CHAPTER V 



BROAD-LEAVED EVERGREEN SHRUBS 



THE selection of evergreens for cultivation with- 

 out and within the garden need not end 

 with the conifer specimens. There are still 

 the broad-leaved evergreen shrubs to claim attention; 

 those that appear more like deciduous plants than 

 conifers, and yet which deservedly are termed ever- 

 greens on account of their ability to hold their bright, 

 lustrous leaves over the winter. 



In truth, a seashore garden gauges the depth of 

 melancholy during the winter. The near-lying sea is 

 then dominated by fierce and wild moods; its motion 

 never abates; the salt spray carries death in its wake. 

 Were it not for the evergreens, Nature herself would 

 seem to have fled from the garden. Steadfastly then, 

 they raise themselves above the frozen earth; unchanged 

 in color they face the strongest gales. 



Among broad-leaved evergreens the rhododendrons 

 stand out prominently. They are powerful shrubs, 

 and in their season of bloom show flowers as delicately 

 tinted as a rose. In small gardens they hold a distinct 

 place, and also in massive planting about the lawn, 

 and in various places chosen for naturalistic treatment. 

 Few gardens can afford to do without them, since 

 they give not only beauty at the time when flowers 



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