Our Native Shrubs and What May Be Done With Them 



By Norman Taylor, BrooKl 1 



Plants, 

 ic Garden 



TN HOW many of our gardens can 

 ■*- one find any attempt to grow the 

 wild shrubs of the countryside? The 

 scramble for something new, something 

 startling, has almost overshadowed the 

 quieter beauties, the softer harmonies cf 

 the shrubs that grow close at home. 



The accompanying table has been made 

 up from an actual planting list used at the 

 Brooklyn Botanic Garden of the Brooklyn 

 Institute in the installation of the shrub 

 collections of the wild flower garden. 



It will be noted that under each 

 month group the names are arranged in 

 botanical sequence so that allied plants 

 are brought together. All the ninety-four 

 species are offered for sale in American 

 nurseries. Those in' the column "Remarks 

 and Notes" as well as about twenty others 

 not included, must be collected in the wild. 

 Wherever possible the writer will be glad 

 to send information as to the sources of 

 supply. 



A word now as to cultivation and care. 

 Most of the shrubs, except those so noted, 

 can be planted either in spring or fall, as 

 this is a matter that should be determined 

 by the planter's convenience. In digging 

 the holes make them twice as wide and 

 deep as the size of the roots apparently 

 demand. Note carefully the column "Pre- 

 ferred Habitat," so that the shrubs may 

 find congenial surroundings. Pack the 

 soil well around the roots, water thoroughly, 

 and frequently if the weather is dry and 

 windy. The first winter or two a heavy 

 mulch of leaves, or leaves and manure 

 mixed, to be dug in the following spring, 

 will well repay the expense and trouble. 



It will be noted that some of the shrubs 

 are marked with a dagger (f). These all 

 belong to the heath family and require 

 special treatment. A soil composed of 

 rotted sods and leafmold, about half and 

 half, is most essential for the successful 

 cultivation of these plants. They re- 

 quire peculiar acid soil conditions well 

 approximated by the above mixture, and 

 a mulch, preferably of red-oak leaves, or 

 the leaves of the mountain laurel if avail- 

 able. Never disturb the roots of these 

 plants by digging in the mulch, which is 

 better left on indefinitely. Soils with much 

 lime in them must also be avoided when 

 growing these heath-family plants. 



OTHER WA"iS TO USE THE TABLE 



It is often somewhat difficult in ar- 

 ranging a shrubbery planting to group the 

 plants according to the color of their 

 flowers. For the greater ease in using 

 the larger table, and so that one can arrive 

 at the relative frequency of the various 

 colors desirable for use in the scheme, the 

 following table is appended. The num- 

 bers refer, of course, to those in the table 

 below. The figures given in parenthesis 

 is the total of plants in each division. 



By color of flowers. Yellow-green (10): i, 

 8, 9, 10, 30, 31, 36, 44, 49, 86. Brown- 

 green (10): 2, 3, 4, 11, 12, 13, 14, i5> 27, 

 39. Yellow (5): 5, 25, 41, 84, 92. Pink- 

 purple (4): 7, 74, 75, 83. White (35): 6, 

 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24, 28, 29, 32, 40, 



42, 43, 45, 46, 47, 5i, 55, 57, 58, 59, 69, 7°, 

 71, 72, 76, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 88, 89, 90. 

 Green-white (n): 16, 23, 33, 50, 52, 63, 

 64, 65, 66, 87, 94. Pinkish-white (10): 



PLANTING TABLE FOR OUR NATIVE SHRUBS 



26, 37, 38, 54, 56, 61, 67, 73, 77, 93. Pink 



(5): 34, 60, 62, 85, 91. Lilac (1): 35. 

 Violet-purple (2): 48, 68. Orange-red 



(1): 53- 



It often happens, too, that we have some 

 definite spot, such as a small stream or 

 swamp, a dry hillside, or a shaded wood, 

 that we wish to beautify. Therefore: 



By preferred habitat of shrubs. Moist 

 places (19): 1, 2, 4, 9, 15, 17, 30, 36, 42, 

 50, 75, 78, 82, 83, 84, 85, 87, 88, 89. In- 

 different (32): 3, 5, 6, 7, 12, 14, 24, 29, 32, 



35, 37, 38, 41, 43, 45, 47, 48, 51, 52, 59, 

 60, 61, 62, 68, 70, 71, 72, 79, 80, 81, 90, 91. 

 Shaded woods (13): 8, 16, 23, 25, 26, 27, 

 3i> 6 3> 6 5> 6 7, 6 9, 74, 92- Dry places (19): 

 10, 13, 18, 20, 21, 22, 34, 39, 46, 49, 53, 

 54, 5 6 > 58, 64, 77, 86, 93, 94. Swamps 

 (6): n, 40, 55, 66, 73, 76. Thickets 

 (1): 19. Cool woods (4): 28, ^3, 44, 57- 



In planning a screen for an unsightly 

 fence or building, or to cover up some small 

 landscape importunity, it is often essential 

 to know, en masse, the heights of shrubs 

 for such purposes. The following table 

 gives the dimensions of the shrubs, normal 

 mdividuals averaging about midway of 

 the extreme heights given. 



By height of shrubs. One to four feet 

 (13): 2, 6, 21, 27, 34, 56, 62, 75, 77, 83, 84, 

 91, 93. Two to five (24): 10, 11, 13, 16, 

 22, 25, 31, 36, 37, 42, 44, 53, 57, 60, 61, 

 6 5, 67, 69, 73, 81, 82, 85, 90, 94. Three 

 to nine (29): 3, 4, 8, 12, 14, 15, 17, 20, 

 26, 28, 32, 33, 35, 38, 39, 41, 43, 45, 48, 

 54, 58, 59, 7o, 72, 74, 78, 80, 86, 88. Six 

 to fifteen (21): 1, 5, 7, 18, 19, 29, 40, 46, 47, 

 49, 5°, 52, 55, 64, 68, 71, 76, 79, 87, 89, 92. 

 Ten to eighteen (7): 9, 23, 24, 30, 51, 63, 66. 







HEIGHT 



COLOR OF 



PREFERRED 





COMMON NAME 



BOTANICAL NAME 



(feet) 







REMARKS AND NOTES 







FLOWERS 



HABITAT 





March=April 













1 — Pussy willow 



Satix discolor 



7-12 



Yellow-green 



Moist places 



Flowers before the leaves come out. 5. cordala, a larger bush, 

 with broad leaves is worth cultivating. Not in the catalogues. 



2 — Dwarf willow 



Salix tristis 



1-4 



Brown-green 



Moist places 



Useful in masses. Can be made to grow in all sorts of places. 

 One of the very earliest flowering shrubs. 



3 — Hazel nut 



Corylus Americana 



3-6 



Brownish-yellow 



Indifferent* 



Nuts edible and much gathered by squirrels. The catkins out 

 before the leaves. European hazel nut is a better plant. 



4 — Alder 



Abuts rugosa 



5-9 



Brownish-green 



Moist places 



Will grow in other situations. The fruits, not very strong, 

 stay on all winter. Useful in masses along brooks. 



5 — Spice bush 



Benzoin odorifcrum 



6-1 S 



Yellow 



Indifferent 



Flowers much before the leaves, very fragrant. Near N. Y. 

 usually not over 10 feet, larger southward. 



6 — Red chokeberry 



Aronia arbntifolia 



2-4 



White 



Indifferent 



Common from N. Y. southward. A. alro purpurea, with black 

 fruit is worth while. A. arbntifolia has red fruit. 



7 — Red bud 



Cercis Canadensis 



4-i5 



Pink-purple 



Indifferent 



Magnificent masses of color before the leaves appear. Some- 

 times almost a tree. Rare as a wild plant but easily cultivated. 



8 — Fragrant sumac 



Rhus Canadensis 

 (aromalica) 



3-8 



Yellowish-green 



Rocky woods 



Will grow in unlikely places and an excellent shrub for wild 

 effect. Flowers half hidden by compound leaves. 



April=May 













9 — Shiny willow 



Salix lucida 



10-18 



Yellow-green 



Low places 



Will grow almost anywhere. 5. myrlilloidcs a shrub 3' feet, 

 not in the trade, is handsome with yellow catkins. 



10 — Prairie willow 



Salix humilis 



3-6 



Yellow-green 



Dry places 



Will grow almost anywhere. Flowers out much before the 

 leaves. Useful only in mass effects. 



11 — Sweet gale 



Myrica Gale 



3-6 



Inconspicuous 



Swamps and 

 bogs 



Ash colored fruits effective all winter. Will grow in man}" other 

 situations besides the preferred one. 



12 — Bayberry 



Myrica Carolinensis 



3-8 



Not showy 



Indifferent 



Grows equally well in sand loam, or swampy places. Leaves 

 shining green, long persistent. Fruits whitish; all winter. 



13 — Sweet fern 



Comptonia as pi en ii- 

 folia 



3S 



Golden-brown 



Dry hillsides 



Golden catkins very showy before the leaves. Whole plant 

 very fragrant. Can be grown almost anywhere. 



•The term " indi0erent" in this connection is used to signify that the plant will adapt itself to average conditions. 



166 



