•^ The Scented garden ^ 



cuttings. Of the different varieties of R. sanguineum the 

 best are those which are true to type with brilliant blood- 

 red flowers. Where there is space one would like to grow 

 them all. The evergreen R. viburni folium (a native of 

 S. California) is interesting, for the scent of its leaves is 

 peculiar. There is no suggestion of the strong, aromatic 

 fragrance of R. sanguineum, but they have a very attrac- 

 tive scent, even though it be decidedly suggestive of 

 turpentine. 



Then there is that invaluable Chinese shrub — 

 Osmantbus Delavayi — a beautiful shrub to look at and 

 with very sweetly scented small white flowers. Even 

 more pleasingly scented are the skimmias (S. japonica 

 and the male form S. fragrans). The scent of their tiny 

 flowers is indistinguishable from that of lilies of the 

 valley. Nuttallia cerasijormis produces its racemes of 

 creamy-white almond-scented flowers about the same 

 time. This is a good shrub even for small gardens and 

 very hardy. The red, cherry-like fruits in autumn are 

 attractive, but to ensure these both the sexes must be 

 planted just as with the skimmias. One of the most 

 attractive of the March-flowering scented shrubs is 

 Corylopsis spicata, a native of Japan and introduced into 

 this country in 1863. It is one of the earliest shrubs in 

 bloom and very delightful with its woolly leafless stalks 

 and clusters of cowslip-scented flowers. It is curious that 

 one does not see this shrub more often in small gardens, 

 for though wide-spreading it is not more than about 

 6 feet tall. C. pauciflora is not so hardy, but for protected 

 districts it is a charming shrub. Azara microphylla, with 

 its tiny vanilla-scented flowers, blooms in February in a 

 very mild season, but as a rule not till March and April. 

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