COLOUR IN MY GARDEN 



good foliage that colours finely in the fall, and ornamental 

 fruit to contribute to the passing seasons. I have spoken 

 in an earlier chapter of planting Primroses, Forget-me-nots, 

 Daffodils, and other early spring flowers among those shin- 

 ing stems. Marsh Marigolds grow freely in such a position 

 and aregay among the unfolding fronds of young marsh Ferns. 



The Viburnums are handsome in flower but their chief 

 glory is the fine colouring of their autumn dress. The 

 Highbush Cranberry* is a good example. The memory of its 

 creamy blossoms is quite effaced when the irregular bush 

 hangs itself all over with flaming scarlet berries that shine 

 brightly through the dull red, bronze, and purple garment 

 of its autumn leafage. V. cassinoides is perhaps the best 

 of the shrubby Viburnums for the waterside. If given the 

 opportunity it assumes a fine form and its changing berries, 

 first green and then rose, then blue-black, are very ornamen- 

 tal. Viburnum lentago (Sweet Viburnum), Sheepberry or 

 Nanny-bush, as it is variously called, is a small tree that devel- 

 ops a beauty of line and proportion, when given sufficient space, 

 quite unsuspected by thosewho know only its huddled, twisted 

 aspect in the crowded environment of the marsh. There is 

 a delicate, creamy beauty in the flowers of the Sweet 

 Viburnum that distinguishes it above others of its family 

 and in the autumn its dark fruit and ardent colouring again 

 give us pleasure. 



Among the Birches we have Betula nigra that thrives 

 even where inundations are common. B. lenta with its 

 spicy-tasting, smooth, dark bark and graceful habit will also 

 grow along the banks of streams or lakes and is a particu- 



* Viburnum opulus also called Guelder Rose. 



168 



