BROAD-LEAVED EVERGREENS 163 



or more in America, obviously, the only time economy is to pay 

 a fair price for something that has a chance to grow. 



There are half a dozen buying plants worth considering. 

 The first big fact to notice is that every foot of height adds about 

 300 per cent, to the cost! Therefore, the simplest plan is to buy 

 only the smallest sizes. But nobody wants to do this, because it 

 means the longest wait. 



The most sensible plan is to buy just as few large plants as 

 are necessary. A good way to cut down one's list is to omit all 

 the specimen plants you intended to put on the lawn and all the 

 plants you had thought of putting in a border of mixed shrubbery, 

 because these effects are inferior. Concentrate on special beds 

 for broad-leaved evergreens on two sides of the house. The 

 cheapest large plants are those with few stems and no foliage at 

 the base. These you can put in the back row where their de- 

 ficiencies will be hidden. But the grandest effects come from 

 naturalizing broad-leaved evergreens on a great scale in woods or 

 groves. If you can afford such effects, it may be well to split your 

 order, buying the species from one man and the hybrids from 

 another. The species are the cheapest and hardiest and therefore 

 the best for wild gardening. The hybrids cost the most, because 

 they have larger flowers and more and better colours; and also 

 because they have to be grafted or propagated by a costlier proc- 

 ess. Consequently, it is economy to use these only in the most 

 important situations, near the house. 



HOW TO BUY HYBRIDS 



The ideal way to buy hybrid rhododendrons is to get only 

 plants that have been propagated by layering. These are the 

 costliest of all, because it is the slowest process, but such plants are, 



