THE CHASE NURSERIES, GENEVA, NEW YORK 
45 
Spiraea Van Houttei (see page 50} 
Hardy Flowering Shrubs 
Ornamental shrubs are important features in the proper planting of grounds where the space 
is too limited to permit the use of large trees in the landscape plan. Individual specimens have a 
particular value in such places, and groupings about the foundation walls of the house or about 
the lawn always add to the beauty of the home grounds; in fact shrubs are absolutely necessary 
where only the simplest planting effects are desired. 
From this list you can select an assortment that will furnish a succession of flowers from the 
opening of spring, when the forsythia first displays its golden flowers, until frosts come. Likewise 
a selection of color can be made that will add to the attractiveness of the place, not only when the 
plants are in bloom, but after the foliage has dropped, for then the brilliant red berries of the 
barberry, the strawberry bush, the euonymus, and others, will serve to vary the monotony of 
the winter scene. 
Only the simplest cultivation is needed to se- 
cure splendid specimens of these hardy shrubs. 
They will grow in almost any soil — hard clay, 
loam or sand — and such pruning as is necessary 
to keep them shapely is all that is required. Most 
of them should be pruned after the blooming 
period, as the flower buds for the following spring 
are formed on this year's growth; hence, if the 
shrubs are pruned too early in spring much of the 
bloom will be lost. 
In the fall a top-dressing of stable manure may 
be applied, and forked in about the roots the fol- 
lowing spring. If the summer is unusually dry, the 
lop soil should be frequently raked over, and a 
mulch of straw or grass clippings will be of advan- 
tage; these will conserve the moisture and induce 
a strong growth of plant and healthy green foliage. 
Berberis Thunbergii makes a fine low hedge 
for the home grounds. The foliage is small, bright 
Althaea 
