April, 1917 
THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 
173 
The native Bearberry ( Arctostaphylos uva-ursi) is a wide 
spreading ground cover that thrives in full exposure 
The creeping Evonymus ( E . radicans, var. vegetus ) is inval- 
uable for covering walls with north and west exposures 
It is rare in nurseries where forms of the 
less hardy B. sempervirens erroneously and 
unintentionally pass muster for it. 
Another native that makes an ideal ground cover is 
Pachystima Canbyi with dense, small, light green foliage 
A new Evergreen Barberry ( Berbens verruculosa ) 
from China that has withstood full winter exposure in 
Boston 
ONE BOX THAT IS HARDY 
ters of yellow flowers and bloomy black fruits 
but gray-green leaves. This species grows 
about a foot high and has a creeping rootstock 
from which shoots arise and form a broad, 
low thicket. Very beautiful and quite hardy 
is the new Chinese Berberis verruculosa, with 
prostrate and arching stems, small, prickly 
Holly-like leaves, dark shining green above 
and white below. It grows from one to two 
feet high, is very densely branched and has 
yellow flowers in the axils of the leaves and 
these are followed by bloomy black fruit. 
SHOWY AND FRAGRANT FLOWERS 
Very handsome in flower and striking at all 
seasons are the Yuccas with their spear-like 
evergreen leaves. Three species (T. flaccida, 
Y. jilamentosa and Y. glaucd) are hardy in the 
neighborhood of Boston Mass., and thrive 
in ordinary garden soil. Their pure white, 
nodding, top-shaped flowers are borne in pro- 
fusion on erect, branching stems from four 
to six feet tall. 
The Garland Flower ( Daphne Cneorum) is a 
well-known evergreen with gray-green and 
terminal heads of fragrant pink blossoms. 
Many find it difficult to establish for it resents 
transplanting and for this reason pot-grown 
plants should be obtained in preference to 
those grown in open ground. 
TRAILERS AND GROUND COVERS 
For planting beneath trees there is nothing 
better than Pachysandra terminalis, a native of 
Japan and China. It grows about ten inches 
high and, spreading from a creeping rootstock, 
forms a dense ground cover in situations where 
but few plants will grow. I he leaves 
are light green, and the inconspicuous 
flowers are followed by whitish fruits. 
Another favorite broad-leaved Ever- 
green is the Lesser Periwinkle ( Vinca 
minor), native of Europe and western 
Leucolhoe Catesbaei with yard-long arching stems is a handsome under- 
growth plant 
The Creeping Mahonia (M. repens) is much hardier 
than its taller relative the Oregon grape. Grows about 
a foot high 
makes a stiff bush with its short, dense 
branches and is handsome as a specimen and 
is well adapted for making hedges. The 
leaves are small, blackish green and the fruit 
is black and is freely produced. There are 
two or three forms of this Holly and if plants 
are raised from seed much variation in size of 
leaf is shown. Those with the smallest leaves 
are hardiest and seldom burn in winter, 
whereas the form known as major has not 
proved hardy in the Arnold Arboretum. This 
shrub, or small tree, is widely spread in Japan 
and is also much grown in Japanese gardens 
where it is usually clipped and trained into the 
grotesque. 
MAHONIAS AND BARBERRIES 
The lovely Oregon Grape ( Mahonia Aqui- 
folium), with its lustrous, metallic green leaves 
which in late fall assume rich shades of bronzy 
The Common Box of Europe ( Buxus sem- 
pervirens) is scarcely hardy in New England 
and as a rule browns badly in March and 
looks unsightly in the spring. There are 
many forms of this Box, and the hardiest is 
myrtifolia, with dull green leaves which are 
longer than they are broad. As a low edging 
around formal beds the Common Box winters 
fairly well when the snowfall is normal or in 
excess of normal, but if exposed to full sun in 
March the leaves scald. A much superior 
plant for northern gardens is the Japanese 
Box (B. microphylla) and its taller growing 
variety japonica, both being perfectly hardy 
in the Arnold Arboretum. The type is dwarf 
in habit and has narrow, wedge-shaped leaves 
and is very useful for edging purposes and for 
rockeries. The variety has rounded leaves, 
yellowish green in color and makes a compact 
bush in size comparable with its European 
relative. Both flower in early spring and 
are freely visited by bees. The Japanese 
Box, which is distinguished from the 
Common Box by the relatively long stalk 
to the rudimentary ovary of the male 
flowers, is far from being well known. 
The Heathers and Heaths grow quite easily in New Eng- 
land if given full exposure to sun and air. Photographed in 
Arnold Arboretum 
green and blackish crimson is, unfortunately, 
not properly hardy here. In winters, when 
the snowfall is heavy and lies on the ground 
until spring, this shrub winters fairly well; 
but usually the leaves burn badly and though 
the stems are not often killed the plants are 
very unsightly until new leaves develop. 
Much hardier and entirely satisfactory is its 
relative M. repens, with similar terminal clus- 
