64 



Isaac Hicks & Son, Westbury Station, N. Y. Shrubs 



Spirea 



This is one of the largest groups of flowering 

 shrubs and it is rarely that a group is planned 

 without including some of its widely differing forms. 

 We have endeavored to select, among the many 

 kinds, the few which most clearly show the different 

 types of beauty, without confusing our customers 

 with an unnecessarily long list of names. 



The flowering period is more extended than that 

 of any other group of shrubs. Their foliage is 

 attractive at various seasons. 



Thunberg's. Spiraea Thunbergii. This is the most 

 feathery of them all and the earliest to bloom. 

 In April or early May it is a fleecy mass of small, 

 snow-white blossoms. During the summer its 

 foliage is attractive from the lights and shadows 

 of its rounded masses. Early in autumn the 

 slender, willow-like leaves change to various 

 shades of orange and red, making it suitable for 

 interior decorations. The general habit is low 

 and broad, with good foliage at the ground. It 

 therefore combines well with the Thunberg's Bar- 

 berry and other low shrubs for edging taller groups 



Bridal Wreath. 5. prunifolia, var. flore plena. 

 This old-time favorite is the next to bloom. Each 

 flower is a minute double white rose in form. The 

 foliage is bright, glossy and dark green. During 

 severe drought some foliage falls. 



S. Van Houttei. The most beautiful of the Spireas. 

 We recall no shrub that exceeds this in the grace- 

 ful Elm-like quality. The graceful branches, 

 weighed down with a wealth of white blossoms, 

 curve till they touch the ground. It comes into 

 bloom just before Decoration Day. If we were 

 limited to one Spirea, we should select this. It 

 grows to about 7 feet high and equally broad. 



S. Reevesiana; syn., Cantoniensis, var. flore 

 pleno. This closely resembles the last except 

 that the flowers are double like the Bridal 

 Wreath, and it is not quite so hardy. 



S. opulifolia; syn., Physocarpus opulifolia; Opulas- 

 ter opulifolius. A big, coarse, quick, cheap shrub. 

 It will make bulk as quickly as any shrub on our 

 list, a one-year cutting being 3 feet high and 

 broad. It attains a height of about 10 feet and 

 has a wider spread. It has white flowers in June, 

 followed by reddish pods. In large plantations, 

 it may be used to grade off from the plants of 

 finer quality near the house to the trees. 



Golden. S. opulifolia, var. aurea. Similar to the 

 last; the foliage bright golden yellow in May, but 

 later changing to green. 



Anthony Waterer. 'S. Bumalda, var. Anthony 

 Waterer. A comparatively recent introduction 

 that is distinct from all the others. It is a low 

 shrub of about 3 feet high, its flat top covered 

 with carmine flowers from early July onward. 

 To keep it in continuous bloom, cut back some 

 of the plants at various times from June till 

 August. Cutting back after its first blooming has 

 the advantage of removing the unsightly seed- 

 pods, which are the only drawbacks to some of 

 this genus. 



S. Bumalda. This resembles the last except that 



the flowers are pink. 

 S. callosa alba. This resembles the two previous 



varieties in form, but has pure white flowers 



during the summer. 

 S. Billardii alba. A shrub about 5 feet high, with 



white finger-shaped spikes of flowers in July. 



It should be planted at the rear of other shrubs. 



Stephanandra 



Stephanandra flexuosa. Another shrub that 

 would be well known and much liked if it were 

 not blighted by a long name. Its proper use is 

 illustrated at some of the stone gateways on 

 Dosoris Lane, Glen Cove, where it is used to edge 

 the taller shrubs. While totally distinct from the 

 Thunberg's Spirea and Barberry, it belongs to 

 that class in landscape composition. It has small, 

 finely cut leaves, growing thickly on gracefully 

 arching sprays. The small white flowers are in 

 clusters and appear in June. 



Sty rax 



Styrax Japonica. We have grown a large stock of 

 this beautiful little tree. It forms a dense, com- 

 pact pyramid of foliage and should be used ex- 

 tensively with plantations of shrubs. The blos- 

 soms its greatest charm are delicate orange and 

 of delicious fragrance, borne in July. 



Sumach 



The Sumachs listed below are all natives of dry 

 ground, and they are preeminently suited for 

 planting where the ground is dry, and it is not 

 practical to manure or to cart any better soil. 

 Their brilliant autumn colors are but little appre- 

 ciated, but as our wild lands become taken up and 

 they appear less common as a wayside weed, they 

 will attain their just consideration in the planted 

 landscape. 



Smooth. Rhus glabra. The commonest species on 

 Long Island, growing on abandoned hillsides to a 

 height cf about 10 feet. It can be easily kept to a 

 lower height by cutting back, when it will make a 

 very vigorous growth the same year. Its large, 

 hand-shaped clusters of red berries are highly 

 ornamental. The foliage is the fiist to turn in the 

 autumn. There is use for it in many large plan- 

 tations. It can be used with evergreens and White 

 Birch for its brilliant colors. Its shade is not 

 dense enough to harm the ypung evergreens. 



The Sweet Pepper Bush, or Clelhra alnifolia. We 

 have a stock of mature shrubs of this size which transplant 

 readily and will give this result the first year. (See p. 65. ) 



