358 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



July, 1912 



The shrubby native roses and Rosa rugosa are excellent for low hedges and 

 have fruiting quality too 



Van Houtte's spirea makes a bank of pure white that is a welcome feature 



in summer 



even better in the West than in the East; 

 it is more profuse of bloom, and decidedly 

 freer from insect attacks, though in nowise 

 immune. It cannot be relied upon to 

 bloom every year, but during a favorable 

 season it is a bank of white, relieved just 

 enough by the green of its foliage. It 

 carries, as it were, the virgin white of the 

 spirea farther into the season. 



As an indicator of the soil moisture, the 

 Philadelphus or mock orange, perfectly 

 hardy, can be made to serve a rather unique 

 purpose in the shrubbery group, for with a 

 lack of moisture its leaves droop. With an 

 abundance of moisture, a mock orange is 

 a vigorous grower and a free bloomer, with 

 its period of bloom, however, all too short, 

 a week! Some of the varieties whose 

 orange-like blossoms emit a pleasing odor 

 are of value in adding fragrance to the 

 garden. There are some pretty drawfs 

 among the mock oranges, while the tall 

 forms often exceed ten feet. They carry 

 their foliage well down to the ground, 

 which together with their height and 

 narrow growth fits them for screen plant- 

 ing, as also for the shrubbery group 

 into which they bring height and back- 

 ground. In outline, they are not very 

 regular as twigs are apt to thrust them- 

 selves out from the main body of foliage 

 almost anywhere. 



In the elders we have just the material 

 wherewith to fill odd corners and to bring 

 variety into large shrubbery groups. As 

 specimen shrubs their sprawling habit is 

 against them, but when used in masses 

 they are rather effective. The common 

 elder with its flat, broad clusters of flowers 

 had best be used sparingly. 



The spireas Bumulda and Anthony 

 Waterer are perfectly hardy all over the 

 Northwest; but for summer bloom we have 

 a native spirea that outclasses these rigid 

 and coarse colored plebeians. Along the 

 prairie roadsides may be seen blooming 

 during July and August a willow leaved 

 spirea which in a way is certain to prove a 

 disappointment for its airy white spikes 



of bloom promise a fragrance that is sadly 

 lacking and sorely missed. This spirea is 

 taller in growth than Bumulda though a 

 low grower nevertheless. When used in 

 masses against a taller background it will 

 bring sheets of feathery white into the 

 landscape just before the golden rod and the 

 asters start into bloom. 



The common dogwood behaves most 

 peculiarly out here. The manuals have 

 it as a spring bloomer, but not so 

 with us. Here it is intermittent, with 

 green and ripened fruit, buds and full 

 blown blossoms on one and the same shrub 

 in August. Though its small clusters of 

 flowers are not very conspicuous, still 

 they refuse to be altogether neglected. 



Some of the fruiting shrubs leave little 

 need for summer bloomers. Almost as 

 pretty in its bloom as the snowball, the 

 highbush cranberry has a longer period 

 of decorative value. As its abundant 

 clusters of berries ripen, changing in early 

 summer from green through yellow into a 

 warm red, their beauty is somewhat akin 

 to the budding and blooming of a rose. 

 It is a tall shrub and holds its berries high 

 among its foliage. In winter they outline 

 themselves against the clear blue sky — 

 one must ever look up to see the berries. 

 It will thrive in any soil short of pure 

 sand or clay. No wind or winter harms it. 



In the native rose we have another shrub 

 that in its effect is as good as a summer 

 bloomer and moreover compensates for 

 the common and Thunberg's barberry 

 neither of which fruits with us, the latter 

 being moreover unreliable in vigor. The 

 pendant hips are borne in abundance and 

 ripen in late July and early August. The 

 healthy and pretty foliage adds its bronze 

 to the scale of autumn tints, while the hips 

 which persist into spring, fairly glow against 

 the glittering snows of winter. There is 

 hardly any soil in which this rose will not 

 grow nor extreme of temperature it will not 

 endure. It is splendid on a hillside where 

 its suckering habits help it hold the soil 

 against washing. 



When once the beauty of its small 

 sessile and glowing red berries standing 

 out against the gray foliage become 

 better known, our native buffalo berry 

 will be a far famed shrub. There is none 

 other that produces quite the same effect. 

 It is hardy, healthy and indifferent as to 

 soil. What need of a summer bloomer 

 where the glowing red and the distinctive 

 gray of the buffalo berry fairly sparkle in 

 the August sun? It is a desirable addition 

 to the color scheme of any shrubbery group 

 and moreover its gray is of such a shade 

 that it can be used in heavy masses without 

 tiring the eye. Its flowers are a negligible 

 quantity. The bare gray twigs warm the 

 snows of winter. It is a pliable material, 

 growing ten and even fifteen feet high, it 

 can yet be held within three or four feet 

 by severe pruning and when so pruned, its 

 twigs interlace to such an extent as to 

 present an almost solid mass to the eye. 

 It must be borne in mind however, when 

 planting this shrub for the beauty of its 

 fruit, that it is dioecious. One staminate 

 shrub is enough for a large group. 



The hawthorns flourish in the Northwest 

 and their miniature apple-like fruits stand- 

 ing out against the clean glossy foliage add 

 to the joy of autumn, especially where the 

 shrubs growing fully ten feet tall are massed 

 along a road or drive. It also is a shrub 

 that does away with the need of late summer 

 bloomers for in early August its berries 

 begin to ripen. Its rather large white 

 flowers against the dark green foliage are 

 no small addition to the bloom of spring. 

 The foliage never entirely hides the smooth 

 glossy twigs. They are not as easily trans- 

 planted as might be, but with care the 

 loss need be very small. They are, how- 

 ever, unquestionably hardy. 



The sumac furnishes the brightest blaze 

 of autumn color. The smooth and the 

 staghorn kinds are equally hardy. They 

 will grow in almost pure clay. They start 

 readily and though shallow rooted will 

 live through a summer without a drop of 

 rain, nor does excessive moisture appear 



