132 
FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
PLANTS FOR HOME ADORNMENT. 
BY W. C. STEELE. 
Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen: 
It is not necessary for me to come 
before yon with any argument in 
favor of the ornamentation of the home 
surroundings. That subject has been so 
often discussed here, that nothing re¬ 
mains to be said on that line. 
I think that we are all agreed that it 
is desirable to do the best we can to make 
our homes attractive and beautiful. It 
then only remains for us to consider the 
matter of ways and means. There are 
a few favored mortals who do not need 
to consider expense when they wish to 
have a beautiful home. They give orders 
that such and such things shall be done, 
and immediately all the energies of gard¬ 
eners, landscape gardeners, nurserymen 
and florists are devoted to the task of com¬ 
pleting the job satisfactorily. The result 
is not always as pleasing, to a cultivated 
taste, as would be expected from the 
great outlay of money. Unless directed 
by a wise controlling mind, effect is often 
spoiled by crowding, or by the use of un¬ 
suitable materials. This, however, does 
not concern very many of our number. 
I have thought it best, at this time, to 
try to give a partial list of trees, shrubs 
and vines that deserve a place in our door- 
yards and are available to every one. 
Last year, the present Chairman of the 
Committee on Ornamentals, recommend¬ 
ed the live oak, quercus virens, and the 
water oak. quercus aquatica. Both are 
desirable, the water oak makes the most 
rapid growth, is symmetrical and beauti¬ 
ful. It is, perhaps, not so long lived as 
the live oak, but trees of the water oak 
that were over 50 feet high and with 
trunks over a foot in diameter, twenty 
years ago, are still thrifty and vigorous. 
There are two other native evergreen 
trees that should be added to the list, mag¬ 
nolia grandiflora and magnolia glauca, 
the latter is commonly known as sweet 
bay. If given plenty of room, in open 
ground, where they will not be shaded 
by older trees, both species will grow 
rapidly and form symmetrical heads. 
They are highly ornamental at any sea¬ 
son of the year, but are especially so when 
in bloom. 
The camphor tree, cinnamomum cam- 
phora, is one of the most desirable shade 
and ornamental trees that I knovv. It 
thrives best on moist soil, but will grow 
wherever an orange tree will live. 
There are two smaller evergreen trees 
that would be more commonly found in 
cultivation if it were not for the fact that 
they are very difficult to transplant, suc¬ 
cessfully. I refer to the two larger varie¬ 
ties of holly. Ilex opaca, the common 
prickly leaved species and Ilex Dahoon. 
The latter is much like the first except 
that it is of somewhat smaller growth and 
the leaves are smooth. Hollies may be 
transplanted by cutting the trunk off close 
to the ground, in winter, and then mov¬ 
ing the roots at once with as little dis¬ 
turbance as possible. I have known holly 
trees to be transplanted with the tops on, 
but there are more failures than successes. 
Hollies are diecious, that is the staminate 
and pistillate flowers are borne on differ- 
