MY SHRUBS 8 1 



but has wintered well with the protection of a mat at times of 

 frost. The flower is pink and the foliage curiously blistered 

 hence the name. The mature leaves turn a dull pink. M. Luma 

 has snow-white, fragrant flowers and a fine free habit. I have but 

 trifling plants ; but know of some in Cornwall that stand five and 

 twenty feet high. This is among the most splendid of Chilians, 

 and the shining evergreen foliage against the red bark of the 

 boughs is a delight when the noble shrub is out of flowering. 

 M. Ugni's beautiful flower bells are a pale pink, and its berries, 

 after a hot summer, ripen into the most delicious fruit. One 

 cannot imagine a more aromatic and choice dessert. From 

 Valdivia comes this invaluable myrtle, and it is worthy of a 

 warm wall. Should Providence smile, and send you a crop of 

 fruits, net them, otherwise your birds will have them before you 

 do. Her Majesty Queen Victoria was fond of these myrtle berries, 

 and they are really a dish to set before a queen. My plant 

 stands four feet high, and is still growing. The real name of 

 M. Luma, by the way, is Eugenia apiculata, but when you have 

 once gone to the expense of a metal label, you ignore the vagaries 

 of science, and cleave to the old paths. After all, it doesn't 

 really matter to you what I call my shrubs, any more than it 

 matters to me what you call your golf clubs. 



Myrtus tormentosa, from China, must be a very noble myrtle, 

 with white woolly buds, and bright pink blossoms as large as a 

 penny piece. It flourished at Kew nearly a hundred and fifty 

 years ago, but I know not if the Royal Gardens still possess this 

 beautiful plant. Perhaps, like many a treasure from the past, 

 it has gone out of cultivation. Curtis suspects that a greenhouse 

 might serve its purpose rather than the stove ; but possibly, 



