22 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 



(Ipomoea rnbro-caerulea) , an exotic of American origin, is extraor- 

 dinarily popular and boasts societies whose object is the develop- 

 ment of this particular flower. The blossoms open at sun-up and 

 devotees will arise before dawn and walk long distances to gardens 

 where this plant is grown to watch the flowers expand. 



The floral seasons of Japan commence with the Ume or Plum- 

 blossom (Prunus 7nwne) in January, and close with the Chrysan- 

 themum in November and December. In March and in April, 

 according to climate, the Cherry trees blossom and this is the sea- 

 son par excellence. The Japanese recognize a hundred and more 

 varieties of Cherries with white, yellow, pure pink to deep rose 

 blossoms. Some are small shrubs, others large trees with wide- 

 spreading crowns ; some have pendent, others quite erect, branches, 

 and all are wondrously beautiful. Cherry trees are wild in the 

 woods and thickets throughout the length and breadth of Japan 

 and are everywhere planted in vast numbers, in temple and castle 

 grounds, in park and garden, in the streets of the cities and along- 

 side the highways, and by pond and riverside. At Koganei, a vil- 

 lage some ten miles from Tokyo, there is a three-mile avenue 

 of Cherry trees planted in 1735, by command of the Shogun 

 Yoshimune. Many of the trees are from sixty to seventy-five feet 

 tall, with trunks from ten to twelve feet in girth and crowns from 

 fifty to sixty feet through, and when in full flower the scene pre- 

 sented is a never-to-be-forgotten one. No language can exaggerate 

 the beauty of the Japanese Cherries and they must be seen to be 

 appreciated in full. 



Now, there is no valid reason why here in Boston we should not 

 have our own Cherry season, for the trees are perfectly hardy and 

 thrive here. In the Arnold x\rboretum the few large trees we have 

 are a wealth of flowers each and every season. The Arnold Arbore- 

 tum as one result of its recent expedition to Japan has now growing 

 a collection of some seventy odd varieties of these Cherries and these 

 will be propagated and distributed in due season. Unfortunately, 

 in the Arboretum itself there is not sufficient spare land available 

 to do full justice to this collection, but we hope that somewhere a 

 proper home will be found for it. 



The Wistaria, the most gorgeous of all hardy climbers, except 

 in occasional years of severe winters, blossoms beautifully on house 



