SOME BEAUTIFUL SHKUBS. 



357 



tender rosy amber, is very pleasing. The profusion of red stamens in the 

 male flowers, which appear before the leaves, is also attractive. Disanthus 

 cercidifolia, which is at present very scarce, has foliage resembling 

 Cercidiphylhim, but the habit is less columnar. It is also a member of 

 the Hamamelidaceae, but I have not seen the flowers yet. It is, however, 

 very desirable, on account of the brillant colour of the foliage in autumn. 



The species of Cercis have much to recommend them as small trees 

 or bushes either in the shrubbery or as isolated specimens, and are 

 deserving of more extended use. They are not partial to the full glare of 

 the sun, and I learn from Mr. Gibbs that on the Continent they are nearly 

 always used for under-planting among other trees of more robust type. 

 The flowers appear before the leaves, and are produced very freely, both 

 on young and old wood, and none of them require pruning. The one 

 most frequently seen is the Judas tree, Cercis siliquastrum, which has 

 reddish-purple flowers ; but others worthy of inclusion are C. canadensis, 

 the Red Bud of North America, which is more slender in growth and 

 with smaller flowers, and the very excellent pure white form of this. 



Perhaps the best known of all early flowering shrubs are the Forsythias, 

 and there is no doubt that they merit a place in all gardens. They seldom, 

 if ever, fail to produce a wealth of blossom, and the brilliant yellow 

 colouring of the flowers is most welcome in the springtime. Forsythia 

 suspensa is undoubtedly the most handsome, and of this there appear to 

 be two or three varieties. Some prefer to give them specific rank, but it 

 appears to me that they are only forms of the type which differ slightly in 

 habit or the colour of the flowers. F. viridissima, which makes a rotund 

 bush of somewhat slower growth, is a little later than suspensa and quite 

 as handsome in its bloom, but stiffer and less graceful in its habit ; while 

 there is also F. europaea, a new species from Albania, in which I can 

 see but little merit. It is, of course, interesting geographically, but 

 seems to me quite out-classed by the Chinese forms. 



Cydonia, better known as Pyrus, japonica is generally appreciated 

 whether as a bush or wall plant, and few shrubs are more attractive in 

 spring. As an isolated specimen in grass this shrub attains to a large 

 size, and a specimen at Aldenham, now seventy feet in circumference and 

 just about the same number of years old, makes a brilliant display with 

 its bright red flowers. There are several excellent varieties, of which 

 Simonii, with rich purplish-red flowers, is perhaps the finest of all. Of 

 the others Mallardii, pure white ; 1 Knap Hill Scarlet,' a very large single 

 blossom ; cardinalis, very bright in colour ; and Gaufordii, with white and 

 red blossoms, are the most attractive. Another Japanese species, Cydonia 

 Maulei, with orange-red flowers, is a very pleasing small bush, and pro- 

 duces its flowers with remarkable freedom. It also fruits freely, the fruits 

 being yellowish in colour and deliciously scented. Excellent varieties 

 of this type are : alba, atrosanguinea, and superba, the last having 

 esspecially rich-coloured flowers. The Cydonias require practically no 

 pruning, but as the varieties are generally worked on the typical form 

 no dependence can be placed on the colour of the blooms which plants 

 grown from seed may produce, and, just as in the case of tree-paeonies, 

 lilacs, &c, it is important to see that suckers are not allowed to develop, 

 to the injury of the parent plant. 



