The Various Uses of Shrubs and Shrubbery 
THE DISTINCTIVE QUALITIES OF SHRUBS—THEIR SPECIAL AND GENERAL APPLICATION—PLANS THAT 
WILL ENABLE* YOU TO IMPROVE YOUR PLACE—DIRECTIONS FOR CHOICE PLANTING AND CARE 
BY E. O. Calvene 
Photographs by Ella M. Boult, E. J. Wallis and Nathan R. Graves 
Philadelphus coronarius 
SHRUBBERY in general has many—or 
J at least several—distinct uses. That, 
I think, is pretty well understood and 
appreciated by most of us; but it takes 
a considerable degree of intimacy with 
the many kinds of shrubs that are 
available to bring a realization of their 
distinctly individual qualities and their 
special attributes. Collectively they 
are something like a roomful of peo¬ 
ple newly introduced — but gradually 
they step out one by one, as acquaint¬ 
ance ripens, and become significant 
units displaying each the charm and 
variation of its kind. Thus we come 
to understand that there are general utility shrubs and others 
which Nature has evolved into ‘‘distinguished personalities,” and 
we learn to use them accordingly. 
A good all-around shrub must be robust in habit, clean and 
wholesome in leaf and branch and the host of no insect, adapted 
to any ordinary soil, attractive if not showy in flower — and abso¬ 
lutely and unquestionably hardy. There are many which fulfil 
all these requirements; but when it comes to grouping shrubs into 
masses, other considerations enter in; and so only certain combi¬ 
nations from the list can be used effectively together. There must 
be variation in height, so that the mass may rise with an easy 
flowing line; there must be variation in time of bloom, so that 
there may be flowers somewhere in the mass over the longest pos¬ 
sible period; and there must be variation in habit—that is, the 
form which the shrub takes in growing—so that the erect-grow¬ 
ing kinds shall have lower, undulating mass before them to 
unite them with the lawn effectively, leaving no dividing line. 
Viburnum Opulus is a shrub glorious in its fine leaf, flower and berries 
It is adaptable to various uses 
As a first-choice list of ‘‘all-around” shrubs, I would name 
these: Syringa vulgaris, 15 feet; Viburnum opulus, 12 feet; 
Cornus paniculata, 10 feet; Philadelphus coronarius, 10 feet; 
Spiraea Van Houttei, 8 feet; Rhodotypos kerrioides, 6 feet; 
Diervilla dorida, hybd., 6 feet; Daphne Mezereum, 4 feet. These 
eight may be reduced to five by eliminating the Syringa, the 
Cornus and the Daphne. The latter can be spared, for the six- 
foot-tall Diervilla is so arching as to branch and spreading in its 
habit that it makes a most excellent foreground shrub in spite of 
its size. With these five species a limitless planting is quite pos¬ 
sible without monotony; and here is. material for boundaries, 
screens and border groups of every size and shape. 
In arranging these upon the ground, the tallest will naturally 
be placed farthest back; yet it is not good planting invariably to 
bring the mass down to the ground level by facing it down with 
low-growing specimens. For variety and a spirited effect, there 
should be places where certain tall shrubs rise abruptly; but 
these should be varieties which do not grow bare at their base as 
they mature. And, of course, the mass should not be reduced to 
a single row at any point; but always there must be enough to 
insure its density and to prevent the straggling appearance which 
The lilac is a large shrub especially desirable for the delightful fra¬ 
grance of its blossoms suggestive of old-fashioned gardens 
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