238 GARDENING FOR BEGINNERS 



in early spring. It is very bushy, rarely ever more than four feet in 

 height, and in February and March smothered with rose-coloured bloom. 

 P. persica (the Peach Tree) is too familiar to describe ; but its double- 

 flowered varieties, alba and rosea, are deserving of extended culture. 

 P. davidiana alba is a remarkably pretty pure white-flowered Peach, 

 and the first of the group to flower. It is of upright growth, and is so 

 white that one is reminded of a snowdrift when it is in flower. P. 

 Simoni also bears pure white flowers in great profusion about the middle 

 of February. 



The purple-leaved Plum, P. cerasifera atropurpurea, better known 

 as P. Pissardi, gives colour to the shrubbery with its deep purple leaves. 

 It grows freely and bears blush-coloured flowers. P. divaricata is a 

 favourite tree for the lawn ; it is of graceful outline, and bears small 

 pure white flowers in the early part of the year. For clothing walls of 

 medium height P. triloba, from China, can be well recommended. It is 

 perfectly hardy and free in every way ; in fact, so thick are the flowers 

 in March and April that the snoots upon which they are borne are 

 completely wreathed. Their colour is rose passing to delicate pink. 

 Although recommended for wall culture it does not need protection ; 

 but when grown thus the flowers are more protected than in the open 

 shrubbery. P. Pennsylvanica is exceedingly graceful, and in May car- 

 ries clusters of small white flowers. P. chameecerasus, a European species, 

 is rarely seen in gardens, notwithstanding its undoubted beauty. It is 

 of elegant habit and quite distinct ; flowers white. 



The double white-flowered form of the Gean (P. Avium) is one of 

 the loveliest of vigorous ornamental Cherries, the pure white flowers 

 hanging in great clusters, and lasting long in beauty. P. japonica flore 

 pleno, known also as P. sinensis flore pleno, is a neat shrub, conspicuous 

 for its abundance of small perfectly double white flowers. An excellent 

 shrub for flowering under glass in winter. P. pseudo-cerasus is perfectly 

 hardy, and has rose flowers in profusion. Of this the variety James 

 H. Veitch is particularly useful, as it flowers later than the type, and 

 on this account should be planted to prolong the season. The large 

 flowers are considerably deeper in colour than those of the last named, 

 and carried in drooping clusters, the leaves of a pleasing bronze-green. 

 P. serrulata, sometimes called Cerasus Sieboldi, has double white flowers, 

 touched with rose-pink. The tree is of spreading habit, and very free. 

 P. Mahaleb (the Mahaleb Cherry) is a lovely small white-flowered Cherry 

 for the lawn. It is thoroughly hardy, and of elegant growth. P. Padus 

 (the European Bird Cherry) is a pretty tree at flowering time. Its 

 racemes of white flowers load the woodland with an almost unpleasantly 

 strong odour ; it is very strong, and grows to a considerable height. 



Pyrus. Few groups of hardy shrubs and small trees are more 

 beautiful in flower and fruit than the different forms of Pyrus. 

 Beyond protection from cold winds, they need no special soil or culture. 

 P. japonica (the Japanese Quince), better known, perhaps, in gardens as 

 Cydonia japonica, is an old-fashioned garden shrub. It grows into a large 

 bush, and its long, strong shoots are pretty in early spring. The flowers 

 are scarlet, almost crimson, and appear in advance of the leaves. In addi- 



