36 Ornamental Shrubs. 



very much at home, though it cannot be safely planted in 

 New England unless especial protection is afforded in 

 winter. The foliage is thick and glossy like that of the 

 English holly, the leaves being entire and armed with 

 spines of considerable prominence. The flowers are at 

 the ends of the branches, solitary, and appearing as late 

 as August. They are bright scarlet, shaded with yellow, 

 and in tubular form, often covering the entire bush, which 

 grows to the height of from two to three feet. As seen 

 in English gardens, Nicholson pronounces it "a very 

 beautiful, hardy evergreen shrub of easy cultivation." It 

 will thrive in any good garden soil, and its presence in the 

 border in winter helps enliven one's home surroundings. 

 Too many of this class of plants cannot well be employed 

 where a favorable outlook is desired in winter as well as 

 summer. 



HYDRANGEA. 



THE hydrangeas are among our best ornamental 

 shrubs and are widely distributed. They are of 

 the order Saxifragece, and the genus includes 

 between thirty and forty species, natives of the Hima- 

 layas, the island of Java, China, Japan, the United States, 

 and perhaps other countries. Some are evergreens and 

 some deciduous, and nearly all are beautiful and interest- 

 ing. In our Northern States only a few are sufficiently 

 hardy to be grown freely in the open ground ; but farther 

 south the very best sorts can be cultivated in ordinary gar- 

 dens without difficulty. As a rule the American species 

 are hardier, but not of so good flowers or foliage as some 



