FOREWORD 
The U.S. Dept. of Agriculture in their recent Bulletin on ‘*Victory Gardens” said: 
*‘People will be cautioned against plowing up lawns, backyards, and parks ..... 
and we recognize the importance of encouraging home gardens, lawns, shrubs and 
flowers as a morale factor in defense.’’ 
Our nursery was established January 1, 1917, during the first World War and our 25th 
anniversary finds us at war again, but this remark and the above quotation will be our only 
reference to it. 
Although issued annually about February 1st this booklet is not a catalog. In each volume 
we describe as accurately as possible a limited number of the finer trees and shrubs without the 
customary florid exaggerations. 
Our production is now limited almost entirely to new plants, things difficult to propagate, 
certain specialties, and varieties obtained in our plant-breeding program which is now in its 
10th year. 
Every item offered is rated for hardiness. From the map (courtesy of McGraw-Hill Book 
Co.) find out what zone you are in. Everything rated that number or less should be safe with 
you. We have subdivided Zone 9 so that 
(9) indicates probably safe to 20° (Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys, etc.) 
(914) indicates probably safe to 25° or 26° (San Francisco Bay Region, etc.) 
(10) indicates will stand only very light frost. (per map.) 
As far as possible we have taken ratings from the new Second Edition of Rehder’s “Manual 
of Cultivated Trees and Shrubs’ which stops with Zone 8. For 9, 914 and 10 we have given 
our honest opinion but can’t guarantee its correctness. 
To save space we have 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 an entire novelty which has not been offered hitherto by anyone. 
A.M.R.H.S. or A.M.C.H.S. indicates that item so marked has received an Award of Merit 
from The Royal Horticultural Society or the California Horticultural Society respectively. 
F.C.C.R.HLS. refers to the rarely awarded First Class Certificate of the R.HLS. 
G.A.,’40, etc., means Garden Aristocrats for 1940, etc. 
Part II contains a condensed price list of our principal stock. We suggest that you look 
through it carefully as it contains quite a number of comparatively 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. 
Our business is almost entirely wholesale so that much of our material is available from 
the more progressive nurserymen all over the country. The main purpose, therefore, of this 
booklet is to give garden lovers dependable information about the finer, rarer, and newer trees 
and shrubs, but as it costs us more to publish it than we could afford without some return we 
are glad to have direct orders for material not otherwise readily available. Customers east of 
the Rockies are urged to send their orders as early as possible so that we may send their plants 
while -still dormant. 
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. 
Nursery and office are closed Sundays throughout the year with the sole exception of Lilac 
Sunday (see back cover). 
If you belong to a Garden Club and think some of the members would like a copy of this 
booklet we will mail it if a list of their names and addresses is sent us. 
Please note that if you receive any volume of “Garden Aristocrats” by mail it will be sent 
to you regularly in future years as long as we decide to continue it, but please do not get 
impatient as it usually is not ready for mailing until about February Ist. 
ARRANGEMENT. In both Parts I and II all items are grouped into general divisions 
which appear in the following order: Conifers, Broad Leaved Evergreens, Flowering Fruit Trees, 
Deciduous Trees, Lilacs, Magnolias, Quinces, Other Deciduous Shrubs, Climbers, Wisterias 
and Tree Wisterias. This plan seems to make an index unnecessary. 
