MY SHRUBS 27 



queen of them all, so far she has only dwelt out of doors in a cool 

 peat bed during summer, built up her bud, and then came in when 

 November returned. Each spring I decide that she shall go to 

 ground definitely ; but she prospers so splendidly in a pot, and is 

 such a glory for the house during March, when she blossoms, 

 that in a pot she still remains, with sundry other treasures. Of 

 course, on a sheltered wall, in half shade facing west, the splendid 

 shrub is hardy here, yet even in Devon one seldom sees it really 

 prosperous out of doors. The large flower is a rosy crimson, 

 semi-double, and enriched by a splendid tassel of golden anthers. 



One could wish to see Capparis spinosa y the European caper 

 tree, in our gardens or upon our walls, for it might, with slight 

 aid, weather a Devon winter ; but I have no knowledge of the 

 shrub nearer than Provence. It is a beautiful thing, and would 

 probably germinate and prosper if seed were sown in the nooks of 

 a good old brick wall facing south. 



Cantua buxijolia, from the Peruvian Andes, is a fine shrub, but 

 difficult and very tender. I have failed to flower it against a wall, 

 and even now, in a cold house, it puts forth its long, trumpet- 

 like purple blossoms but seldom. This is mere bad fortune, or, 

 more probably, ignorance, for the plant is said to thrive in the West. 



Caragana leaves me cold. I get tired of these pea-flowered 

 blossoms. There are caraganas still skulking about in corners 

 here ; but I slight them, and occasionally, catching sight of one 

 flaunting his insignificance, drag him up and give him away to a 

 friend who professes to like them. Caragana gerardiana is a 

 mildly interesting dwarf species. 



Carmichtelia australis from New Holland, has been a great 

 success with me, and now stands nine feet high and covers itself 



