January 13, 1892.] 



Garden and Forest. 



15 



made until Zurich was reached, and tlie visit to the Botanic 

 Garden here was made during ahnost continuous rain. 

 This Botanic Garden is one of several Swiss cantonal estab- 

 lishments of the kind, others being- at Geneva, Basle and 

 Berne. It was established about fifty-live years ago, and is one 

 of the very few gardens which make a practice of selling plants 

 and seeds, and it has done so from the beginning. Tlic gar- 

 den is apparently much frequented by the local inhabitants ; 

 but it is not maintained at a high standard, and does not con- 

 tain much of interest to a foreign visitor. The herbaceous 

 collection is comparatively small and uninteresting ; even the 

 Alpine Garden is disappointing, and there are few trees worth 

 special mention. A large tree of Cryptomeria Japonica had its 

 tips browned by the severity of the past winter, when the frost 

 was unusually severe, the thermometer registering eighteen 

 degrees below zero (Centigrade) and the lake being frozen 

 over, a rare event. 



The Cucumber-tree (Magnolia acuminata) thrives as well 

 here and grows as large as it does when planted at Boston, 

 while Sophora Japonica is of good size, with a trunk two and a 

 half feet in diameter. This Sophora appears to be one of the 

 most commonly distributed of all Japanese trees in European 

 gardens. 



One of the most interesting trees in the garden is a speci- 

 men of the Clammy Locust (Robinia viscosa), labeled under 

 its synonymical name of R. glutinosa. This has attained a 

 size not often seen in this species, being perhaps forty-five feet 

 high, while the stem is about fourteen inches in diameter at 

 four feet from the ground. A specimen of the Cephalonian 

 Fir (Abies Cephalonica) has a trunk two and a half feet in 

 diameter, while its branches spread twenty feet in each 

 direction. 



Lindens, of several species, are largely planted as street 

 trees in Zurich, and the air was fragrant with the odor of the 

 blossoms. One of the shrubs which attracted my particular 

 attention here, and which was also found in several of the 

 squares of Geneva, proved to be Spiraea Lindleyana, a Hima- 

 layan species too tender to live and thrive well in the climate 

 of eastern Massachusetts, except, perhaps, in the warm south- 

 eastern corner of the state. Under some circumstances this 

 species might be mistaken for the common Spirasa sorbifolia, 

 of which, indeed, it was once considered a variety. But the 

 common and hardier species is much more dwarf in habit 

 than S. Lindleyana, which, at Geneva, was growing in clumps, 

 and ten or twelve feet in height. Moreover, the common 

 species blossoms earlier, and is quite out of flower before 

 Lindley's Spirsea begins. The huge panicles of flowers of the 

 latter are usually somewhat flattened or fan-shaped, while in 

 S. sorbifolia they are cone-shaped or pyramidal. The leaves, 

 too, are very distinct. S. Lindleyana should be a valuable 

 acquisition where the winters are not liable to be any more 

 severe than at Washington. cv ^ <v i 



Ai-nold Ai-boretum. /. G. Jack. 



An Evergreen Shrubbery. 



I HAVE often wondered why so few broad-leaved ever- 

 greens are planted for winter effect. Perhaps the north- 

 ern climate is too trying for the best of them, but, south of 

 Washington, the list of these plants suitable for cultivation is 

 a large one. Our climate in this section of West Virginia is 

 colder than that of Washington. We have a good deal of ice 

 and snow, and sometimes the Potomac River, which is but a 

 mile away, freezes over, so that one can skate from West Vir- 

 ginia into Maryland. In our grove at Rose Brake we are now 

 testing a number of broad-leaved evergreens, but cannot yet 

 speak in assured terms of their hardiness. 



Nothing adds more to the attractiveness of our home 

 grounds at this season than groups of Mahonias, Laurels, 

 evergreen Thorns and similar plants. In this neighborhood 

 the English Laurel flourishes and becomes a large bush or 

 small tree, with charming foliage of a hvely green, reflecting 

 the siuilight from its polished surface. 



In the Mall, in Washington, thousands of broad-leaved ever- 

 greens are planted, including many Aucubas, which seem per- 

 fectly hardy there. These I have never tried, as I think them 

 the least pleasing of their class. Their blotched appearance 

 soon wearies the eye, yet if there were only plain green-leaved 

 Aucubas they would be much handsomer and really very val- 

 uable shrubs. The yellow variegation is no objection in the 

 eyes of those who admire variegated Altheas, Dogwoods and 

 Weigelas, but my own taste leads me to use this class of 

 shrubs sparingly, for many of them together produce an un- 

 natural effect. 



We have tried some interesting experiments at Rose Brake 



with plants that arc usually considered too delicate to stand 

 the winter in open ground. We leave all Gladioli in 

 their beds with no cover but the leaves which the autumn 

 winds spread over them. One bed, however, which has no 

 large trees in its neighborhood, is left uncovered, and yet the 

 Gladioli live and increase from year to year, antl I cannot see 

 tliat they deteriorate under this rough treatment. Hydrangea 

 liortensis has survived several winters with no protection at 

 all. We are now testing Chimonanthus fragrans, the Deodar 

 Cedar and Phillyrea Vilmoriniana, all duly tucked in with a 

 coverlet of leaves, kept in place with branches of trees. Our 

 small specimen of the great Southern Magnolia has a house 

 made out of a barrel, from the top of which the leaves pro- 

 trude, green and smiling. Next year I mean to adopt Mr. 

 Massey's suggestion and try the experiment of leaving a 

 Pittosporum in the evergreen slirubbery throughout the win- 

 ter, as he writes that it withstands severe frost in North 

 Carolina. 



We have a beautiful Japanese Acacia, A. Nemu, now six 

 years old, and it has never winter-killed nor led us to believe 

 that it was not as comfortable in its winter quarters as our 

 hardiest trees. It is about twelve feet in height. Mr. Parsons 

 recommends cutting this Acacia down to the ground every 

 year, but this we find quite unnecessary. 



For the evergreen shrubbery the catalogues name varieties 

 of evergreen Thorn, a half a dozen Andromedas, Azalea 

 amoena, Berberis dulcis, many varieties of Box, three or four 

 Daphnes, besides Cotoneasters, Ilex opaca, Sedums, the com- 

 mon Inkberry, Furze and two kinds of Irish Heath, Menzie- 

 sia polifoha and its variety versicolor, which bears pink flow- 

 ers. From these a selection can be made for a beautiful 

 shrubbery. Backed by groups of Hemlocks, Pines and Spruces 

 on the north, as a protecting rampart against the cutflng winds 

 of winter, such a shrubbery might be a delight to its owner, 

 and rival Addison's favorite evergreen garden, loved by the 

 birds. 



The different Boxes seem to me too stiff to be altogether 

 pleasing, but that is a matter of taste. I have some very 

 old Box-trees bordering the paths of my vegetable gar- 

 den, whose antiquity protects them ; but I have set out no 

 young specimens in my shrubberies. Instead, I have hardy 

 Oranges, which I think much prettier. For vines we have the 

 Chinese Honeysuckle and the climbing Evonymus radicans. 

 Bitter-sweet is very appropriate to the winter shrubbery, as its 

 berries hang on late in the season, and it forms a pleasant 

 contrast to the heavy foliage of the evergreens. A few Birches 

 are planted here and there among Pines and Spruces for the 

 effect of their white bark, and some rare deciduous shrubs 

 and trees further relieve what might else be the sombre effect 

 of the evergreens alone. Yuccas we find very valuable, and 

 have many clumps of several varieties. Yucca filamentosa. 

 Yucca gloriosa. Yucca recurva. Yucca angustifolia and Yucca 

 flaccida seem unaffected by the snow and ice that surround 

 them, and are a cheerful light green that contrasts well with 

 the darker foliage of our Mahonias, Rhododendrons and Hol- 

 lies. Yucca filamentosa is, however, the only one we have 

 thoroughly tested, as some of the others are now enduring 

 their first winter in open ground. 



Evonymus Sieboldtii is a choice shrub for winter effect, 

 with its profusely borne orange-red berries and its clean, 

 healthy foliage, and the Scotch Broom, Cytisus scoparius, is 

 certainly hardy ; and, though it is deciduous, we have given 

 it a place among the evergreens because of the cheerful color 

 of its branches, and its graceful, half-weeping habit. The new 

 variety of this charming plant, which is mentioned in Garden 

 AND Forest, vol. iii., p. 273, as Cytisus scoparius, var. An- 

 dreanus, ought to be an acquisition if it were hardy here. It 

 is described as follows: "The bright yellow of the standard 

 and keel of the flowers and the rich velvety maroon of the 

 wings are most effective. It is as easy to cultivate as the type 

 and flowers when only a foot high." Our common Broom 

 flowered when very small, and is a sunny, cheerful plant at 

 all seasons, hardy and brave. 



Is it the common English Hornbeam which Addison means 

 when he writes of his garden : " The walls are covered with 

 Ivy instead of vines. The Laurel, the Hornbeam and the 

 Holly, with many other plants of the same nature, grow so 

 thick in it that you cannot imagine a more lively scene"? The 

 English tree as I know it is not very unlike our own blue 

 Beech, a most attractive and small tree. But why is it named 

 in this company ? 



Following a suggestion in a recent editorial in this journal, 

 we shall plant some scarlet-twigged Dogwoods and Kerrias in 

 our winter shrubbery, and to make it complete we should 

 carpet it with Ground Ivy, Winter-berry and Partridge Vine. 



