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THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. 
Places noted for good natural planting should be 
visited, if possible, and results noted. Among such places 
may be mentioned : 
Central Park, New York City ; Prospect Park, Brook- 
lyn ; Franklin Park, Boston ; The Parks of the Boston 
Metropolitan Park System; The Arnold Arboretum, 
Boston ; Professor Sargent's home grounds, and a number 
of private estates in Brookline, near Boston ; Graceland 
Cemetery, Chicago, the larger parks of the south and 
west park commission of Chicago ; Monument Valley 
Park, Colorado Springs ; Glen Eyrie, near Colorado 
Springs, some of the parks of Seattle and Point Defiance 
Park of Tacoma. These are a few notable examples of 
work worth studying. 
Travel is a wonderful teacher in the use of native plants. 
A few examples of my own observations might be worth 
mentioning. When studying the planting of parkways 
and boulevards in numerous cities I have often wondered 
why some of the wide spaces of turf were not utilized for 
the planting of native shrubby material. In some cities 
there seems to be a sameness bordering on monotony in 
the planting of such streets. There may be sufficient 
variety in the species of trees planted, but imagine the 
variety which might be produced by the utilization of 
such material as our native dogwoods, viburnums, roses, 
sumachs, gooseberries and spiraeas, with an addition of 
native perennials and native climbing plants softening the 
harsh outlines of an iron or concrete lamp post. 
Why should not more elm, tulip-tree, sweet gum, pin 
oak, hackberry, ash and similar desirable and permanent 
trees be planted to replace the brittle and short lived soft 
maple, poplars and box elders. 
Why are not such beautiful native plants as the white- 
flowered dogwood, red bud, wild plum, Virginia cherry, 
Juneberry, native thorns, sassafras, and crab apples oc- 
casionally used in the wide spaces between the walk and 
curb along the streets of some of our cities. This ma- 
terial, used as indicated, would certainly be notable. 
In the newer settlements of our western states there 
exists a pressing need for instruction on the use of native 
planting material : Owing to the rapid growth of the Lom- 
bardy and Carolina poplars, it seems to be the general 
opinion, that those are almost the only trees to plant in 
these sections, whereas, observation has shown, that with 
proper attention to selection a large number of native 
trees and shrubs might take their place, thereby relieving 
the monotonous appearance of these sections of the coun- 
try, caused by the too numerous poplars. 
I have seen a railroad embankment covered for miles 
with the purple cone-flower (Echinacea purpurea). This 
suggested to me, its extensive use in ornamental planta- 
tions. The American blue-bell (Campanula Americana) 
is very beautiful when in bloom, but the effect that might 
be produced by having hundreds of them in flower against 
a background of foliage never occurred to me until I saw 
them growing naturally in this manner along the north 
Missouri hills. 
On another occasion I saw railroad embankments 
covered for long distances with the blazing star (Liatris 
pycnostachya) produciing a most gorgeous effect with 
their spikes of purple flowers. 
The mere fact that the display of native flowering ma- 
terial is so abundant and glorious as to defy description 
is often the cause of its non-employment in ornamental 
plantations, in regions adjacent to its growth. This was 
forcibly brought to my attention when I visited the 
Glazier National Park this summer. Stepping off the 
train the visitor is given no indication of the wonderful 
masses of bright colored native flowers just beyond his 
vision. The space between the railroad station' and the 
hotel, which serves as a sort of entrance to the reservation, 
is utilized for lawn, with borders of petunias, verbenas 
and other annuals along the drive. This makes a most 
unsatisfactory and tame introduction to the natural beauty 
displayed by millions of native flowering herbs and shrubs 
which cover the adjacent territory for miles. This fore- 
ground should have been planted with the native orna- 
mental material so easily collected in the vicinity, thereby 
producing an effect which would invite you to stop for 
further investigation and study. 
The wonderful effect produced by the native perennials 
and shrubs at the Glacier National Park suggested to me 
how we might add interest and beauty to our parks and 
gardens by a lavish use of our local plants. I pictured in 
my mind a drive through a park or large estate on the 
borders of which were planted successive large masses of 
such herbs as bluets, spring beauty, phlox, larkspurs, 
purple coneflower, Virginia snakeroot, Oswego tea, both 
the red and purple, blazing star, violets, butterflyweed, 
asters, golden rods, compass plant and others for the 
more open and sunny places, and bloodroot, Jack in the 
pulpit, wake robins, false Solomon's seal, native ferns and 
orchids for the more shady and moist places. The steep 
banks would be covered with native honeysuckles, grapes, 
roses, blackberries, bittersweet, Indian currant and snow- 
berry. Along the watercourses near the road would be 
found masses of native flags, cardinal flower, cat-tail, 
arrow heads, water lilies and other attractive moisture- 
loving plants. What wonderful, interesting and instruc- 
tive scenes might be produced in this way by simply 
selecting the local native plants particularly adapted to 
each particular situation. 
So much for the herbs. These should have a back- 
ground selected from our long list of beautiful and attrac- 
tive shrubs and small trees, with large masses of the most 
conspicuous flowering ones placed in the distance. The 
larger trees would be disposed of in masses, the ground 
around them covered with native shrubs and herbs, ex- 
cept in places where a grove, or a single tree might prove 
advantageous. There is enough variety in the form and 
growth of our arboreous plants to serve every conceiv- 
able purpose, and to suit any soil or situation. We 
might go a little further into the specific uses of native 
material for ornamental planting. Suppose we were to 
select such material for the planting at the base of a build- 
ing, we would use the downy-leaved arrow-wood ( Vibur- 
num pubescens), the maple-leaved arrow- wood ( Vibur- 
num aceifolium), spiraeas, the prairie rase (Rosa siti- 
gera). the Indian currant, the snowberry, the New Jer- 
sey tea and the flowering raspberry for low and medium 
growth, the high-bush cranberry, sumachs, elders, prickly 
ash, calyanthus, clethra, hazel and witch-hazel for taller 
plantings. For the covering of porches and arbors we 
would use Virginia creeper, moon-vine, grapes, honey- 
suckle, trumpet-vine, bitter-sweet and the Virginia cle- 
matis. 
For the designing of small home grounds, we would 
select our tree material from the many beautiful native 
medium and small trees, such as red bud, juneberry, 
flowering dogwood, hawthorns, plums, crab apple aiid 
winter berry ; these should be used where the space is 
too limited for the employment of our taller growing 
trees. 
Every one is aware of the wonderful variety of colors 
displayed by our American trees and shrubs in autumn, 
but I believe very little attention is given to the selection 
of such plants for autumn efifect in our plantations. This 
subject is somewhat complex, because of the fact that 
trees of the same species do not all assume the same 
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