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The Weekly Florists^ Review. 



August 27, 1908. 



is also true of the mountain laurel 

 (Kalmiji latifolia) and Andromeda flori- 

 bunda. The boxwood (Buxus seniper- 

 virens) <annot be called a northern plant, 

 but the more uncommon Buxus arbo- 

 rescens will stand a temperature below 

 zero without covering if well established. 

 Excellent examples of it are to be seen 

 in (leneva, N. Y., which are over four 

 feet in height. Its foliage is coarser, 

 but it is an excellent substitute for the 

 European species. Its usefulness as a 

 winter plant cannot be overestimated, 

 especially in formal work. I have the 

 temerity to mention this species of box 

 only after having seen it withstand se- 

 vere winters. 



The best evergreen ground cover is un- 

 doubtedly the periwinkle (Vinca minor). 

 Its ability to thrive under adverse con- 

 ditions of light render it useful for 

 otlier things besides winter eflfect. It 

 is an excellent ground cover between 

 evergreens and rhododendrons. Its 

 cheerful green is not only beautiful to 

 the eye, but the plant acts as a pro- 

 tection from deep freezing of the soil. 

 When it is planted in mass in the open, 

 or on the edge of shrub borders, in 

 company with Kosa blanda, it makes a 

 unique combination, as the brilliant, 

 large fruits of the rose, borne near the 

 ground and just over the groundwork 

 of green vines, have an effect suggestive 

 of the Christmas season. 



Another broad-leaved evergreen wliich 

 is useful in the northern latitudes is 

 Euonymus radicans, which as a low 

 climber takes the place of the English 

 ivy. As a creeper it is seen at its best. 

 The sun of February and March often 

 burns some of the upper leaves, but 

 whenever it produces its red berries it is 

 a thing to be desired. 



The Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera 

 Ilalleana), while not considered an 

 evergreen, yet retains its green leaves 

 until long after Christmas in .sheltered 

 situations, when used as a trailer, but 

 not when used as a climber, as the leaves 

 are more exposed to frost and wind and 

 are not as persistent. As this plant is 

 used for covering banks in open ravines, 

 and around rocks and boulders, it has 

 a cheery effect on a winter day. 



Berried Shrubs and Trees. 



One of the chief delights of a winter 

 garden is the effect of the berried 

 shrubs and trees, and of course we al- 

 ways think of berried plants in relation 

 to Christmas, and very naturally of the 

 holly, which is so extensively used at 

 that time. The northerner is denied the 

 use of this most regal plant, but when- 

 ever evergreen leaves and red berries 

 can be combined, it is regarded as the 

 highest perfection of winter effect. 



A few years ago I conceived the idea 

 of using the winter berry, or leafless 

 holly (Ilex verticillata), which is more 

 profuse with its berries than the south- 

 ern holly, along with the English privet 

 (Ligustrum vulgare), mixing the two 

 kinds and planting in masses. The 

 privet retains part of its green leaves 

 until .January and has splendid trusses 

 of brilliant black berries, and the effect 

 of these black berries and green leaves, 

 with the dense masses of red berries of 

 the leafless holly, gives the effect that is 

 obtained in English gardens by the fa- 

 mous holly plant. The ilex is vigorous, 

 as also is the privet, and the whole in 

 time becomes a tangled mass and the 

 effect glorious. Sometimes the leafless 

 holly is planted along with the mountain 

 laurel, but as the laurel is low and the 



ilex high, the green leaves and berries 

 are not together and the effect is not 

 so good. Even though it is not always 

 possible to secure a background of green 

 for berried plants in the winter, it is 

 not always desirable, as the snow itself 

 is a suflScient background for many ber- 

 ried plants. 



The Best Berried Plants. 



Among the best and most common of 

 our berried plants are: The common bar- 

 berry (B. vulgaris), with its racemes 

 of brilliant berries which remain well 

 into the winter; the Japanese barberry 

 (B. Thunbergii), with its single yet 

 thickly borne berries of as brilliant a 

 hue, and the high bush cranberry (Vi- 

 burnum Opulus), whose bright and large 

 trusses of berries last until the new 

 leaves are formed in the spring and arc 

 very striking. Many of the endless 

 number of forms of Crataegus are use- 

 ful for winter effect, and, although their 

 fruits are not persistent during the en- 

 tire winter season, yet many are glorious 

 in the early winter. Euonymus Bun- 

 geanus holds its fruits very long; in 

 fact, it is better than the "Wahoo" 

 or strawberry tree (E. Americanus). 

 The sea buckthorn (Hippophae rham- 

 noides) is also attractive in winter, be- 

 cause of its yellow, black-dotted fruit, 

 which is very persistent. Many of the 

 roses are extremely beautiful, as their 

 fruits are often large. One of the best 

 is the Japanese rose (Kosa rugosa), 

 whose large haws or berries are highly 

 colored and remain long on the plant 

 to brighten up the landscape; also Rosa 

 multiflora, whose fruits, although small- 

 er, are borne in large clusters and last 

 all winter. Rosa lutescens has the larg- 

 est fruits, some of which are one inch 

 long and are borne in clusters of four. 

 Rosa blanda is also useful. 



The Ptivets and Other Shrubs. 



The privets, both the common (L. 

 vulgare) and the Japanese (L. Ibota), 

 have large clusters of shining black ber- 

 ries, and are very striking with a back- 

 ground of the snow. The snow berry (S. 

 ra<'emo8U8), with its profuse masses of 

 white berries, and the coral berry (S. 

 vulgaris), are both splendid species for 

 effective winter planting. When planted 

 in masses in ricMy prepared borders, they 

 produce riotous masses of fruit. The 

 European buckthorn (Rhamnus cathar- 

 tica), so often used for a wind break, 

 has attractive black fruits, as has also 

 Rhodotypos kerrioides. The staghorn 

 sumach (Rhus typhina) produces a 

 marked effect in a winter landscape, 

 with its antler-like, dense clusters of 

 berries. The smooth sumach (R. glabra) 

 is also useful as a winter fruited plant. 



The European mountain ash (Sorbus 

 Aucuparia), with its bright red berries 

 in large clusters, is especially useful 

 for winter effect, and the yellow berried 

 form is also useful for variety. With 

 an evergreen background they are espe- 

 cially attractive. 



Among the vines for w inter effect, 

 nothing can surpass the bitter-sweet 

 (Celastrus scandens), with its winter 

 array of orange berries. When the vine 

 is allowed to grow as a shrub, forming 

 an uneven mass of twining stems cov- 

 ered with attractive fruits, it is par- 

 ticularly fine. C. articulatus is also a 

 splendid berried vine, similar to the 

 bitter-sweet. Vitis heterophylla, whose 

 grape-like clijsters of whitish-blue ber- 

 ries offer a vk^ety in berry color, are 



also interesting from the standpoint of 

 winter effect. 



The variety of berried plants is not 

 seriously limited by the effect of the 

 higher latitudes, and when planting for 

 winter effect is planned we may enjoy a 

 profusion of color all winter, which will 

 please the eye and make our winter walk 

 through park or home grounds a joy 

 which belongs peculiarly to the winter 

 season. 



Bright Colored Twigs and Stems. 



• One of the very best opportunities 

 for brightening up the winter land- 

 scape is offered to us with a lavish hand 

 in the bright colored branches or twigs 

 in shrubs and trees. Who of us has 

 not been charmed, after the leaves have 

 fallen, with a large mass of the red osier 

 dogwood (Cornus stolonifera) ? As seen 

 from the window of a train, the effect 

 is lasting. A number of the cornus are 

 useful in planting for winter effect. 

 The best are: C. alba Sibirica and C. 

 stolonifera for red stems, and C. stoloni- 

 fera var. flaviramca for the yellow ef- 

 fect of its branches. When planted in 

 large masses beside the brilliant green 

 branches of Kerria Japonica, the effect 

 is really wonderful. There are numer- 

 ous species of cornus, among which might 

 be mentioned C. Amomum and C. cir- 

 cinata, with bright colored bark, which 

 gives us shades of color which are useful 

 for winter effect, and as their berries 

 are quite persistent and usually of a 

 bluish white shade, the contrast between 

 stems and fruit is good. The red stems 

 of Rosa lucida are also used to ad- 

 vantage. 



In large shrub borders, along margins 

 of ponds and edges of creeks, the bril- 

 liant osiers form an important part of 

 the winter landscape. About the best 

 are the golden branched willow (Salix 

 vitellina var. aurea) and the variety 

 Britzensis, with reddish branches. Salix 

 viminalis, the basket willow, has also 

 bright yellow stems and is especially val- 

 uable. Salix purpurea, the purple osier, 

 gives us a chance to introduce a purple 

 hue into the winter landscape, which in 

 the distance is particularly enchanting. 

 Salix palmfffolia has also purple 

 branches and is very useful. As a pur- 

 ple branched shrub, Berberis vulgaris 

 purpurea, the purple leaved barberry, 

 is often used in small plantations. 



Effects in Somber Colors. 



For gray effects in stem and twig 

 coloration, we can resort to the sea buck- 

 thorn (Hippophae rhamnoides), and to 

 one of the oleasters ( Elseagnus argentea). 

 Effects in gray are sometimes very de- 

 sirable in the winter landscape picture. 

 For effei'ts in green branches, we have 

 the grass-green stems of Xerria Ja- 

 ponica, and the green stemmed variety 

 of the red dogwood (Cornus sanguinea 

 viridissima), and the golden bell (For- 

 sythia viridissima). 



We look to the coral berry (Sympho- 

 ricarpos vulgaris) for a magenta shade. 

 For soft brown shades we have ample 

 opportunity to select from a long list, 

 such as Stephanandra flexuosa, Spir»a 

 callosa, the golden bell (Forsythia sus- 

 pensa), the tree of heaven (Ailanthus 

 glandulosa), Crataegus crenata, and many 

 others. 



Many fail to notice the beautiful, 

 soft effects that can be obtained by mass 

 planting of the brown stemmed shrubs 

 and trees, but it is particularly agree- 

 able during the months of January and 

 February to see a mass of brown stents 



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