May 6, 1905. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
383 
Ornamental Gardening. 
Ornamental gardening, in the fullest sense of the term, 
is a wide subject, and, in my opinion, should not be 
confined to any one class of plants, or even to one 
season of the year. I am convinced that we may 
liave an effective display in our parks and gardens at 
ail seasons, if the right plants are selected and used in the right 
wav. In many parks and gardens I am afraid that little 
thought is given to their appearance in winter, and surely this 
; s the season when we most of all want bright, cheerful effects. 
If but, one-third of the time and trouble expended on spring 
and summer bedding plants were transferred to gardening 
lor winter effect, how much brighter and better our gardens 
would appear at that time, and how much shorter would seem 
the time till Snowdrops, Aconites, and Crocuses come again. 
Although there are a good many plants which flower in 
winter, not all of them can lay claim to being decorative ; yet, 
as an instance of what really are ornamental flowering plants, 
one need only mention the various species and varieties of 
Hamamelis, which, even if they flowered in spring, when 
flowering shrubs are plentiful, would yet be considered highly 
decorative. We are not, however, confined to flowering plants 
only for winter effect, but may select several which, from the 
rich colouring of their shoots, are scarcely inferior to those 
with showy flowers. Among others we have Cornus alba, and 
its variety sibirica, which, when the leaves are shed, reveal 
ilie beauty of their dark red shoots, and appear particularly 
effective in winter. It is, perhaps, needless to recall the 
beauties of the golden-stemmed Willows; but they cannot be 
emitted where effect is desired. Such subjects as the fore- 
going must be planted in quantity to give the best effect. 
Single plants dotted here and there are useless. 
The white-stemmed Bramble (Rubus biflorus) is also an 
effective winter plant, and seems to require planting thickly 
to get the best results, cutting out the old shoots in autumn 
to disclose the white stems of the current, year. Such plants 
as the Dogwoods and Willows will be most effective if the 
shoots are cut* back in spring. Many of our best winter plants 
are valuable, not for their flowers and shoots only, but chiefly 
tor their fruits. In early winter we have few prettier effects 
than that produced by-a mass-of the common Spindle-tree 
(Euonymus europaeus) profusely covered with bright rose- 
coloured capsules ; these capsules, unfortunately, do. not persist 
as long as we might like them to, but are neve: theless of great 
value in carrying out a scheme for winter effect. 
Another plant which probably we do not make the most of 
is the Snowberry (Symphoricarpus racemosus). Shrubs with 
white fruits are by no 1 means plentiful, and the one in question 
is of much beauty, especialty if properly pruned in spring to 
produce healthy growths, and a consequent abundance of 
flowers and fruits. The Sea Buckthorn (Hippophae rham- 
noides) can lay claim to being one of the very best plants for 
winter effect, as the bright orange-coloured berries are abun¬ 
dantly produced and remain on the plants the whole winter 
through. It must be remembered, however, that this plant is 
dioecious, and care must be taken to plant the male and female 
plants in near proximity. 
It will add to the effectiveness of such things as the Sea 
Buckthorn and the Willows if they can be planted near the 
edge of a streamlet or lake, where in open weather the fruits 
and coloured stems will be reflected in the water, thus lending 
an additional charm to the scene. The presence of water, 
iowever, is by no means absolutely essential. There is, of 
course > the great mass of ornamental fruited Pyrus and Cra- 
aegus, so effective in autumn and winter, but the merits of - 
t le different species and varieties need not be dw T elt. on here. 
‘ t tliis stage one naturally turns to the composition of our 
Vri er * es ’ an< ^ here, too often, we are confronted by masses 
" aerrv Laurel, Rhododendron ponticum, Privets, and other 
t nngs which in the past have been largely planted to the ex- 
c v ision of many subjects well worthy of cultivation. 
Improvement Society Mr ' J ' W ' Eesant at a meeting of the Kew Gardens Mutual 
Whore a screen of some kind is necessary, a belt of ever¬ 
green shrubs, which need not be all of one kind, is the most 
natural way of attaining this end, but there is no reason why 
a mixed shrubbery should not obtain in the same way as a 
mixed border of herbaceous plants. 
It is now generally allowed that the most effective way of 
planting herbaceous plants is to plant in groups or masses, and 
this system will be found equally efficacious in dealing with an 
ornamental shrubbery. The possibilities of a shrubbery in orna¬ 
mental gardening are great, for by a judicious selection an effect 
can be obtained practically the whole year through. As in the 
herbaceous border, all the tall growing plants need not be 
confined to the back of the border, but some may be allowed 
to come almost to tire front, and in this way sheltered bays 
will be formed, which may be planted with subjects which are 
somewhat tender or whose flowers are apt to be spoilt by cold 
winds in early spring. In such places I think the beautiful 
Erica lusitanica might be planted, the flowers of this species 
being welcome in winter and spring. In bays between groups 
of evergreens some of the fine forms of Ceanothus might be 
tried, as in such positions the shoots, which are apt to be killed 
back in hard winter, would be somewhat protected, and we have 
few autumn flowering shrubs to beat the Ceanothuses. 
The mention of Ericas reminds one that among Heaths 
we have some of the very best plants for effect in winter and 
early spring. Most of these will flourish in the forepart of 
shrubberies, and large bays of the beautiful pink Erica camea 
will produce a beautiful effect in early spring, while Erica 
mediterranea hybrids will flower through winter and spring. 
It will be necessary, to give our shrubberies a furnished 
appearance in winter, to plant a considerable number of ever¬ 
greens, but these need not be all of the broad leaved kinds; 
the inclusion of such fine things as Cytisus albus, Cytisus prae- 
cox and others will provide a furnished appearance, and from 
their distinct habit of growth will materially add to the effect 
of the whole arrangement. 
Deciduous shrubs which are valuable for their flowers 
must of necessity form a feature of the mixed shrubbery, and 
it will be best to select such kinds as naturally form shapely 
plants, or which at any rate may be pruned to form such. 
Shrubs naturally of spreading or trailing habit will be better 
relegated to positions where they may develop naturally. 
Forsytliia suspensa, one of our best early flowering shrubs, 
may be suitably included, as the best results are got by pruning 
this species hard back every year, and this allows of the plants 
being kept within reasonable limits at least for many years. 
I know of few -shrubs more ornamental than the beautiful 
Spiraea arguta; it is naturally of neat habit, and the pure 
white flowers afford us a colour, if we may call white a colour, 
which is somewhat neglected in gardens. 
Thus, with those shrubs just mentioned, which I take as 
types, and in addition groups of early flowering Rhododendrons, 
like dauricum, Genista hispanica, Philadelphus Lemoineii, 
and -others of the dwarf section, it is clear that our shrub¬ 
beries may be made beautiful at all times. There is, however, 
another method of using shrubs for garden decoration, and 
that is by planting for foliage effect. 
We see some very fine examples of this in Kew, where we 
find groups of the bronze-leaved Primus cerasifera. atropurpurea 
and Coiylus maxima atropurpurea tastefully arranged with 
golden Privets, golden Elders, and Silver and Gold-leaved 
Elaeagnuses. Of other silver-leaved shrubs we have Atriplex 
Breweri and Artemisia tridentata, while for the margins of 
shrubberies the Lavender Cotton (Santolina Chamaecy- 
parissus) will be found invaluable. 
(To be continued .) 
A Wild Flower Exhibition. —The exhibition of named and 
classified wild flowers found in the neighbourhood of Southport, 
and which has been arranged at the Southport Free Library, is 
proving of great interest to the field botanist and others. This 
is an eminently good idea, and worthy of being copied in other 
districts, provided the collectors know plants sufficiently well 
to guard against uprooting and exterminating rare subjects. 
