48o AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS December, 1907 



In Summer the Garden Shows a Wealth of Foliage and Bloom 



out colors that will rival, to some extent, the flowers of 

 summer? 



Have you never taken a tramp along the edge of the 

 woodland in winter, and come suddenly upon a group of 

 scarlet-berried alders? What brightness they seemed to 

 radiate upon the spot ! They made so strong and vivid an 

 impression upon the eye that you seemed to see them long 

 after you had passed them. Why should we not transplant 

 this bit of woodland glory to our garden, and heighten its 

 effect by giving it an evergreen for a background? Its scar- 

 let fire against the dark greenery of spruce or arborvitae 

 would seem to make our winter garden fairly glow with 

 warmth. 



I have seen the red-branched willow planted near an ever- 

 green, and the contrast of color brought out every branch 

 so keenly that it seemed chiseled from coral. The effect 

 was exquisite. Train Celastrus scandens where its pendant 

 clusters of red and orange can show against evergreens, and 

 you produce an effect that can be equaled by few flowers. 



The barberry is an exceedingly useful shrub with which 

 to work up vivid color-effects in winter. It shows attrac- 

 tively against other shrubs, is very charming when seen 

 against snow, but is never quite so effective as when its rich- 

 ness of coloring is emphasized by contrast with the somber 

 green of a spruce. 



Our native cranberry (Viburnum opulus) is one of our 

 very best berry-bearing shrubs. It holds its crimson fruit 

 well in winter. Planted among evergreens it Is wonderfully 

 effective because of Its tall and stately habit of growth. 



The bayberry (MyrIca cerifera) Is another showy-frultcd 

 shrub. Its grayish-white berries are thickly studded along 

 Its brown branches, and are retained throughout the winter. 



The snowberry (Symphorlcarpos racemosus) has been cul- 

 tivated for nearly a hundred years in our gardens, and prob- 

 ably stands at the head of the list as a white-berried shrub. 

 If this Is planted In front of evergreens the purity of its 

 color is brought out charmingly. It Is very effective when 

 grown near scarlet-fruited shrubs, like the barberry or alder. 



The value of the mountain ash for winter decoration is 

 just beginning to be understood. If It retained its fruit 

 throughout the winter, it would be our most valuable plant, 

 but the birds claim It as their especial property, and It is gen- 

 erally fruitless by Christmas. But up to that time it is 

 exceedingly attractive, especially if planted where It can have 

 the benefit of strong contrast to bring out the rich color of its 

 orange-red clusters. 



The Ramanas rose (R. luclda) has showy clusters of 

 crimson fruit which retains Its beauty long after the holi- 

 days. This shrub is quite as attractive in winter as in 

 summer. 



There are many kinds of shrubs whose berries are "blue, 

 and black, or purple. While these are not so showy as those 

 of scarlet or crimson or white, they are very beautiful, and 

 can be made good use of In the winter garden. 



It will be understood, from what I said at the beginning 

 of this article, that I put high value on the decorative effect 

 of leafless shrubs. Their branches, traced against a back- 

 ground of snow or sky, make an embroidery that has about 

 It a charm summer can not equal. A bitter-sweet clambering 

 over bush or tree, and displaying Its many clusters of red 

 and orange against a network of leafless branches, with the 

 intense blue of a winter sky showing through them, makes a 

 picture brilliant in the extreme. But the charm is not all in 

 the color of the fruit, but in branch and twig as well. 



