The shapely growths of arbor vitae and dwarf cedar can be well used 
in odd corners and angles and they thrive well in such places. George 
Nichols, architect 
inate, as is the case with deciduous shrubs in general. Among 
these may be especially recommended spiraea Van Houttei, the 
graceful weeping form of spiraea with its thousands of pure 
white blossoms, Deutzia gracilis, with those delicate white, bell¬ 
shaped flowers. Azalea mollis, in yellow or rose flowers and 
spiraea Thunbergii with its delicate, light green foliage and white 
flowers. The snowberry, Symphoricarpos racemosus, is splendid; 
and the golden mock orange, Japanese barberry, Stephanandra, the 
dwarf spiraea callosa superba, Deutzia Lemoine, sweet pepper 
bush and Japanese roses are others of value for this purpose. 
A little study of these shrubs, and with a very limited knowl¬ 
edge, a grouping may be arranged that will be highly pleasing. 
The one care to be exercised is to see that the taller growing 
kinds are kept in the background, using the others for fore¬ 
ground positions. 
Generally speaking, perennials are unsatisfactory, as they do 
not appear attractive when out of flower, but there are excep¬ 
tions h i g h 1 y 
worthy of men¬ 
tion. The peo- 
nies and iris 
form two splen¬ 
did groups for 
i n ter spersing 
with the shrubs 
or may be 
massed individ¬ 
ually. The foli¬ 
age of the Ger¬ 
man iris is very 
attractive when 
it is out of flow¬ 
er, and the same 
can be said of 
peonies. 
Where local 
conditions favor 
it, for example, 
where a house is 
set on a shaded 
slope, a rockery 
effect may be 
made a feature 
(Continued on 
page 253) 
The flowering shrubs should not be neglected- 
Deutzia gracilis especially should be tried 
Evergreens and deciduous shrubs are combined to advantage in the 
planting about this old house. Note the bright blossoms of the 
clematis in brilliant contrast to ivy 
grow rather quickly, but as they lend themselves readily to shear¬ 
ing they may be kept to almost any size. Among these R. squar- 
rosa may be particularly recommended, because of the steel-blue 
color of its foliage. The full, pleasing style of R. plumosa and its 
golden form, aurea, are also worthy of mention. 
There are many kinds of dwarf arbor-vitaes which are well 
suited for bedding, particularly Thuja pumila, T. globosa, T. 
Hoveyi, and the dwarf golden Chinese one, Biota nana aurea. 
The Irish, Swedish and Chinese Junipers are all fine for bed¬ 
ding purposes, particularly where one’s taste runs to the tall, 
columnar style of evergreens. Colorado blue spruce is frequently 
used also, but its life in a bed must be short-lived if it is to be 
cared for, as it will not stand very much pruning, and makes a 
quick growth compared to the others mentioned. 
This condition holds true of spruce and firs in general. Pines 
are out of the question, unless it be the dwarf mountain pine, 
Pinus Mughus, as they are coarse in appearance and grow too 
rapidly to be 
feasible for bed¬ 
ding. 
Next in value 
and importance 
to the ever¬ 
greens are the 
shrubs, which, 
though clothed 
in foliage barely 
nine months of 
the year, are 
not really objec¬ 
tionable to look 
upon in winter, 
especially when 
there still re¬ 
main b r i ght 
berries or at¬ 
tractively col¬ 
ored stems. 
There is a wide 
selection of 
shrubs from 
which to choose. 
Of course the 
There are numerous hardy shrubs among the spring blooming 
barberries that are fitted for the house border kinds predom¬ 
October, IQ 11 
HOUSE AND GARDEN 
