WHAT TO PLANT. 
23 
The evergreen Mahonea, with particularly rich foliage of a 
deep purplish-green, also flowers very early in the season, 
and its blossoms are very much the same hue as those of 
the Forsythia. 
The pyrus Japonica , or Japan quince, has gorgeous 
scarlet flowers, shaped like the ordinary quince blossom, 
growing close to the branches before the green leaves have 
had a chance to show themselves ; and “a hedge composed 
entirely of it seems like aline of fire when in blossom ; com¬ 
bined with hemlock or arbor vitae it is still finer, the ever¬ 
greens presenting a beautiful contrast to the flowers .’ 5 
Guelder Rose. 
The old-fashioned “snowball,” or guelder rose, still 
holds its own, and bears large balls of snowy blossoms in 
May. It is a tall shrub, and almost reaches the altitude of 
a tree. The pretty rosy blossoms of the flowering almond 
belong to the same period ; but the little shrub is quite 
overshadowed by its aspiring contemporary. 
The wigeleas, which seem to bloom in ready-made bou- 
