THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



115 



146. An Old hydrangea trained in tree form. For the 

 biggest show, prune hard every year 



people. They are about the only shrubs 

 whose flowers are stolen; therefore don't 

 plant them next to the street. Almost every- 

 one plants a pink, a white, and a lilac-colored 

 bush in a single group. Connoisseurs now 

 believe that it is a mistake to mix the different 

 colors and seasons of bloom. Masses of one 

 thing give a much stronger, richer and more 

 restful effect. Nameless lilacs ought not 

 to be good enough for anyone who reads 

 this magazine and takes pride in his place. 

 Don't take the old thing in your neighbor's 

 yard just because you can get it for nothing. 

 There are better varieties that produce more 

 flowers in larger clusters over a longer season. 

 Pay twice the regular price if necessary, and 

 get something you can take pride in as long 

 as you live. Here are some of the best 

 varieties; Marie Legraye, the best white; 

 Princess Alexandria, the favorite light pink; 

 Geant des Batailles, bluish lilac; Charles 

 X., the best dark lilac -red; Marleyensis, 

 the favorite lilac-red; Ludwig Spath, the 

 best dark purple. All these are single- 

 flowered. I would not have any double 

 lilacs on my place. They last longer, but 

 they are heavier and less graceful, and the 

 bushes are usually dwarf er. I want the free, 

 unrestrained, unconventional lilac. The 

 double flowers hang on after they fade and 

 look untidy. They have to be cut off. When 

 you buy named varieties, find out whether 

 they are on their own roots or not. If they 

 are grafted, watch out for suckers and remove 

 them. The lilacs that everybody grows are 

 varieties of Syringa vulgaris. There are 

 nine other species worth growing, and each 

 has its points. None of them are troubled 

 by the borer like the common lilacs. Every- 

 one who can possibly afford it, should go to 

 Boston about the third week of May and see 

 the lilacs at the Arnold Arboretum. It is 

 one of the best flower shows in America. 

 Take a note-book and carry off the names of 

 the best lilacs and other shrubs. Get some- 

 thing new, different, better. 



What sort of a home is it that does not have 

 a mock orange or syringa bush? Lilacs 

 and mock orange are the two flowers that 

 do most to fill the whole world with fragrance 

 and make June the most intoxicating month 

 in the year. If you want the most fragrant 

 variety of mock orange get the old fashioned 

 Philadelphus coronarius. A much showier, 

 but less fragrant kind is Philadelphus spe- 

 ciosissimus, which has flowers an inch and 



three-quarters across, and of a purer white. It 

 is also a more graceful bush; the old kind is 

 rather stiff. 



The good old-fashioned snowball that 

 used to be in every yard is probably doomed. 

 The aphids or plant lice cause the leaves to 

 curl so that they lose their beauty, and the 

 flowers are not nearly as large as they should 

 be. People could spray them, but they 

 won't. Its place will be taken by the 

 Japanese snowball, which has a smaller 

 flower, but better foliage and habit. The 

 common snowball is a double variety of 

 Viburnum Opulus. Our beautiful American 

 high-bush cranberry is usually considered to 

 be the same species, but some botanists think 

 it is different enough to be called a distinct 

 species, Viburnum. Americanum. Anyhow, 

 the snowball originated from the European 

 form. It is worth while to inquire whether 

 the American form is resistant to aphids, 

 and if so whether we could not get a double 







147. Elder— unappreciated only because it is common. 

 Both the red and blacK berried species are good 



variety of the American bush cranberry 

 which would be easier to propagate than 

 the Japanese snowball. The only thing 

 that keeps the Japanese snowball from 

 rapidly supplanting the common one is that 



The Japanese snowball seems destined to supplant the common snowball which is ruined by aphids. 

 It has smaller clusters, but better foliage, and costs more because slower to propagate 



