FOREWORD 
“More recently, we have the general awakening to the value of flowering 
trees and shrubs and the possibilities they offer of giving us all-the-year- 
round beauty of color in flower, berry, and foliage, with the greatest 
economy of labor.”—My Garden, London, September, 1938. 
As previous readers know, this is not a catalog. We try to describe in each issue, 
as accurately as we can, a limited number of the finer trees and shrubs, to avoid exag¬ 
geration as well as unduly fervent “sales talk,” and to make the booklets worth saving 
for reference. As a matter of fact they contain considerable information hard to find 
elsewhere. Incidentally we still have copies for 1935 and 1936 and shall be glad to send 
them upon request. Other issues are no longer available. 
We limit ourselves almost exclusively to the woody plants—trees, shrubs, climbers,' 
etc. For a number of years we have been importing the finest things in this line from 
all over the world. Results are just commencing to show and will become increasingly 
apparent in future annual editions of this booklet. The same applies to our own woody 
plant breeding which has been carried on here for several years, but of course it is a 
very slow job. 
Arrangement has been changed this year by putting botanical name first which 
we think is more sensible and facilitates reference. Common name follows but is omitted 
if practically identical with botanical name or if latter is in common use. 
The key to hardiness used last year has received favorable comment so is repeated 
in this volume. It is indicated by the characters HI, H2, etc., placed after the names; 
and wherever possible, also by Roman numerals I, II, III, etc., referring to the eight 
isothermic zones specified in Rehder’s “Manual of Cultivated Trees and Shrubs.” Un¬ 
fortunately, many of our items are too tender to be included in his very useful book, 
so we have devised the following scale and also show his corresponding isothermic 
zone. Temperatures are above zero Fahrenheit. 
HI-—Will stand only very light frosts. Suitable for “thermal districts” only. 
H2—Should stand 26°. Suitable for San Francisco Bay and Coastal Regions of California. 
H3—Should stand 20°. Suitable for San Joaquin and Sacramento Valleys. 
H3-4—Should stand 15°. Suitable for mildest parts of Oregon and Washington. (VIII). 
H4—Should stand 10°. Suitable for Oregon and Washington west of the Cascades. (VIII). 
H4-5—Should stand 5°. (VI-VII). 
H5—Should stand zero or below. (I, II, III, IV, V). 
Please note that we disclaim all responsibility for the accuracy of our statements 
as to hardiness which are to be construed as merely our honest opinion. 
To save space we have also used the following abbreviations: 
^Indicates that the item so marked has not been mentioned in any previous 
issue of Garden Aristocrats and is probably but not necessarily new. 
* ^Indicates that item so marked is an entire novelty which has not been offered 
hitherto by anyone. 
A.M.R.H.S. or A.M.C.H.S. indicates that the item so marked has received an 
Award of Merit from the Royal Horticultural Society or the California 
Horticultural Society respectively. 
Part II contains a condensed price list of our principal stock not included in Part I. 
We suggest that you look through it carefully as it contains quite a number of com¬ 
paratively new and scarce items which could not be included in Part I for lack of space. 
Some were offered for the first time last year. 
It will be a pleasure for us to have you visit our nursery which is located on the 
Oakland-San Jose Highway, a mile north of the city limits of San Jose. Coming down 
the Peninsula take the Bayshore Highway. About one mile after going through the 
underpass near Santa Clara, the first paved road that crosses is well marked by a 
row of magnificent old elm trees. This is the Brokaw road. Turn to the left there. This 
road ends at the Oakland-San Jose highway directly in front of our nursery. 
If you belong to a Garden Club and think its members would like a copy of this 
book we will send it to all if a list of their names and addresses is sent us. 
