SHRUBS 



prevent healthy development. If you take the 

 look ahead which I have advised, you will antici- 

 pate the development of the shrub, and plant 

 for the future rather than the immediate present. 

 Be content to let the grounds look rather naked 

 for a time. Three or four years ^vill remedy 

 that defect. You can plant perennials and an- 

 nuals between them, temporarily, if you want the 

 space filled. It will be understood that what has 

 been said in this paragraph applies to different 

 Jiiiids of shrubs set as single specimens, and not 

 to those planted on the " grouping " system. 



In planting shrubs, the rule given for trees 

 applies quite fully. Have the hole for them 

 large enough to admit of spreading out their 

 roots naturally. You can tell about this by set- 

 ting the shrub down upon the ground after un- 

 wrapping it, and watching the way in which it 

 disposes of its roots. They will spread out on 

 all sides as they did before the plant was taken 

 from the ground. This is what they should be 

 allowed to do in their new quarters. ISIany per- 

 sons dig what resembles a post-hole more than 

 anything else, and crowd the roots of the shrub 

 into it, ^vithout making any effort to loosen or 

 straighten them out, dump in some lumpy soil, 

 trample it down roughly, and call the work done. 



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