Shrubs for Use and Ornament a, e. p. powell 
179 
THE MOST SERVICEABLE HARDY SHRUBS THAT FIT AROUND THE HOME AND WHY THEY EXCEL — PLANT NOW 
/ FOR THIS YEAR’S EFFECTS 
T HE home maker who plans a garden 
should learn to understand the sim- 
plicity of shrubbery planting whether 
for ornament or for screen or shelter, 
and that the best hedges are made of the very 
commonest plants. The Osage Orange and 
Honey Locust (Gleditschia) are harsh affairs, 
and fast passing out of use for hedges. The 
Osage Orange has the advantage of being free 
from insects and the Honey Locust is nearly 
immune, except that the mice gnaw it badly 
about the roots. The Pyracantha, or Fire 
Thorn is able to resist cattle and is far better 
than either of the above plants near a house; 
the white-fruited variety is entirely hardy in 
New England and New York. It is hard to 
charming, especially when it sifts the moon- 
beams through it. In the hedge form this 
foliage is very attractive and ornamental. 1 
have had the Siberian Pea-tree recommended 
to me for hedge work; in South Africa it is 
the chief hedge plant. With me in Western 
New York, the foliage is most beautiful while 
the plant is entirely hardy. 
However, all in all, for a hedge plant where 
considerable strength and turning power is 
needed, there is nothing better than the Buck- 
thorn, or Blackthorn. I have never seen one 
give up after it has been put in use, but I do 
not know where to find an Osage Orange hedge 
in the state of New York. U he Buckthorn 
needs trimming about three times a year, and 
Swamp Dogwood (Com us Amomum) blooming in June 
and July is a strong growing shrub that will endure partial 
shade 
For base or frontal planting of tall growing shrubs the 
white tasselled Deutzia gracilis is excellent. Flowers very 
early 
conceive of a hedge of this sort as looking 
badly from neglect. It grows easily from 
cuttings, and is so astonishingly thorny that 
neither fowl nor beast 
will touch it twice. 
In fact, there is noth- 
ing better than this 
Thorn around the 
suburban garden, or 
at the rear of a place 
likely to be invaded 
by boys. 
Dwarf pears and 
apples have been used 
for hedges. These if 
planted about three 
feet apart and not 
trimmed up at all will 
interlock their limbs 
impenetrably. They 
are very long lived, 
but not necessarily 
very handsome and, 
of course, spraying 
will usually need 
yearly attention. The 
English Hawthorn 
does very well in 
Northern sections, 
when it is not at- 
tacked by woolly 
aphis, a pest that is 
very destructive during dry seasons. Growing 
wild, this Thorn makes a very dense bush, and 
when we use it for a hedge the individuals 
should be planted far enough apart to let them 
develop their characteristics. The cross breds 
and sports of the Hawthorn are equally good, 
and some of them far more beautiful. The 
Paul’s Double Scarlet is simply superb, 
whether grown as a hedge or as a single plant. 
If you can find seed of the Thornless Honey 
Locust, you will get just as good a hedge plant 
as if you grew the Three-thorn variety. I have 
been able to get a single tree (now forty feet 
high) of this exquisite variety. There is not 
on it a single thorn, of any size. The foliage is 
For late summer bloom the Rose of Sharon, in its multi- 
tude of varieties, single and double, is a well liked 
favorite . 
it can be cut very close without doing any 
mischief. I cut mine back one half or»more 
about once in ten years. The mice never 
gnaw this plant, and 
nothing else attacks 
it, except the plum 
louse. This aphis 
breeds as freely on 
the Buckthorn as on 
the Plum, passing 
later in the season to 
the Hop yards. It is 
a good plan to mulch 
any of these hedges, 
especially where mice 
are dreaded, with coal 
ashes — from anthra- 
cite coal. This gritty 
stuff is a great bother 
to mice, and to any 
other gnawing crea- 
tures. 
The Common 
Lilacs are frequently 
used, but to my fancy 
are not by any means 
as good as the Persian. 
The new F rench 
Lilacs, double and 
semi-double, can be 
set in close rows, 
about four or five feet 
\\ hen planting a hedge pay attention to the soil and see to it that the situation is one where the plants have a chance to 
grow. Competition with big trees for light and food is not a favorable condition 
