FOREWORD 
“If American gardeners refuse to pay a proper price for a plant so difficult 
and slow to produce, they cannot expect to purchase the Tree Peony. They 
will instead have to confine themselves to shrubs of the type of California 
Privet.” National Horticultural Magazine, July, 1941. 
(This correct statement applies with equal force to many of the ultra-rare 
items which we propagate). 
Although issued annually about February Ist 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 propa- 
gate, specialties, and varieties obtained in our plant-breeding program which is now in its 
12th 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 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 re- 
spectively. 
F.C.C.R.H.S. refers to the rarely awarded First Class Certificate of the R.H.S. 
H.C.C. refers to the new Horticultural Color Chart which is somewhat rare in this 
country as yet, but after the war will doubtless become standard in all industries dealing 
with color. 
G. A., 42, etc., means Garden Aristocrats for 1942, etc. Some previous issues are still 
available and will be sent upon request. 
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. Spring comes early here. 
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 highway 
directly in front of our nursery. The Oakland-San Jose bus will stop directly at nursery , 
on request. 
Nursery and office are closed Sundays throughout the year. 
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 10th. 
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. 
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