OF SHRUBS AND THEIR PLACING 11 



in nutkanus are rose-red, and in biftorus, pure white. 

 But they are such prolific spreading pests that I have had 

 to banish both— and banish them, too, not merely to 

 the wilderness-garden, but out into the wild wood itself, 

 to sink or swim as they choose. 



Last of the Brambles, though, comes a real jewel, in 

 Rubus deliciosus. The epithet, so often, so direly mis- 

 leading, is in this case justified up to the hilt. Rubus 

 deliciosus is very beautiful indeed — a middle-sized, woody, 

 deciduous shrub, producing long arching shoots, which, in 

 June, are weighed down, all along their line, by enormous 

 brilliant flowers of the purest white, like some strange 

 variety of wild-rose, only more floriferous than the most 

 generous of roses. Rubus deliciosus thrives perfectly in 

 any fair soil and situation, and is a frail shrub of the 

 greatest possible merit for the rock-garden, quite admis- 

 sible to the background even where space is limited. 



Since we are now in the cousinhood of Rosa, we may 

 as well continue with Spiraea and Potentilla. Most of 

 the Spiraeas and all the herbaceous species must be dealt 

 of with the greater and lesser bog-plants ; but of the 

 shrubby kinds, while most — Ariaefolia, mongolica, ar- 

 guta, Margaritae, Douglasi, Aitchisoni — are magnificent 

 shrubs far too large for all but the largest rock-gardens, 

 Bumalda and crispifolia are small enough to be made 

 welcome. Bumalda is the larger, and has heads of big 

 pink flowers — ruby-red in the form Antony Waterer ; 

 crispifolia is neater and smaller, with rusty-looking little 

 flower-heads, and screwed-up curly dark leaves. They have 

 a caterpillared look which repels me, and I find a repel- 

 lent chalky tone too in the pinks of Bumalda and Antony 

 Waterer (indeed in almost all the pink Spiraeas). So 

 that, without enthusiasm, I pass on to a front-rank rock- 

 garden treasure in the very rare and little-known Spiraea 

 Hacquetti (very close, if not identical with 8. decumbens) 



