WHAT IS A SHRDBBEEY? 
As for cross or subordinate walks, or those in the immediate vicinity of the gardens, or mansion, here there 
will arise, at times, a neoessityfor a continuous belt, or shrubbery ; sometimes as a screen, and sometimes 
contain a rich collection of the smaller and more dressy shi'ubs. And here I would point to the pro- 
priety of keeping- Loudon's maxim in view, if such borders are to be kept in beauty for many years. I 
mean the planting the shrubs so far apart, that every one shall have fi'ee liberty to show its individual 
form, and to preserve it ; no two, in fact, should ever be allowed to touch. It will be said, what is to be 
done with the ground between? I answer, keep it perfectly clean by hoeing and raldng, and the oftener 
these operations are performed, the more satisfaction it will give. Those who are anxious to breaJs; the 
flat outline of the shrubs, might use the Hollyhock, the Dahlia, &c. ; bu.t these would sadly compromise 
the end in view, and would appear much better ranged or grouped in the rear. Pillar Roses would, 
perhaps, form as legitimate an object as anything ; and would harmonize better than either the Holly- 
hock or the Dahlia ; inasmuch as they would, at least, bear the impress of a shi'ub. Much room would, 
however, be requisite, in order to carry out the necessary operations. Independent of anj'thing else, 
I should say, that the shrubs under this style ought to be, on an average, nearly five feet apart ; this 
will, of coui'se, alarm persons of limited space. I would appeal, nevertheless, to then- own experience 
of what occurs in theii- plant-houses, on behalf of room. Who would prefer a plant-house crowded mth 
a collection of a couple of hundred species badly grown, to one containing only half the quantity ; in 
the latter case, the plants complete specimens ? 
No, it is not the number of kinds which a border or a house contains, that constitutes the ne plus 
iiltra of effect, but a judicious selection, well gro'wn, free from leanness, and with everything about 
them perfectly clean and in high dress — art, in fact, boldly recognised. Our old English gardeners 
had a feeling akin to tliis style ; as witness then' efforts at producing hobgoblin yews and other trees, 
by a dubbing system. This was indeed the "recognition of art" with a vengeance; and partly on a 
par with tHs, in point of taste, is much of what used to be called rustic work, in which chairs and seats 
were made to appear as though they grew out of the spot where they were placed. This might have 
been pi-operly termed the recognition of whim. A bolder and sunpler style has of late years pre- 
vailed, and we may now find seats wliicli, although not adapted to the di-awing-room, are not ashamed 
to avow the mechanic's art. 
In the general disposal and management of deciduous shrubs, as here suggested, the mere botanical 
bearing of the subject is of course dismissed. Those who want to form arboretums, must take other 
^dews ; although I do not think it by any means impossible to reconcile the botanical with the pic- 
turesque. 
"Whilst on this subject, I may perhaps be permitted to draw attention to the propriety, in planting 
select trees or shrubs, of securing a due amoimt of those noted for their autumnal tints. Who does 
not admu-e the rich gradations of tint which certain trees or shrubs undergo, durmg the boisterous 
gales of October ? Even the old Virginian Creeper is more admu'cd by far, than when in the most 
verdant di'ess. Then we have the Scarlet and other American Oaks, the Liquidamber, the Black Oaks, 
the Kolreuteria paniculata, with many other trees and shi-ubs ; even the old Merry-tree or Wild 
Cherry has a splendid effect in autumn in our woods, although some seedling varieties possess much 
richer tints than others. Again, in the selection of shrubs, planters should keep an eye on those 
which herald in the spring, and also on those which possess an rmusual share of character, the latter 
placed in bold relief. As examples of the former, I would quote such things as the Chimonanthus 
fragrans, the Cornus mascida, the Mezereon, the Ribes sanguineum, the Rhododendron dam-icum atro- 
vu'ens, the Corchorus japonica, &c., c&c., &c. ; and, of the latter, the Cryptomeria japonica, the Abies 
canadensis, the Ailautus, the Deodar, the Sumach family, some of the Acacias, the Deciduous Cypress, 
the Pm'ple Beech, Weeping Labm'nums, &c. These, and indeed many others ui which our nm'series 
are now very rich, judiciously selected and happily placed, without frittering away the main features 
of the landscape, would impart an amount of dignity and interest to pleasure-grounds, rarely met with 
at present. In the Coniferoe, too, what a host of treasures ! Surely our British gardeners, in another 
half century, will not exhibit so many bare poles and peas-stake points in the sky outline, as they 
assuredly do in the present day. 
[Next to a starved and bare-stemmed condition of the jjlants themselves, the greatest blemish in 
the appearance of ordinary shrubbery borders is the margin of raw, bare earth, perpetuated by the 
edging-u'on system ; and which, however allowable in the case of newlj'-formed clumps and planta- 
tions, while there is space for the introduction of hardy flowering plants, is highly objectionable when 
the shrubs have made sufficient growth to admit of the sui'face being tm-fed up to meet then- recumbent 
branches.] 
