Rose 

 Acacia (Robinia hispida) drooping its long branches, 

 hung with rosy pea-shaped blossoms, among the fresh 

 young leafage. I do not often see this charming shrub 

 in handsome gardens, but I know of many humble door 

 yards that boast its high-bred beauty, but where it ever 

 has an alien look, seeming to belong to higher walks of 

 life. The Rose Acacia is of rapid growth and becomes 



