Using Shrubs Effectively — By E. Rehmann,^ 



NATIVE AND INTRODUCED FLOWERING SHRUBS THAT PROVIDE MATERIALS FOR CHARACTERISTIC GAR- 

 DENS—SIMPLE COMBINATIONS. HARMONIOUS IN COLOR AND TEXTURE, TO SUIT SPECIAL SITUATIONS 



Shrubs massed for spring effect. 



DECIDU- 

 OUS flow- 

 er i n g 

 shrubs are 

 particularly adapted 

 to give the gardens 

 of America a distinc- 

 tive character. The 

 hot summer, the icy 

 winters, and the 

 long, dry autumns, 

 which are unfavor- 

 able to many ever- 

 greens, are just the 

 conditions that 

 make the strong 

 healthy growth, 

 the flower and fruit 

 abundance of the 

 deciduous shrubs 

 and develop their 

 beauty. 



Effective planting 

 is dependent on a 

 knowledge of shrub 

 habit and shrub 

 growth and a sym- 

 pathetic combina- 

 tion of the mate- 

 rial for shrubbery 

 borders. 



Deciduous shrub material for borders is 

 very abundant. The European and Asiatic 

 importations are numerous. There are 

 many horticultural varieties. There is 

 much native material. 



Some plants, like the common lilacs, 

 common barberry, sweet brier rose, Tar- 

 tarian bush honeysuckle and common 

 mock orange, have escaped cultivation 

 and have become so naturalized in some 

 states that it is hard to think them of 

 European and Asiatic origin. Ligustrum 

 ovalifolium, the so-called California privet, 

 has become such a common garden hedge 

 that it has lost all the charm of a newcomer 

 from China. Rugosa roses, Japanese 

 barberry and Van Houtte spirea do such 

 satisfactory triple work that they seem 

 like native plants. Flowering almond, 

 kerria, Japanese quince, golden chain, 

 European elder, forsythias and rose of 

 Sharon have been so long in our gardens 

 that they can be considered no longer as 

 foreigners. 



Because of similarity of climate, Asiatic 

 shrubs grow especially well with us. 

 Many beautiful varieties have been 

 brought to us from China and Japan, 

 especially in the last thirty or forty years. 

 Many of the well known spireas and deut- 

 zias have come from the East. Phila- 

 delphus Falconeri is an old, though little 

 known Chinese and Japanese plant. 

 The tall Ligustrum Amurense and the 

 brilliant red-stemmed dogwood (Cornus 

 alba) are of Siberian origin. Viburnum 

 tomentosum and V. plicatum are striking 

 eastern importations. Some of the dier- 

 villas and many of the loniceras come 



The masses of color from the forsythia in the foreground and other shrubs in 

 succession enliven the spring landscape 



from eastern lands. Azalea Kaempferi is 

 one of the most interesting of the newer 

 foreign azaleas. The Asiatic magnolias, 

 M. stellata, M. conspicua and M. Soulan- 

 geana are very conspicuously beautiful. 

 Many of the beautiful cherries and the 

 tree lilacs are Japanese and Chinese im- 

 portations. The Asiatic Pyrus specta- 

 bilis, P. Parkmanni and P. Toringo are 

 among the most interesting crab apples. 



With the constant additions of eastern 

 shrub material the horticultural varieties 

 have become more and more numerous. 

 To mention just a few, there are the deut- 

 zias, Philadelphus, Ceanothus, diervillas, 

 hawthorns, magnolias, crabapples. The 

 beautiful colors of the newer rose of Sharon 

 varieties greatly excel the older form. 

 There is little need to mention the many 

 named varieties of lilacs and the many 

 rose climbers. 



It is only within the last fifty years that 

 there has been a realization of what 

 abundant native material there is for 

 garden use. Before that time it was often 

 impossible to get them in our nurseries. 

 They are so numerous and varied in char- 

 acter that gardens could be planted with 

 them to the exclusion of all foreign ma- 

 terial and make charming effects every 

 season of the year. For gardenesque 

 shrubs there are flowering currants, nine- 

 bark, the sweet scented shrub (Calycanthus 

 toridus), Hydrangea querifolia, the lovely 

 Stuartia, the American euonymus, the 

 western Philadelphus microphyllus and the 

 southern Fothergillas. The American 

 viburnums and cornels combine wonder- 

 fully well together. 



174 



Eleagnus argen- 

 tea, with silvery fo- 

 liage and silver rose 

 tinged fruit, is es- 

 pecially effective on 

 sandy dunes, and 

 Baccharis does well 

 on seashores. Cor- 

 nus panicuiata, Ce- 

 phalanthus occiden- 

 tal and Sambucus 

 Canadensis are par- 

 ticularly happy 

 arching over streams 

 though they will 

 grow in less moist 

 places. They make 

 a good succession of 

 white bloom in June 

 and July. Witcb 

 hazel and pepper 

 bush like to be 

 planted together. 

 The compact growth 

 of the clethra looks 

 well in front of the 

 loose -branching 

 habit of the witch 

 hazel. They give 

 good late blooming 

 effects and the soft 

 faded yellows of their autumn foliage are 

 interesting together. Ilex verticillata and 

 Pyrus arbutifolia are particularly interest- 

 ing in winter among gray birches. Al- 

 though too coarse for general use the 

 sumacs make wonderful autumn groups for 

 a large place. 



The fragrant sumac and the yellow 

 root make good driveway borders if a low 

 wild effect is wanted. The wild roses 

 should never be omitted in native plan- 

 tations. Hypericums and the native 

 spireas make good summer blooming 

 combinations. Hydrangea arborescens is 

 an effective native, and its midsummer 

 white flowers are especially welcome as a 

 background for Spiraea tomentosum and 

 Spiraea salitifolia. The compact growth 

 of Ceanothus Americana or the dense, low 

 habit of yellow root looks well in front of 

 the delicate shoots of the maple-leaved 

 viburnum. The native Rubus deliciosus 

 is particularly fine when hanging over 

 walls or covering slopes. The effective 

 Robinia hispida is excellent for holding 

 banks. The native symphoricarpos are 

 good for slopes and combine well with 

 bayberry as undergrowth. The huckle- 

 berries, blueberries and azaleas are especi- 

 ally fitted for woodsy undergrowth. 



Among the abundant variety in small 

 trees used in shrubbery borders the native 

 trees like the American thorns, the early 

 blooming shadbush, the native redbud, the 

 striking dogwood, the luxuriant fringe 

 tree, the wild cherries and the native mag- 

 nolias stand out prominently. 



The native vines like the wild grape, 

 the Virginia creeper, the bittersweet and 



