GOOD TREES AND SHRUBS 227 



Garrya elliptica. Few evergreen shrubs are more ornamental in 

 winter than a large wall plant of this Californian Shrub when covered 

 with its elegant catkins, varying in length from eight inches to a foot, 

 and borne at the tips of the previous season's growth. When planted 

 in the ordinary shrubbery it seldom grows more than six feet high, but 

 given rich soil and copious supplies of water while growth is in pro- 

 gress, it develops more strongly. 



Gaultheria procumbens (Creeping Winter Berry). A neat ever- 

 green carpet shrub, introduced from North America ; delights in a cool, 

 moist, peaty soil, and partial shade. Towards midsummer it bears 

 masses of small white drooping flowers, and in autumn and winter its 

 small red berries are very bright. Its autumn-tinted foliage is another 

 bright feature. G. Shallon is quite distinct from the last named, and grows 

 about three feet high ; it is a good evergreen for planting under trees, 

 and small white flowers precede the purplish berries. 



Genistas. These are hardy shrubs of simple culture. G. pilosa, 

 a procumbent British species, should be grown in the rock-garden in 

 preference to the ordinary shrubbery. The same remark applies to G. 

 sagittalis and G. prostata. All have bright flowers. The Spanish 

 Broom (G. hispanica) is a treasure for dry banks, also as marginal lines 

 to the shrubbery. It is a dense growing prickly shrub, and its rich 

 yellow flowers appear in July, a succession being maintained for 

 several weeks. G. radiata, occasionally met with as Spartium radiatum, 

 a native of Southern Europe, grows about eighteen inches high, and 

 bears yellow flowers in terminal heads in July. G. s&tnensis, popularly 

 known as Etna Broom, is an old garden shrub, and in late summer, 

 when bearing its wealth of golden-coloured pea-shaped flowers, produces 

 a striking effect. It should be planted in groups, as the effect in a 

 mass is more telling than that produced by the wretched " dot " system. 

 The seed-pods which succeed the flowers are showy too. G. virgata is 

 the best of the taller growing species for planting in poor hungry soils. 

 It is of free growth, and its bright yellow flowers are not only borne 

 abundantly, but they remain attractive for a considerable period. 



Halesia tetraptera (The American Silver Bell Tree), introduced to 

 this country about the middle of the seventeenth century, is happy in 

 moist soil, such as that found near lake and stream side. Its pendent 

 snowdrop-like flowers appear in clusters in spring, at which time it is 

 very pretty. It is a valuable small deciduous tree for the garden, and 

 in autumn its winged fruit gives additional beauty. H. hispida, occa- 

 sionally met with under the name of Pterostyrax hispidum, indigenous 

 to Japan, has white flowers which appear in long racemes after those 

 of the first named. H. corymbosum, formerly known as Pterostyrax 

 corymbosum, also from Japan, grows about twelve feet high and has 

 long panicles of white flowers touched with pink. 



Hamamelis (Witch Hazel). H. virginica may be planted in 

 damp soils. It is of dense bushy growth, and in early winter 

 bears small yellow flowers, individually not showy, but a large bush 

 laden with blossom is attractive. The Japanese Witch Hazel (H. 

 arborea), a charming hardy tree, dwarf but welcome, because it blooms 



