22 
THE HOME GARDEN. 
short-lived bloom is over when the summer has fairly come, 
it may be made an ornamental shrub as long as the period of 
foliage lasts. It is generally treated like a very Cinderella 
of the plant family—its assigned place somewhere near the 
ash-heap or other deserted spot; but no fairy godmother 
ever effected greater transformation than may be ac¬ 
complished by giving this neglected shrub good soil and 
good culture. The leaves grow larger and more intensely 
green; and training it in tree form, by keeping the suckers 
down, and giving it a compact, shapely head by judicious 
pruning of all straggling branches, will make of the lilac a 
garden ornament of which the most fastidious florist need 
not be ashamed. 
The Tartarian honeysuckle is very ornamental as a 
screen or hedge, and lias the advantage of not requiring 
any pruning. Its white, red, and pink blossoms are bound¬ 
lessly profuse ; but the last named is not only the prettiest 
in bloom, being also the finest of the plants. Its vigor is 
indefatigable. “If a single plant dies down from any 
cause, it will send up vigorous shoots from the roots and fill 
the breach within six months. It is not ferocious, like 
bushthorn or hawthorn. It has no enemies whatever that 
destroy it, and few that ever take from it a leaf. It is a 
cleanly, bright-looking shrub, apart from the blossoms. Set 
the plants about two or three feet apart, and the growth 
will surprise you. In two years you will have a fine 
screen.” 
Flowering shrubs, some of which, later in the season, 
are ornamented with scarlet or white berries, are very de¬ 
sirable even in small gardens, as they help to keep up a 
succession of bloom ; and some old favorites are sure to be 
found in in every country garden. Among this class of 
plants, the most enterprising in regard to bloom is the 
Forsythia viridissima , its bare branches thickly covered 
with yellow flowers being one of the first signs of spring. 
