THE COUNTRY HOME [CHAPTER 
oak-leaved, a very hardy native bush with leaves 
like the oak; and the paniculata grandiflora—a 
magnificent shrub when well grown, with huge 
bunches of white flowers a foot in diameter. These 
are produced in August and September, when very 
few shrubs are in flower. For this period of the 
year one should also have a good collection of 
altheas — sometimes known as Rose of Sharon. 
Nearly all the varieties are entirely hardy, but they 
may require a little protection until two or three 
years of age. It must be borne in mind that all 
shrubs, like all trees, are more tender when young 
than after a few years of growth has ripened the 
wood. I find, however, that one of the handsom- 
est of the altheas, a double variegated sort, is sus- 
ceptible to freezing after it has become matured. 
Among the more beautiful varieties are the single 
purple, the double red, the variegated-leaved, and 
the painted lady. One variety of the double fails 
to expand its flowers, but it is all the more inter- 
esting because its buds, instead of opening, become 
large and solid masses, fruit-like. The flowers of 
the althea remain open but one day, but the suc- 
cession is continuous, covering the whole bush with 
a mass of bloom for six weeks. 
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