180 ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN 



smoke does not affect them injuriously; they will with- 

 stand considerable neglect and abuse and may be kept 

 in bounds by pruning. It is passing strange that 

 plants so useful and so very desirable for enlivening 

 gardens with flowers during dull winter months 

 should have received so scant recognition. 



The Spicebush (Benzoin aestivale) and Leatherwood 

 (Dirca palustris), two common inhabitants of the 

 thickets and swampy woods of New England and else- 

 where on the Atlantic seaboard, are among the first of 

 native shrubs to open blossoms. The Spicebush is a 

 tall shrub with moderately stout stems and twiggy 

 branches and bears innumerable clusters of small yel- 

 low flowers. The Leatherwood is a compact bush from 

 three to five feet high, and much more in diameter, and 

 has pale yellow, bell-shaped flowers. 



A number of our earliest flowering shrubs hail from 

 Europe and, with conspicuous flowers, the first to 

 open are the Heath (Erica earned) and the Mezereon 

 (Daphne mezereum). The former opens its little pink 

 urns in quantity even before all the snow has melted 

 from around it. This and its white form (alba) are 

 compact little plants from six inches to a foot tall and are 

 absolutely hardy and easily grown, provided they be 

 planted in positions fully exposed to the sun and air. 

 The Mezereon is a woodland shrub but when once 



