132 



THE GARDEN 



AGAZINE 



April, 1906 



August. The plumose flowers of the smoke bush 

 {Rhus Cofinus). A tree thirty feet high, but which can 

 be grown as a shrub by Keeping it cut b&cK to six 

 feet in height. After that it grows slowly 



In stating the rates of growth above, refer- 

 ence has been to growth from cuttings in 

 every case but this last, which is best raised 

 from seed. The nurserymen generally offer 

 three- or four-year-old plants which cost 

 about fifty cents each. They do not have any 

 "spread " but will attain that in a couple of 

 years or so after planting. 



NOTHING EASIER TO GROW 



The successful cultivation of shrubbery 

 depends upon the simple principles of ordin- 

 ary gardening: First, proper preparation of 

 the ground — which is merely digging or 

 plowing a foot or two deep and seeing that 

 there is a supply of fertile soil, properly 

 drained. If the original soil is poor get some 

 good loam, or preferably the top soil from an 



old pasture, and fill in the site for the shrub- 

 bery with this. Very often the builders 

 carefully spread over the rest of the lot the 

 poor bottom soil from the cellar excavation 

 and so the surface soil that confronts the 

 gardener is about as inert as anything can be. 

 Don't expect to grow good plants in such a 

 medium. And don't blame the nurseryman 

 for the failure. It is a wise economy to 

 spend a little extra money in the beginning 

 and provide good soil. A good dressing of 

 well-rotted stable manure spread over the 

 surface of the bed and dug in will achieve 

 wonders. Spread it on the ground to a 

 depth of two or three inches and dig it in. 

 Fresh, or "green" manure is not advisable as 

 the heating that will take place will injure 

 the tender roots of the newly planted shrubs. 

 No matter how carefully the plants may 

 have been taken up the roots will have suf- 

 fered and the new fibers that they will make 

 as soon as they are planted out must be en- 

 couraged to grow. If you cannot get any- 

 thing but fresh manure spread it over the 

 surface of the bed after the planting is done 

 and it will serve a double purpose. Rains or 

 watering will dissolve some plant food, and it 

 will act as a mulch to preserve the soil moisture. 



The second point of importance to consider 

 in planting is whether you want to have done 

 with the work once and for all or whether 

 you will carefully tend the plantation for the 

 next few years. To be sure the ideal way is 

 to plant a little thickly — that is to plant a few 

 more than can later on be comfortably accom- 

 modated upon the space, and to thin out in 

 succeeding years as the various plants attain 

 greater size. 



This necessitates an acquaintance with 

 the future possibilities of the plants them- 

 selves. All shrubs do not develop at the 

 same rate of growth, some again grow rapidly 

 for the first few years and then make but 

 slight increase year by year. 



September. The hardy hydrangea, the flowers of which, opening white, turn pink as they age, and can 

 be cut for indoor decoration in November. Grows five to six feet high in five years 



October and November. The American witch 

 hazel has curious yellow and brown flowers at this 

 season. The fruits of the previous year arejalso 

 seen. Grows to ten feet in the first six years 



Most shrubberies in suburban gardens 

 that have been planted some years look 

 ragged, and each plant crowds its neighbors 

 just because this little matter of thinning out 

 has not been properly done. 



ERRORS IN PRUNING 



Most amateurs worry themselves over 

 what they consider the intricate problem of 

 pruning. My advice is simply this: Don't 

 prune! Avoid the annual trimming that 

 ruins so many of our gardens. There are 

 more shrubs ruined by the pruning mania 

 than by any other one cause and the worst 

 part of it all is that the damage is suffered by 

 just those people who would most appreciate 

 having a few good shrubs. After the thinning 

 out of surplus specimens the only attention 

 that the shrubbery needs is a thinning out of 

 the old growths to make room for the new sea- 

 son's wood and of course the removal of any 

 dead or dying branches. Remember that 

 shrubs do not need the attention of the pru- 

 ner to make them grow; pruning is only a 

 means to make the garden look neater. And 

 remember this golden rule : prune after flower- 

 ing. This means that a late flowering shrub 

 like the hydrangea can be pruned in the 

 spring because the flowers are produced 

 on the growths that it will make in the sum- 

 mer, but it is just as satisfactory to prune it in 

 the winter time. The early flowering shrubs 

 that flower on the growths of the previous 

 season may be pruned in the spring, but not 

 until after they have done flowering. There- 

 fore spireas, lilacs, deutzias, golden bells, and 

 such like must not be cut back if you want 

 to have flowers the same season. They will 

 in all probability require some reduction of 

 the top, but it must be done by reducing 

 the number of the growths, rather than by 

 shortening. 



