88 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



March, 1914 



aureum makes a light green foliage effect 

 with it which is refreshing in midsummer. 

 In late autumn it looks well with the 

 deeper brown of barberry twigs and in 

 winter with the rosy tipped willows. 



After Thunberg's spirea and Hall's mag- 

 nolia comes the great pageant of white 

 shrubs. They are especially numerous in 

 May and June. The shad bush and the 

 dogwoods are shining in the still almost 

 leafless woods. White flowering dogwood 

 and the magenta redbud tree flowers make 

 a splendid early spring effect. The real 

 bridal wreath {Spircea prunifolia) and the 

 lovely pearl bush is blooming and dwarf 

 Deutzia gracilis spreads its wealth of white 

 flowers almost on the ground in front of 

 them. The scattered flowers of the white 

 kerria (Rhodotypus kerrioides) are out and 

 the erect clusters of Spiraa sorbifolia are 

 blooming above leaves that look like those 

 of the mountain ash. Lonicera Morrowi 

 and the chokeberry (Pyrus arbutifolia) are 

 budding, the one to allow but little time 

 before its show of red berries in July, the 

 other to wait until the autumn has fully 

 come before displaying its scarlet berries 

 amid the brown stems of leafless shrubs. 



I have seen in June, on a steep bank be- 

 tween the wall of a flower garden and the 

 driveway below, white lilacs, silver bell 

 tree (Halesia) and Van Houtte spirea 

 blooming together. The tall trusses of the 

 lilacs above the drooping sprays of Halesia 

 and the small clusters of the spirea hang- 

 ing down to the ground make a wonderful 

 intermingled mass of white. 



The many varieties of Philadelphus or 

 mock orange alone would fill the month of 

 June. In purity of flowers and in frag- 

 rance they rival their namesake. The old 

 variety, Philadelphus coronarius, was one 

 of the colonial favorites. It is seen in 

 many an old time garden and is known 

 under its old name of syringa. It is still 

 one of the best of garden shrubs. Lately 

 there have come into the market many new 

 varieties. There is the charming Philadel- 

 phus Falconeri; the long narrow wide- 

 spread petals of the flowers have a delicacy 

 which contrasts beautifully with the large 

 foliage. Philadelphus microphyllus has very 

 small leaves and myriads of small white 

 flowers. Rosa spinosissima would combine 

 Avell with it if delicacy of foliage texture 

 and flower effect w T ere sought. The Le- 

 moine hybrids of Philadelphus are all beau- 

 tiful and vie one with another in purity 

 of flowers. They combine well with Deut- 

 zia Lemoinei and paroifiora. Deutna cre- 

 nata planted with them will intermingle 

 its arching branches with the mock oranges. 

 If Rosa multiflora is planted in back of 

 mock oranges the long drooping branches 

 full of white single roses interlace with the 

 glossy white Philadelphus flowers. 



In June all the privets, cornels or bush 

 dogwoods and viburnums are beginning to 

 bloom. Owners of clipped hedges ought to 

 become better acquainted with the free flow- 

 ering, free growing privets. Regel's privet 

 is especially good for small gardens. Of the 

 viburnums, the high bush cranberry (Vibur- 



A shrubbery screen on a narrow party line. Evergreens (rhododendron) with lilacs 



num Opulus) is an old favorite and one of 

 the best for all around use. The single 

 Japanese snowball {Viburnum tomentosum) 

 is among the most interesting for garden 

 use. Its large flat flower clusters stand 

 lined up in many rows on horizontal 

 branches. To me it is much more effective 

 than the double, var. plicatum, which has 

 taken the place of our older snowball. 



By the fourth of July the large flowers of 

 the elders are out. Then comes the meadow- 

 sweet (Spircea salicifolia), later come the 

 blossoms of the sorrel tree (Oxydendron 

 arboreum.) Later still the creamy white 

 flowers of the dwarf horse chestnut stand 

 erect above the dark green palmate leaves. 

 Think well before you plant this glorious 

 shrub of midsummer. It is a coarse plant 

 which spreads rapidly. It takes up much 

 room. It comes into leafage very late 

 which makes it look bare and wintery when 

 almost everything else has a spring vigor 

 of returning life in bright blossoms and in 

 the new green of leaves. Hercules' club 

 (Aralia spinosa), too, has this bad habit. 

 But by July when its wonderful spray 

 of flowers above the large leaves give 



a tropical luxuriance this is long for- 

 gotten. 



In July the buttonbush (Cephalanthus 

 occidentalis) is beginning to bloom and it 

 lasts into September. Clethra is bloom- 

 ing in August. It is especially welcome as 

 one of the few white shrubs flowering at 

 this season. It looks particularly well with 

 wild azaleas and bayberry with which it 

 is associated in the woods and fields. At 

 the end of August the common hydrangea 

 is blooming. I believe that the main rea- 

 son people are so fond of it is that it is. the 

 one shrub with whose name they are famil- 

 iar. If they knew the names of other 

 shrubs as well they would not waste so 

 much of their favoritism on Hydrangea 

 paniculata, var. grandiflora whose enormous 

 white trusses overbalance every small gar- 

 den. The single form, Hydrangea panicu- 

 lata, is much better. There is a July bloom- 

 ing one called H. arborescens, and the 

 charming H. quercifolia which has pinkish 

 white flowers and beautiful oak-shaped 

 leaves that turn brilliant colors in the fall. 



Even in autumn nature likes to continue 

 the white effects in the white berries of 



