120 



THE AMERICAN GARDEN. 



[Auuust, 



ORNAMENTAL SHRUBS. 



The proper selection of the kinds of shrubs 

 best suited to the extent and general char- 

 acter of our lawns is always a matter of im- 

 portance, and, even after a judicious choice 

 has been made, the requirements of each 

 kind should be regarded in planting. To 

 obtain success, precaution must be taken as 

 to their adaptability to soil, and that the 

 more tender ones be placed in sheltered 

 positions. Shrubs may nourish and be per- 

 fectly hardy on one spot, while but a short 

 distance off they will prove a failure. The 

 soil must be thoroughly drained and the wood 

 well ripened, or else the shrubs will not stand 

 the winter. 



The Massachusetts Horticultural Society 

 during the past year devoted several meet- 

 ings to the discussion of this important sub- 

 ject, and the list below comprises the species 

 most highly recommended by members of 

 the Society. 



Hydramji -a paiiiat/ata grandiflora, though 

 introduced here over a quarter of a century 

 ago, and one of our most beautiful and 

 desirable shrubs, has not been cultivated to 

 any extent until a few years ago. The plant 

 is perfectly hardy, and requires no care 

 other than that bestowed upon our finer 

 varieties of flowering shrubs. Hydrangea 

 paniculata, of which grandiflora is a variety, 

 has a finer foliage, is more graceful, and quite 

 as hardy. Whether grown singly or in groups, 

 the Hydi-angea represents all that is grandest 

 in a shrub, as Exocliorda grandiflora does all 

 that is most beautiful. To these may be 

 added a third, 



Viburnum plication, introduced into this 

 country some thirty years ago, and, though 

 neglected at that time, has recently taken its 

 place among our handsomest shrubs. It re- 

 sembles the common Snowball, but is much 

 more delicate. It produces large trusses of 

 pure white flowers in great profusion. The 

 trusses are very compact and the individual 

 flowers have great substance. It is not as 

 common as the Hydrangea, being of slower 

 growth and more difficult to propagate. 



Viburnum macroceplialum resembles V. 

 pJicatum, only the cluster of flowers is larger. 

 There are several native species' well worthy 

 of cultivation, and which thrive wondrously 

 under a little attention. 



Kalmia latifolia, also a native, is one of 

 our most beautiful as well as showy flower- 

 ing shrubs, though somewhat difficult to 

 grow ; yet, with proper attention to the con- 

 dition of the soil, success will generally re- 

 ward our efforts. 



Primus triloba is a beautiful shrub, with 

 wreaths of rosy pink blossoms. 



Spirea aricefolia, S. prunifolia, and S. Thun- 

 bergii, are all fine, handsome shrubs, and 

 readily cultivated. Thunberg's Spirea does 

 not grow large, and is very appropriate for 

 small places. It blooms in early spring. 



Cornus sanguined, the Red Dogwood, " is 

 well known, and is desirable for its winter 

 effects, its red branches being very showy 

 when divested of their leaves." 



Beutzia crenata-flore plena. The double- 

 flowering Deutzias are rapidly growing in 

 favor, and they ought to find a place in every 

 garden, large or small. The dwarf single- I 



flowering is a charming plant, which, on 

 account of its small size, free flowering 

 qualities and hardiness, cannot be too highly 

 commended for small gardens. It has ample, 

 bright foliage, its flowers are snowy white, 

 and are produced in great profusion early in 

 June. 



Weigela rosea has held its own against all 

 new-comers, on account of its fine habit. 



The Rhododendrons and Ghent Azaleas are 

 too well known to need any description here. 

 Few shrubs possess the attractions of these 

 magnificent plants, and the admiration they 

 excite should be a spur to their more general 

 dissemination. 



Clethra alvifolia and Cassandra calyculata, 

 both native shrubs, are also very beautiful 

 under cultivation. 



Among shrubs of recent introduction, the 

 following are named as being of great 

 promise, and desirable for hardiness and 

 beauty : 



Clematis Davidiana and C. tubulosa are 

 erect-growing species, from two to four feet 

 high, and in midsummer are covered with 

 beautiful blue flowers like panicles of Hya- 

 cinths. Unfortunately, they do not seed 

 freely, and are difficult to propagate. C. 

 Bavidiana is the most desirable of the two. 



Besmodium pcudulaflorum, B. pendulw- 

 ■florum album, and B. Canadense, are hardy 

 on dry soils. All are suffruticose rather 

 than shrubby. The first two are especially 

 valuable on account of blooming late in 

 autumn, when there are but few flowers. 

 The flowers of the first ai<e purple, and all 

 are pea-shaped. 



Stijrax Japonica is perfectly hardy in dry 

 soils. It has white flowers, similar to those 

 of S, Americana, but perhaps a little larger. 

 The latter is a very pretty shrub, from four 

 to six feet in height, which ought to be in 

 every collection. The flowers resemble 

 those of Halesia, or Silver Bell. 



Andromeda poUfolia is a native species 

 which under cultivation becomes one of the 

 gems of the garden. The foliage is of a 

 glaucous color. It is perfectly hardy. 



Andromeda Catesbcei is of rapid growth 

 and easily propagated. When planted with 

 Rhododendrons nothing is more beautiful, 

 and with the protection they afford is per- 

 fectly hardy ; if not sheltered, the ends of 

 the shoots are sometimes injured. 



Andromeda Japonica is perfectly hardy. It 

 wants to bloom too early in spring, but live 

 years out of six it will be good. 



Berberis Sinensis is perfectly hardy, grows 

 two to three feet high, and is of drooping 

 habit. When full of ripe fruit, it looks like a 

 fountain of scarlet. Berberis ThunbergU has 

 fine autumn foliage, and when the fruit, 

 which is of a deep, rich, scarlet color, is ripe, 

 forms a perfect picture. It is a low growing 

 shrub. 



Neviusia, Alabamensis belongs to the Rose 

 family ; it has numerous bunches of pure 

 white flowers, and is quite showy. Though 

 from Alabama, it is perfectly hardy. 



Erica vagans, E. v. rubra, E. cornea, and Cal- 

 luna vulgaris all do well on thoroughly drained 

 land, with a slight covering; if the snow 

 blows off and leaves them bare, they burn. 



Leiophyllum buxifolium has stood in the 

 Botanic Garden at Cambridge for twelve 

 years. It is a small evergreen bush, grow- 

 ing about one foot high. A larger form, 

 from the mountains of North Carolina, has a 

 larger leaf, of a more waxen appearance. 



UTILIZING GRASS. 



Grass is the cream of the soil. Every ele- 

 ment in its composition has been drawn 

 from the soil ; and if that grass were 

 returned, as it should be, to the hungry land, 

 every leaf and stem would add to the product- 

 iveness of the seed-bed. Yet, a great many 

 people who supervise the management of 

 lawns and gardens, direct every green thing 

 in the form of grass to be east on the beaten 

 track of the highway, as if such plant- 

 growth, if allowed to decay where it grew, 

 would exert a pernicious influence on the 

 fertility of the land. 



There is no better fertilizer for lawns than 

 the grass which the lawn-mower cuts down. 

 The mown grass should never be raked off 

 the lawn. If allowed to remain where it 

 grew, every spear and stem will soon settle 

 around the live roots of the growing herb- 

 age, where it will decay, and thus provide 

 excellent pabulum for the roots that pro- 

 duced the crop. If grass and weeds must be 

 raked off and removed, let all such accumu- 

 lations be spread neatly around the vines of 

 Strawberries, or near the bushes of Black- 

 berries or Currants. If weeds and grass be 

 collected in a pile, during hot and dry 

 weather, every root and stem will soon die. 



All the grass, weeds, and grass-roots that 

 can be collected together, should be utilized 

 for the purpose of mulching growing plants. 

 Decayed grass will make rich land, and will 

 keep the surface of the soil mellow. Don't 

 allow grass to be wasted. S. E. T. 



PRESERVING RUSTIC WORK. 



The difficulty to preserve in our climate 

 natural wood when exposed to the influences 

 of the weather, deters many from the employ- 

 ment of this kind of lawn furniture. The 

 Country Gentleman suggests a cheap and 

 easily applied remedy which seems to answer 

 its purpose well : " Rustic work, if neatly and 

 tastefully constructed and cautiously intro- 

 duced in the more wild and picturesque por- 

 tions of ornamental grounds, may give a very 

 pleasing effect. But if fully exposed to 

 the weather, without any kind of protec- 

 tion, it speedily decays, — a result which is 

 hastened by the slender young material 

 used and the numerous joints and crevices 

 where water can enter. Nothing can ap- 

 pear much worse than decayed and broken 

 seats, distorted summer-houses, and crum- 

 bling and rotten bridges. To avoid these 

 bad results great pains and expense are 

 sometimes incurred in procuring branches 

 and poles of red cedar or other durable kinds 

 of wood ; but a cheaper and more lasting way 

 to prevent this difficulty is to apply two or 

 three heavy coats of crude petroleum to any 

 kind of wood employed, by means of a coarse 

 brush, the oil quickly penetrating the pores 

 and entering the cracks and joints. We have 

 now on our grounds lightly constructed work 

 of soft and perishable wood, which has been 

 exposed to the weather for fifteen years with- 

 out any sign of decay, having been well 

 impregnated, when new, with petroleum." 



Beauty in nature is fortunately more last- 

 ing than the dictates of fashion. More than 

 three hundred years ago Bacon said : " There 

 is nothing more pleasant to the eye than 

 green grass kept finely shorn." The same is 

 true to this day and will be so for all time. 



