256 YARD AND GARDEN 



ever, are not the only shrubs that lend them- 

 selves to this particular use, for here again a 

 variety is presented which affords the planter 

 a wide field from which to select. There is, 

 for instance, the Mountain Laurel {Kalmia 

 latifolia), which is without doubt one of the 

 choicest of American broad-leaved evergreens. 

 The leaves are particularly conspicuous in 

 winter and as the Kalmia is perfectly hardy 

 as far north as Maine and is neither difficult to 

 establish nor difficult to maintain, it forms one 

 of the most valuable shrubs in the list. In the 

 spring its sheets of bright rosy-pink flowers, 

 delicately adorned with carmine dots, add to its 

 value for decorative purposes. 



Then again, among the most useful of our 

 early spring-flowering shrubs are the hardy 

 azaleas, many varieties of which have persist- 

 ent evergreen foliage. A low-growing shrub 

 with evergreen foliage and of compact habit, 

 bearing white flowers in great abundance in 

 spring is the Andromeda foribuuda or Pieris 

 forijiuiidd. Mahonia Aqiiifoliitni, or Berberis 

 Aquifolhim, as it is more properly known, is 

 another dwarf species with purplish shining 

 prickly leaves retained throughout the winter, 

 and with showy bright yellow flowers in dense 



