The Garden Magazine 



MIDSEASON FLOWERING TREES AND SHRUBS* 



By E. H. Wilson, JSS™ 



[Editors' Note. — The abundance of material that is really available to enliven the garden and lawn from midsummer, after 

 the great show of spring color is gone, is discussed in this, the third of the series of important articles by Mr. Ernest H. Wilson, 

 the plant collector, whose travels in China and recently in Japan have so greatly enriched our plant material. He speaks with unusual 

 authority as a practical plant grower as well as a botanist and experience i collector. Indeed, Mr. Wilson has introduced into cultivation 

 more new plants than any other one individual. The exact records of his travels are to be found in his "Naturalist in Western China."] 



THE geographical area of the 

 United States of North America 

 is so immense and the climate is 

 so diversified that there is ample 

 room in which to accommodate out of 

 doors all the kinds of woody plants known 

 from the northern and southern Hemi- 

 spheres outside of 

 the tropics. I n Cali- 

 fornia the trees and 

 shrubs of the tem- 

 perate regions of the 

 southern Hemi- 

 sphere thrive amaz- 

 ingly, and it is prob- 

 able that in this 

 state alone a greater 

 variety of woody 

 plants can be suc- 

 cessfully grown in 

 the open ground 

 than in any similar 

 area in the world. I 

 mentioned the 

 southern Hemi- 

 spherebut it should 

 be added that the 

 trees and shrubs of 

 China, Japan, the 

 Himalayas, south- 

 ern Europe, the 

 Caucasus, and the 

 Mediterranean re- 

 gion of northern Af- 

 rica are equally at 

 home in California. 

 In contrast it may 

 be stated that in the 

 Arnold Arboretum, 

 Boston, Mass., it has 

 not been found pos- 

 sible to cultivate 

 successfully any tree After the season of Spiraeas 

 or shrub native of 15 



the southern Hemisphere. Many of the 

 trees native of Europe thrive indiffer- 

 ently here and virtually no exotic broad- 

 leaved evergreen will withstand the vag- 

 aries of this austere New England cli- 

 mate. 



The United States of North America 



*Copyright IQI5, by Doubleday, Page & Co. 



is ended, the Sorbarias will take their place. The very finest, 

 feet high, with arched panicles of pure white flowers two feet 



5 



is a land of extremes but the horti- 

 cultural possibilities are wellnigh illimitable. 

 The day will dawn when throughout the 

 length and breadth of this land there will 

 be country homes and their attendant 

 gardens. Much pioneer work has been 

 done and progress is being made but the 

 consummation o f 

 these efforts is with 

 the future. 



Though paradox- 

 ical, it is none the 

 less true, that the 

 very size of this 

 country and the di- 

 versity of its climate 

 simplifies in general, 

 and at the same time 

 complicates in de- 

 tail, the efforts of 

 those who treat of 

 horticultural mat- 

 ters. Statements of 

 a general nature 

 may be absolutely 

 true yet utterly mis- 

 leading unless duly 

 qualified. For ex- 

 ample, I might 

 assert that several 

 species of Eucalyp- 

 tus and Acacia are 

 perfectly hardy and 

 quick growing trees 

 in the United States 

 of America and re- 

 commend their be- 

 ing extensively 

 planted in parks and 

 gardens. To the 

 people of California 

 such a statement 



S.arborea. shown above, grows WOul d be accepted 



long as demonstrably 



