76 



The Garden Magazine, October, 1921 



that are too dense and unkempt to suit the fastidious, but pleas- 

 ing to such as like a tang of wildness in the cultivated, and "a 

 joy forever" to the birds. 



A few Lilac blooms are permitted to set seed for the delecta- 

 tion of cardinals, since it means much to have these gorgeous liv- 

 ing blossoms in the bare boughs in January; and a Forsythia 

 mocks ordinary conceptions of discreet size, giving some seed to 

 finches, a retreat to all birds, and, in earliest spring when the 

 bush is a curling mist of limpid yellow, an invitation to the car- 

 dinals to perch — what colors! — and whistle their sweet calls in 

 quite excellent English, while nipping off an occasional petal — 

 they could take five hundred times as many without the bush 

 being visibly poorer! And O, if we had space what luxuriant 

 Rhododendrons there should be to give the landscape inspiriting 

 color and refuge to startled wings; what beds of decorative 

 grasses should rustle uncut in the north winds and "tseep" 

 with sparrows; and what dense sequestered banks of Honey- 

 suckle, and thickets of Wild Rose, Barberry and Bayberry 

 should offer food and cover to bobwhites! 



The flower or fruit is not the only attraction a plant has for 



birds. A potent appeal is made through the insects it har- 

 bors. This last is what generally captures titmice, kinglets, 

 woodpeckers and brown creeper. To their innumerable eggs of 

 aphides, the White Pines owe their merry winter congresses of 

 kinglets and chickadees. Similarly, the Oak, Willow, Poplar, 

 Birch, and Apple bulk larger in many birds' eyes than other 

 trees. But this phase of the subject is too complex for the close 

 of a brief article. 



A writer recently in the magazine suggested that pruning of 

 fruit trees is overdone; we have often thought the same concern- 

 ing certain ornamental trees and plants. 



Rare charm lies in natural grace. But, however that is, 

 what curious landlords we should be to prune sharply our vines 

 and hedges in autumn — to deprive countless friends of shelter 

 when most needed — when the pruning would be done soon 

 enough months later. To think of driving the birds away to 

 animate another's winter! Pruning is largely a part of the usual 

 •autumn clean-up that is best done in spring. By leaving the 

 autumn dead untouched, we gain the inestimable benefit of 

 winter life. 



Nathan R. Graves Co., Photo. 



SUMMER LUXURIANCE WHICH SERVES IN SEVERAL WAYS 



Delightfully informal in character such a corner pleases the lover of fragrance and color while furnishing 

 the happiest of settings for a bird bath. All through the winter it will continue an interesting and 

 animated feature of the garden, for feathered folk flock wherever water is to be had; and here there will 

 be quite a feast as well. The hips of the Climbing Roses and the seeds of the many perennials offer food 



which birds are quick to find 



