260 
The Garden Magazine, January, 1921 
A Little-Known Rudbeckia 
The Oak-Leaved Hydrangea 
as they are, despite the wiring which 1 have laboriously done, a 
heavy snow bends them to the ground, and further hurts them, 
1 fear. But they are superbly beautiful under the snow, as 1 
find when 1 go among them striving to release them from their 
white burden. I am trying to replace those that die with Hem- 
locks, which, equally beautiful, seem to grow more comfortably. 
V ISITING one September day that wonder-place along the 
harsh shores of Lake Michigan, which includes only two or 
three actual acres and looks like a generous park, a dainty gar- 
den, a good city back-yard, a woodland dell, and other things as 
attractive, but best of all like the outdoor and indoor home one 
comes to associate with W. C. Egan, 1 was hit hard by a veri- 
table blaze of bright yellow that bordered the driveway. Greet- 
ings over, the question was asked and answered. “ Rudbeckia 
triloba,” said Mr. Egan. “It is a hardy biennial, it self-sows, 
so that 1 have only to weed out what I do not want. In a cor- 
ner it has not yet reached, I just shake a few seed heads 1 have 
taken from the plants when they bloom out in the fall.” Then 
he went on to tell me how serviceable this biennial Rudbeckia 
is as an indoor decoration, the entire plant, in full bloom, being 
lifted and “tubbed,” for it grows beyond pot-size in a season. 
Three to four feet high, the veritable bushes of R. triloba were 
completely covered with flowers somewhat smaller than those 
of the commoner R. hirta and its varieties, and having, of 
course, the characteristic central, nearly black cone. The habit 
is wholly different from that of other Rudbeckias in its compact- 
ness and uprightness, giving it a decorative quality of its own. 
Of course Mr. Egan promptly offered me plants, which 1 as 
promptly accepted — for what is the use of good plants if friends 
can’t exchange them? — wherefore Breeze Hill has this year used 
R. triloba. One group I put with Heliopsis Pitcheriana, which 
it has followed in bloom and improved upon in effectiveness. 
Another surrounded a Buddleia, and they are making together 
a beautiful contrast as I write in mid-September. 
A Good Fall White Daisy 
B LOOMING very pleasingly and abundantly, and of the 
same height but with a looser habit than Rudbeckia 
triloba, is Pyrethrum uliginosum, a white-flowered daisy-like 
A GOLDEN GAMUT IN FALL 
The native Rudbeckia triloba is compact and upright, self sows freely 
and may be lifted when in full bloom (September) for indoor use 
W HY do not more garden folks have this nota- 
ble American shrub? I s it because we are so 
seriously infected with the disease distributed by 
nurserymen under the name of Hydrangea paniculata 
grandiflora? Has this flamboyant, tiresome shrub 
poisoned us against all the other better Hydrangeas? 
I know that one can hardly obtain the really lovely 
Hydrangea paniculata, the fertile form, because of 
the way in which the grandiflora pest has spread from 
its proper Newport environment, but H. quercifolia 
is so utterly different that it ought to appeal to all 
who plant for merit and beauty rather than for the 
monkey reason of imitation. 
The habit of the Oak-leaved Hydrangea is com- 
mendable especially in that it keeps itself clothed 
with its thick, leathery, and impressive foliage 
clear to the ground. This foliage opens rather 
plant that next year is to be planted right with it. I owe this 
good September bloomer to some seed from F. H. Horsford, who 
doesn’t care much about beaten paths when he finds anything 
worth while. It has been in flower for many weeks, and has 
brightened its little corner effectively, nestling under the unique 
and beautiful foliage of Hydrangea quercifolia. 
I hoped that this would keep flowering until its blooms were 
in contrast with the rich hues usually developed in 
the Hydrangea’s leaves by the first cool nights. 
This year, however, we didn’t have any cool nights, 
and the Pyrethrum bloomed itself through before 
the Hydrangea leaves began to turn, not in color 
but in their form. They have curled up in conse- 
quence of the two freezes in the midst of soft and 
open weather which have made this fall a peculiar 
fall. The expected has not happened, and that is 
one of the many items of interest that makes the 
garden a real joy to me. 
OAK-LEAVED HYDRANGEA 
Another of the lesser grown shrubs, but excellent for semi-shade. The white 
flower effect in summer is succeeded by rich crimson foliage in the fall 
