'!• H E CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



II 



varieties according to their seasofi of 

 blooming: Amygdalus, Flowering Al- 

 mond — alba and rosea are both beauti- 

 ful shrubs, the first to bloom. Spiraea 

 chamaedrifolia, beautiful panicles of 

 pure white flowers. It comes in one 

 week earlier than Van Houttii, and is 

 just as pretty. Spiraea arguta multi- 

 flora, with a wealth of pure white 

 flowers, giving the plant the aspect, in 



and coronarius. The Golden Syringa, 

 too, makes a compact bush, with its 

 yellow foliage in early spring. 



Lonicera Morrowsi is one of the newest 

 bush honeysuckles of merit. It is 

 of spreading habit, and covered with 

 dark purple berries. Lonicera Alberta 

 is one that cannot be too strongly rec- 

 ommended. It has spreading habit, 

 is suitable for covering banks, and is 



A Fine Specimen of Hydrangea Paniculata Grandiflora 



Taken when in bloom last September on the grounds of Dr. A. Haikniss. Lancaster, Ont. 



the distance, of being covered with 

 snow. Spiraea Van Houttii, too well 

 known to need any description. Spiraea 

 Thunbergii, a very useful plant, noted 

 for its dwarf habit; suits well with its 

 companion, Anthony Waterer, and 

 Bumalda. 



"^In Philadelphus syringas there is 

 another study. Syringa avalanche, 

 branches five to six feet high, bending 

 to the ground with their load of sweet- 

 scented flowers. Bouquet Blanck — Very 

 floriferous, with long branches of double 

 or semi-double flowers of medium size, 

 making a compact bouquet; one of the 

 newest syringas. Fantaise— Another 

 new variety, with pure white flowers, 

 rosy centre, very fragrant. Globe de 

 Neige — A plant of bushy habit, enor- 

 mous flowers of the purest white, branches 

 arched and bent by the weight of 

 the flowers. Perle Blanck — A bushy 

 shrub with an abundance of large 

 flowers, measuring two to two and one- 

 half inches in diameter, of free flower- 

 ing habit. vSyringa rosea — A com- 

 pact bush, flowers three inches in diatm- 

 eter; a double variety. There are also 

 the older varieties, such as grandiflora 



a free bloomer, with flowers a light 

 purple. 



Rhus cotinus rubra, Smoke Tree — an 

 improvement on the old well-known 

 variety. Viburnum tomentosum, and 

 much superior to the older varieties of 

 Snow Balls. Weigela, Eva Ritka, is 

 another candidate for honors in this 

 class. It is a dwarf grower, holds the 

 bloom late in the season. 



To enumerate all the varieties in each 

 class would fill a volume. I have simply 

 given a list of the latest and best 

 varieties of the different species. How- 

 ever, there are one or two older ones 

 that have stood the test, namely. Hy- 

 drangea paniculata grandiflora, one of 

 the best late flowering shrubs in culti- 

 vation. Viburnum opulus and V. pli- 

 catum, although not perfectly hardy, 

 are excellent specimens for forcing. 



A most interesting class of plants is 

 the French lilacs. Some years ago my 

 employer purchased a dozen of the 

 latest varieties then known, and planted 

 them at his farm. Last June I was 

 out to see them, and they are simply 

 grand. They were nearly all in bloom 

 and were a sight worth seeing. A few 



of the best of them are: CoUiit de 

 Rerchone, rose color; Japonica, a very 

 late one; Villosa, rosy pink; President 

 Loubet, one of the best and darkest; 

 Pasteur, another dark red one ; Affinnes, 

 one of the earliest to bloom, at least 

 two weeks ahead of the others, pure 

 white flowers; Mme. Lemoine, double 

 white, fine for forcing; Mme. Casimer 

 Perier is also a fine one. 



All authorities agree that the proper 

 time to prune shrubs is just after 

 flowering time. With young shrubs 

 very little of this work is needed, at 

 least for some time. The straggling 

 shoots should be cut back to give the 

 bush a proper shape. If the other 

 details are attended to carefully, nature 

 will do the rest. 



Bloom in January 



The extremely mild winter of last 

 year was productive of abnormal devel- 

 opments in the Niagara peninsula. On 

 January 21 in Queen Victoria Park, at 

 Niagara Falls, Ont., frogs were croaking 

 in the ponds, toads were hopping about 

 catching mosquitoes, butterflies, bees 

 and wasps were flying about, pansies 

 were in full bloom, while evergreen shrubs 

 dared to burst forth into blossom. 



A photograph of a handsome bunch of 

 flowers of Black Hellebore, or Christmas 

 Rose, Hellebortis niger, was sent to Thb 

 Canadian Horticulturist by Mr. 

 Roderick Cameron. The flowers, two 

 to two and a half inches in diameter, were 



A Christmas Rose 



pure white but soon turned pink and 

 then green. The stems were short. 

 The leaves were evergreen and resem- 

 bled the leaves of the peony. 



No flower surpasses Centaurea im- 

 perialis. Each plant produces flowers 

 on long wiry stems. They are exceed- 

 ingly graceful for cutting as well as for 

 corsage wearing. They grow like weeds 

 and are superior to carnationF. 



