24 
HOUSE & GARDEN 
Often the ivild azalea is the first choice among the flowering natural shrubs, espe¬ 
cially in fairly open woods where low-growing masses are desirable to cover the 
otherwise rather bare ground. In spring its blooms are surpassingly beautiful 
each requires for its best de¬ 
velopment. Some grow only 
in the open, where there is 
abundant sunlight; others 
fringe the woods or dot its 
openings, while still others 
seek the seclusion of the 
shade. The deep shade lovers 
are less plentiful than the 
others, but all the greater the 
importance that attaches to 
finding them. The ground 
hemlock or yew, the flower¬ 
ing dogwood, the laurel and 
rhododendron, and some 
azaleas come to mind as 
dwellers in the deep woods. 
Some plants prefer the 
sphagnum bog or skirt its 
edges. Here in the acid muck 
one finds the tamarack and 
black spruce, the high-bush 
blueberry, the button - ball, 
the cranberry, the bilberry, 
and the swamp laurel. The 
alders, willows, elders, and 
an innumerable host of others 
crowd the banks of streams 
or revel in the rich, moist 
bottomlands, while in the 
marshy meadow the meadow¬ 
sweet, steeple-bush and iris 
abound. On the drier sites 
and sandy places are blue¬ 
berries, huckleberries, sumac, 
sweet fern, bayberry, sand cherry, the dwarf rose and the kin- 
nikinic. The lists, which vary with each locality, might be 
extended indefinitely, but those mentioned will suffice to call 
attention to the wealth of material at hand with which to con¬ 
duct the restoration of abused woodlands. Some plants are 
much more exacting in their requirements than others, but 
even the less exacting have their preference, which it is wise 
to know and respect if you would attain the best results. 
Where to Use Them 
There are many places in the woodland where shrubs and 
small trees and vines may be encouraged or introduced to ad¬ 
vantage. They serve to unite the high woods with the fields 
outside or the meadows, glades, pools and roads within. They 
serve as appropriate borders for streams and ponds or cover 
whole slopes. What more delightful picture than a steep hill¬ 
side abloom with rhododendron in a setting of deep green? 
What more intimately pleasing than a blossoming hawthorn, 
or wild plum, or flowering dogwood standing sentinel-like in 
some natural gateway of the forest? Or a beautiful elm stand¬ 
ing apart with a wealth of vines clinging to its bole, vines like 
the Virginia creeper, whose autumnal coloring is so wonderful? 
One of the charms of the 
forest is its mystery. Partial 
concealment and beauties 
hinted at entice one from the 
beaten paths to explore what 
lies beyond. The open woods 
which one can see through at 
a glance, such as so many of 
our unromantic woodlots are, 
leave nothing to the imagina¬ 
tion. The proper disposal of 
shrubbery is the solution; it 
is in this wise that it plays its 
most important role. But the 
work should not be done so 
thoroughly that a shrubbery 
border obscures everything, 
else its purpose is defeated. 
Wherever conditions are 
favoring the natural forest 
teems with wild flowers— 
hepaticas, bloodroot, phlox, 
anemones, bluebells, colum¬ 
bine, violets, adder’s-tongue, 
trillium, trailing arbutus, win- 
tergreen, Solomon’s seal, and 
a host of ferns. The list is 
long and varies, of course, 
with the region and site. 
Given a chance, those already 
present will multiply and 
others will gradually come in. 
Like many of the shrubs they 
show to best advantage in 
(Continued on page 86) 
(C) University Perhaps the finest blue flower of the spring woods is the American bluebell, 
of Illinois jf S sky-blue trumpets have a perfect foil in the pink buds. It is well 
adapted to restoration work, and where conditions are suitable is often used 
