FLOWERING SHRUBS AND TREES 53 



R. macrantha, R. rubrifolia, and the Burnet Rose, R. 

 spinosissima, which latter is a native. 



Spiraa. — The bush Meadow - Sweets, with their 

 graceful contour and feathery plumes, sometimes 

 composed of small hawthorn-like flowers, are indis- 

 pensable in the wild garden. Being of varied height 

 they are useful for diverse positions. Though they 

 will grow in dry ground they never assume their 

 noblest proportions except in moist and deep soil. 

 There are numerous species, the following being some 

 of the best : S. arguta is a new hybrid growing to a 

 height of five feet, and bearing, in April, clusters of 

 small, snow-white flowers on its slender, graceful shoots. 

 It is the best of the early-flowering Spiraeas. S. canensis, 

 also known as S. fiagelliformis and S. hypericifolius as 

 well as by many other names, is a summer-flowering 

 species growing as a bush to a height of eight feet, and 

 bearing dense clusters of ivory-white blossoms on 

 arching shoots. It is a handsome shrub. S. discolor, 

 more commonly catalogued as S. ariafolia, is a very 

 lovely species, growing to a height of twelve feet, and 

 bearing at the ends of its slender branchlets numberless 

 drooping, downy plumes, yellowish-white in colour. 

 It is a native of North America, and worthy of a place 

 in every garden. S. japonica is a confusing title, as it is 

 generally applied by nurserymen to the herbaceous pot 

 Spiraea so commonly forced in the early spring, the 

 proper name of which is Astilbe japonica. The type 

 grows to a height of five feet, and bears flat clusters of 

 rosy flowers. S. Bumalda is a variety from which has 

 been raised S. Bumalda Anthony Waterer, the best 

 coloured of all the forms of this species, the tint of its 

 flower-heads being a rich carmine-crimson. S. Bumalda 

 and the last-named variety often show partial variegation 

 in their foliage. S. Lindleyana, from the Himalayas, is 

 the largest of the Spiraeas, attaining a height of fifteen 



