THE COUNTRY HOME [chapter 



oak-leaved, a very hardy native bush with leaves 

 like the oak; and the paniculata grandiflora — a 

 magnificent shrub when well grown, with huge 

 bunches of white flowers a foot in diameter. These 

 are produced in August and September, when very 

 few shrubs are in flower. For this period of the 

 year one should also have a good collection of 

 altheas — sometimes known as Rose of Sharon. 

 Nearly all the varieties are entirely hardy, but they 

 may require a little protection until two or three 

 years of age. It must be borne in mind that all 

 shrubs, like all trees, are more tender when young 

 than after a few years of growth has ripened the 

 wood. I find, however, that one of the handsom- 

 est of the altheas, a double variegated sort, is sus- 

 ceptible to freezing after it has become matured. 

 Among the more beautiful varieties are the single 

 purple, the double red, the variegated-leaved, and 

 the painted lady. One variety of the double fails 

 to expand its flowers, but it is all the more inter- 

 esting because its buds, instead of opening, become 

 large and solid masses, fruit-like. The flowers of 

 the althea remain open but one day, but the suc- 

 cession is continuous, covering the whole bush with 

 a mass of bloom for six weeks. 



[100] 



