Pieris floribunda holds its glossy foliage all winter, and its 
flower racemes make tassel-like ends to each branch, enlivening 
with their pale green the deeper leaf color. It is hardier than 
P. Japonica, which has reddish flower racemes and longer, 
thinner leaves. 
Zenobia pulverulenta is a delightful shrub for planting with 
Rhododendrons and Pieris. Its orange red leaves are a gray- 
underneath, persisting into the winter. 
Bubus laciniatus — a commercial blackberry in California — 
is a beautiful mass of color until late in December. The purple 
stems are low and spreading and the three parted leaves, a good 
dark sulky green, turn bronze. It would be lovely hanging over 
a wall or in shrubbery. B. Giraldiannus is rarer and in winter 
its bare arching stems of dark red with a thick gray bloom over 
them make a most striking effect. 
Ground There are many ground covers that are especially good in 
Covers ^ a ^ an< ^ winter, varing from a low creeping shrub to close mats. 
Of the former is Xanthorrhiza apiifolia, (Yellow Root) which 
spreading by suckers, sends up two foot branchless stems. Its 
value lies in its color, its ability to grow in shade or sun, and its 
habit of growth which smothers weeds, but never makes a tangle 
that man or horse cannot walk safely through. Its leaves, a good 
green all summer, turn bright yellow with bronze tones, and 
persist until early winter. Plant with the Cornus and you will 
have a wonderful mass of color. Bhus canadensis or Bhus 
aromatica, a more untrammeled shrub, spreads vigorously from 
rooting branch tips. It is useful for holding banks where a 
stream may overflow, as it is tall enough to rise above a wash 
and strong enough to resist pressure. The catkins are decor- 
ative and the wood aromatic. The foliage turns brilliant 
orange and scarlet. 
Of all the Hypericums, lovely beyond words for summer 
bloom, only Buckleyi is a ground cover — a close mat of dull 
green with bronze and lavender overtones. Mahonia aquifolia 
(Oregon Grape), two to three feet high, is perfectly hardy. 
Spreading thickly, its dull bronze leaves resemble the holly in 
form but have a leathery pebbled texture. Decorative blue 
berries appear in the spring and drop. M. repens, only twelve 
inches high, has a blunter leaf and more color in it. Pachysandra 
we all know, but Pachistima Canbyi is a most valuable cover 
that has been hard to obtain, and is little used. It grows in a 
close mat of small leaves, set closely on short stems, which turn 
bronze and green with cold. Arctostaphylos uva-ursi (Bear- 
berry) is a fascinating native ground cover whose ten-inch 
stems are closely set with small dark green blunt leaves of 
leathery texture. Its red fruit the size of pea is beloved of 
birds and soon garnered. Vaccinium Vitis-Idea (Mountain 
Cranberry), an ericaceous plant, makes an excellent cover of 
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