House and Garden 
lines, are very desirable. In early spring 
the blossoms are lovely, and it some are 
selected for their fruitage, the gleam of purple 
or scarlet berries will afford a fine bit of color 
even after the leaves have fallen. Set out in 
this way the individual shrub is sacrificed to 
the grace of the mass,and therefore for bound¬ 
ary planting it is not well to choose rare speci¬ 
mens which need space to show their beauty. 
It is in arranging single shrubs so as to avoid 
a spotty effect, that the chief difficulty arises, 
and it is impossible to give general direc¬ 
tions that will apply to all localities. 
On this old place, when the ancient shrubs 
had been left to themselves for years, the 
lilacs have grouped themselves into natural 
and charming lines. White, purple and 
Persian ones bloom in succession at their 
own sweet will, making a pleasing composi¬ 
tion with an old well and a great clump of 
box each side of the doorway. This box- 
arbor is really the pride of the place, for there 
is none like it in New England. A hun¬ 
dred years ago, or more, some of the 
Cushings, who have dwelt here ever since 
1634, must have had a square flower bed en¬ 
circled with a border, which was trimmed for 
years and years; but at length, it was neg¬ 
lected, and the plants, being of the tree-box 
variety, and not the dwarf kind now em¬ 
ployed, went on growing, while at present 
they form a compact mass over ten feet high 
around an enclosure. Some of the trunks 
are four inches in diameter, showing the great 
age these very slow growing bushes have 
reached. From a distance this box-arbor 
somewhat resembles a huge green sponge ; 
but its massive, glossy curves are eclipsed by 
the freer growth of the adjoining lilacs, and 
topped by the great round outlines of the 
elms centuries old, which once overshadowed 
the venerable house. 
The shrubs massed along the boundary 
came from the Arnold Arboretum, and are 
such as are there used in profusion for similar 
purposes, as they are hardy and take care of 
themselves. Phis shrubbery is now only 
fertilized by mulchings of grass when the 
lawn is mowed, but it is always luxuriant, 
full of flowers in spring and early summer, 
and bright with berries in autumn. 
Phis group contains lilacs and syringias 
[P hiladelphus) in variety, bush honeysuckles, 
white and pink ( Lonicera tartarica ), high 
bush cranberries, ( Vmernum opulus), various 
varieties of Cornus and Diervilla ; also 
Rhamnus frangula, Caragana micropholis , spi¬ 
raeas in variety ; Rosa canina and Rosa mul¬ 
tiflora, with blush and other hardy roses to 
give a touch of bright color in the fore¬ 
ground ; also we added Pyrus Japonica and 
Kerria, with various other shrubs which 
struggle to overtop each other. Over these 
the wild clematis throws a mantle of bloom 
here and there ; Horsythia, in early spring, 
stars it with yellow, and barberry sprinkles it 
with scarlet in the fall. Somewhere a blos¬ 
som is always lurking to surprise you. A 
bit of golden rod or aster strays from the 
hill, or a columbine sown by the birds perks 
up its purple head. There are 
larkspurs in some of the 
bays, tall and blue against the 
rose-bushes, and now and then 
the moist shadows shelter a 
big agaricus which serves for 
an addition to our dinner. 
Along this shrubbery, sun¬ 
ny in the morning, well shaded 
in the afternoon by the trees 
behind it, is the grassy walk 
to the hiII,now carpeted with 
pine needles and covered with 
a forest growth of trees that 
were barely visible above the 
sod ten years ago. 
Of all the single shrubs 
we had set out, I think the 
SHRUBS MASSED ALONG THE BOUNDARY 
289 
