352 JOURNAL OF THE KOYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



SOME BEAUTIFUL SHRUBS. 

 By E. Beckett, V.M.H. 

 [Read November 9, 1909.] 



It was with a keen sense of pleasure, though not without some anxiety, 

 that I accepted the Secretary's invitation to speak upon the subject of 

 "Flowering Shrubs" ; for although it has been my good fortune to be 

 engaged in many branches of horticulture, I have no hesitation in saying 

 that in none have I found greater interest or derived more pleasure than 

 in flowering shrubs. It may be well to say at once that all the statements 

 I shall make are the outcome of practical experience and painstaking 

 observation. I have been engaged with my esteemed employer, the 

 Hon. V. Gibbs, whose knowledge of shrubs is very great, in collecting 

 and growing flowering shrubs from many parts of the world for more 

 than a quarter of a century, and may therefore claim to know something 

 of their requirements and to be able to form an opinion as to which are 

 the most suitable for our climate. 



During the last few years hardy shrubs have claimed the attention of 

 many garden lovers, and, indeed, all branches of horticulture which are 

 dealt with out of doors have benefited greatly by the much increased 

 interest taken in them. The enthusiasm now so noticeable among those 

 who concern themselves with flowering shrubs is * due to a variety of 

 causes, one of the principal being that they require a much smaller 

 amount of attention than do plants cultivated under glass, and this is 

 important to those who are unable to devote a large amount of time to 

 their gardens. Another reason may be that there is a much greater 

 element of permanence, and a nearer approach to a natural condition of 

 things, in " open air " than in " hot-house " gardening : if the expenditure 

 required for proper upkeep were suddenly to stop, the first hard frost 

 would wipe out everything in the house, as if they had never been ; but in 

 the open there might be found some rare trees or shrubs flourishing 

 a hundred years after the last penny had been spent upon them. 



Further, it may be urged that by judicious selection one can have 

 some shrub or shrubs in flower all the year round ; and, again, the 

 material at command is so large that varieties suitable for any soil or 

 situation may easily be secured. Another and perhaps the paramount 

 reason for their leap into popularity is owing to the immense number of 

 beautiful shrubs which have been introduced into cultivation by that 

 clever and indefatigable collector, Mr. E. H. Wilson, through the instru- 

 mentality, in the first place, of Messrs. Veitch, and more recently of 

 Professor Sargent, of the Arnold Arboretum ; and though many of these 

 have not been long enough in the British Isles to establish their adapt- 

 ability, we may safely assume that a large number will prove to be 

 beautiful and valuable additions. 



