HE’S JUST MILD ABOUT BERRIES 
Berry Christmas! 
We have to admit that we are not wild 
about berry bushes personally. On the 
other hand the sight of a well grown 
Pyracantha, heavy with bright red berries 
at Christmas time, commands admiration. 
We'll bend a little further and concede 
that a properly espaliered Pyracantha has 
undeniable merits, bright with flower or 
berry at almost any time of year, and the 
plant does make a good hedge, fast, toler- 
ant to heat and cold, easy to grow, too, 
accepts any soil within reason, and is ideal- 
ly pruned by cutting the berried branches! 
Okay! So it's a good plant. Why don't 
we wait to show it off in December when 
the color is at its best? Well we may at 
that, again that is, but it's important to 
give the Pyracanthas some attention now, 
so we can have the plant comfortably 
established in our garden by the time 
Christmas rolls around and we'll get the 
pleasure of watching the size and color 
of those berry clusters increase right un- 
der our noses. 
When it comes right down to making 
a selection, one might easily be confused 
because there are a number of varieties 
from which to choose. Some are patented, 
some copyrighted, some just arbitrarily 
named. You may have ‘'Duvalli', ''Gra- 
beri’, ''Victory', "Rosedale", ''Lewisi"’, 
"Rogersi'’ or plain Pyracantha formosana, 
the species that started it all. Certain 
varieties emphasize quality of berry, others 
quantity of berry, some color up beauti- 
fully well before Christmas, others make it 
Hugh Een 
Your true gardener is both an adven- 
turer and a philosopher, for gardening is 
an adventure and a philosophy. When we 
cultivate plants we know little about, we 
naturally await their blooming with all the 
joy of anticipation. We fondly hope that 
our visions of a new beauty will be realized. 
Usually our hopes are rewarded, but, some- © 
times, alas, we have to draw upon our sup- 
ply of philosophy to stifle the disappoint- 
ment we experience at the bad showing or 
misbehavior of some wayward subject. 
Most of us never get the opportunity 
to roam around those wonderful flower 
fields of West Australia or South Africa. 
We cannot tread the high and misty paths 
of the Himalayas where Primulas, Gentians 
and a host of delightful plants star and 
gem the trails, where Rhododendrons in 
all their glory take the place of our chapar- 
ral. However, we can possess and enjoy 
some of these floral treasures in our own 
gardens if we consider from where they 
came and give them intelligent treatment. 
Although unhappily there are many plants 
from moist cool countries which are 
more than difficult in Southern California, ~ 
still gardeners, too, ''Are baffled to fight 
better." 
How to Plant 
(Continued from front page) 
has a hard pan condition where he is dig- 
ging it will be necessary to penetrate that 
hardpan somehow and even lay a drain 
tile or water-carrying duct off to the side. 
Don't just make a sump and set your plant 
in it, for the water wil collect at the bot- 
tom of the well, become stagnant and rot 
the roots of the plant above it. 
Remember, if the plants sit a bit high 
for life, that life will be longer and more 
vigorous. (P.E.C.] 
slower but stay longer. They are all good 
but they are also all different and that's 
why we feel the advice of an expert is so 
important in helping you get the right 
plant for the right effect. Pyracanthas are 
in stock now, priced from $1. to $17.50, 
plenty in all sizes from which to choose. 
Come in and take a look—we may even 
take one home ourselves! (M.E.} 
