SOME BEAUTIFUL SHRUBS. 



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freely, and it is advisable to take these up and replant, as this shrub is 

 short-lived, or at any rate often dies off for no apparent reason. 



Two small shrubs, closely akin botanically to the Spiraeas, with 

 pleasing foliage which assumes a good brown colour in the autumn, are 

 Stephanandra flexuosa, and the larger species S. Tanakae, of which the 

 red twigs and free waving growth are ornamental. Neither of these 

 should be clipped or pruned : not that such treatment injures their health, 

 but because it totally destroys the special charm of their appearance. 

 The delicate finely cut leaves of the former are liable to shrivel and burn 

 if exposed to too hot a sun. 



Few shrubs are more attractive in the early summer months than the 

 Diervillas (or Weigelas, as they used always to be called), and they are 

 also of easy cultivation in almost any kind of soil. 



It is advisable to prune out the old wood fairly hard every year 

 or two, and very large specimens can be given a new lease of life by 

 cutting them clean down to the ground. They will break out again 

 quite freely and quickly make good specimens. Diervilla praecox is the 

 first to flower, and is succeeded by D. florida and D. grandiflora. Of 

 the last two species there are a number of varieties and hybrids, and 

 among the most desirable are ' Abel Carriere,' ' Conquete,' 'Eva Rathke,' 

 Candida, ' Dr. Baillon,' ' Isolene,' and Van Houttei. D. florida Looy- 

 mansii aurea has golden foliage, which does not burn, and D. floribunda 

 versicolor has very pleasing foliage — a mixture of pink, white, and green. 



Although the elders {Sambucus) cannot in general be regarded as 

 suitable for the select shrubbery, there are some worthy a place in all 

 collections. The finest in flower is Sambucus canadensis, which carries 

 a very large inflorescence of almost white flowers. It is an imposing- 

 plant, and succeeds well if cut down to the ground annually. 



The cut-leaved golden form of S. racemosa is one of our best brightly 

 coloured shrubs, and a variety called tenuifolia has leaves so attractive 

 and finely cut as, at a little distance, to ape the outward look of a 

 Japanese maple. 



Very few shrubs are more generally appreciated than Philadelphus, 

 and though the varieties and hybrids catalogued by foreign firms are 

 bewildering in their multitude, nearly all are more or less worth growing 

 where space is ample ; as far as I know, all except one hybrid have white 

 flowers and the majority are very sweetly scented, nothing surpassing 

 the perfume of P. microphyllus or P. purpureo-maculatus. To keep 

 them vigorous and obtain as large an amount of flower as possible, the 

 old flowering wood should be pruned out annually, so that strong basal 

 shoots may be formed. The more desirable large growing sorts are 

 P. coronarius, Gordonianus, grandiflorus, and inodorus, and of medium 

 stature are P. Lemoinei, which has among the following hybrids bearing 

 single or double flowers : ' Boule d'Argent,' ' Candelabre,' ' Avalanche,' 

 ' Gerbe de Neige,' and purpureo-maculatus, the last being one of the 

 finest shrubs we have. The flowers are single, of large size, most 

 deliciously scented, and pure white in colour with a purple blotch at the 

 base of each petal. P. micro phyllus, with small flowers and small 

 glaucous foliage, is one of the choicest. 



One or two new species of Philadelphus which are among the latest of 



