AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS January, 1907 



Hints About Shrubs 



By E. P. Powell 



fsI^^^^^^^HE American home, when not pinched for 

 r-|-i land, should invariably make more of the 

 T^^^i 1 M shrubbery. Yet a shrubbery apart from 

 t^i^^^^-—^^ other lawns is a rare thing to be found. 

 ^Kj^^^^fe^^ There are flower gardens, and shrubs are 

 J^^^^^ik!^ to be found scattered everywhere — this, of 

 course, is better than nothing. But watch nature, and ob- 

 serve how she plants the hillsides, not only with groups of 

 trees, but with great patches of bushes; and then take notice 

 that these are the glory of the successive seasons. What 

 can be finer than her collections of sumac, elder, hazel, 

 honeysuckle, and her vines of bittersweet and clematis, 

 climbing over and glorifying stumps and stones. 



I propose to select a dozen or more of shrubs that are 

 easily obtainable, and that will thrive in any garden soil. 

 Among our natives you must make much of the dogwoods, 

 the barberries, the wild plums and wild cherries, the spireas, 

 the ribes, the evergreen mahonia, the highbush cranberry, 

 the Judas tree, the cornus, in variety, the pawpaw, the 

 stuartia, the hazel, and the dwarf maples. Nearly all of 

 these can be found along the Atlantic slope, and many of 

 them all the way from Maine to Florida. I have been sur- 

 prised to find, in the river bottoms of the latter State, wild 

 plums, pawpaws, Judas trees, growing with magnolias and 

 cabbage palms. However, in New England we shall find 

 that nature makes more of the brilliant fruitage plants, such 

 as barberries and dogwoods. In the Southern States the 

 stuartia and rhododendrons are among the finest. 



Nature and man have united to increase this list of native 

 shrubs, not only with a superb contribution from other coun- 

 tries, but with cross-breds. In my grounds I have some- 

 thing like twenty varieties of lilacs, most of them products 

 of French plant-breeding. Among the best of these are 

 Princess Alexandra, white flowered; Ludwig Spaeth, with 

 immense panicles of a reddish purple hue; Pres. Grevy, a 

 beautiful blue and double. Our mock oranges have become a 

 great family, including a dozen or more superb sorts — to 

 which I have myself been able to add three fine novelties. 

 The old-fashioned hydrangea, so dear to our mothers, has 

 been supplemented with paniculata; and during the last year 

 another superb variety, Introduced I believe by Mr. E. Y. 

 Teas, of Centerville, Ind. This is quite as hardy as pani- 

 culata, with the additional glory of being nearly ever-bloom- 

 ing. Quite a number of European shrubs have become ac- 

 climated and nativized in our soils; among the best being 

 the Tartarian honeysuckles, and some of the noblest of the 

 thorn bushes, which can be found very frequently in the 

 forest openings and along the hill sides. 



Now for the list. This must always begin with the little 

 Daphne that opens its flowers in April. This bush can be 

 cut in March and the twigs blossomed in water. In May I 

 count upon Forsythia, with its superb golden cloak of 

 flowers, as all important. Almost with it, but lasting much 

 longer. Is our native Judas tree. This Is one of the noblest 

 shrubs in existence, although It may be grown large enough 

 to be called a small tree. Prunus triloba, although doing 

 Its best In the Middle States, Is quite hardy as far north as 

 Buffalo. It is a wonder among shrubs for its exquisite pink 

 flowers, as large as our miniature group of roses. Of the 

 spireas, prunlfolla Is decidedly the best May-flowering. 

 Lilacs are so profuse flowering, and so uniquely rich In color 

 and fragrance, that one may plant them In great profusion. 

 I have already named two or three of the best sorts, but no 



one should be without the old common lilac, both purple 

 and white. To these should be added a free planting of the 

 Persian sorts. In fact nothing can surpass the purple 

 Persian. Give these good soil and plenty of elbow room. 

 The mahonia should find a place everywhere, as an ever- 

 green shrub, glorious in leaf, and superb with its great 

 clusters of golden flowers. The leaves are fine for winter 

 cutting. It must, however, be covered from the winter sun, 

 or it will lose Its leaves. Among the viburnums the high- 

 bush, sometimes called a cranberry, is the most important. 

 Its berries can be used for food exactly like cranberries, or 

 can be left on the bushes to feed winter birds. The pine 

 grosbeak and the waxwing are exceedingly fond of this 

 berry, and will visit it in January. Then we have the one 

 best bush for hedges, the Tartarian honeysuckle. It will 

 sow Itself about your fields and gardens, and can be left in 

 many a corner to glorify its surroundings. Now add as 

 many peonies as you please. For June you may add more 

 spireas, and more viburnums if you please, as well as the 

 later blossoming lilacs. Deutzia crenata is very generally 

 hardy and a noble shrub. About this time we are having 

 our syringas, and they extend through the whole month. 

 Some of my seedlings blossom as late as the middle of July. 

 Rhododendrons do not like some soils, but where they 

 thrive should be planted in variety. The Sambucus, or elder 

 bush. Is really worthy of very general planting. Governor 

 Seymour declared it to be the finest of all American shrubs. 

 Later in the season we have the altheas in variety, and the 

 hydrangeas. I am already making a list quite beyond the 

 dozen which I had proposed. And yet I have limited the 

 list quite within the means of a common country home. Not 

 yet have I named the barberries, the euonymous, the cornus 

 In variety, the welgellas, the ribes, and many more. The 

 exochorda is a native shrub, hard to propagate, but easy to 

 grow. It Is covered late in May or early in June with very 

 charming white flowers. 



All this while I have merely hinted that shrub planting 

 should consider the pleasure of the birds as well as our- 

 selves. For their joy I would plant the highbush cran- 

 berry and the barberries, even If I did not delight in these 

 bushes myself. In the arrangement of shrubs look out for 

 the conventional. Not anything needs more the appearance 

 of being dropped in by Nature. Rows of shrubs are only 

 a little less distressing than rows of evergreens. Each group 

 of shrubs should, if possible, bring out a succession of 

 bloom. Shrubs that naturally hide themselves In the forest 

 or glens should be allowed a certain measure of retirement. 

 Your whole shrubbery should fit easily into the general Idea 

 of the homestead, rather than seem to exist for itself alone. 



For winter decoration the red dogwood is invaluable, as 

 its bark turns a brilliant crimson as cold weather approaches, 

 retaining that color until spring. A group of this dogwood 

 with barberries and highbush cranberry, in plain view from 

 our windows, goes a long way to relieve the dulness or the 

 whiteness of winter. 



One needs hardly to add a word on the joy that shrubs 

 bring and give, yet they have a deep personal and real value 

 quite apart from the natural beauty they bring. If cared for 

 properly — and sometimes even if neglected — they constitute 

 permanent adornments to the home, adornments of grace 

 and beauty that are offered by nothing else. Each year adds 

 to their beauty as well as to their growth, and the money 

 spent for shrubbery will always be regarded as well spent. 



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