Trees and Shrubs for English Gardens Part 20

_Berberis Darwinii._--Very bright in flower. Young and sappy shoots get killed back in winter.

_Berberis Thunbergi._--A most attractive Berberis; it makes a small neat-growing bush to which the adjective "sparkling" might be applied.

Its chief glory is its autumnal foliage, and a large clump in September is "a sight to see"; quite hardy.

_Berberis vulgaris._--Very beautiful when cl.u.s.tered with fruit. The purple-leaved variety (_B. v. purpurea_) is most useful for its foliage.

_Betula alba purpurea._--A good foliage tree.

_Buddleia globosa._--This does well in a warm sheltered spot facing south-west, where the morning sun in winter will not touch it too soon.

It also objects to exposure to cold winds.

_Calycanthus floridus._--Quite hardy, and grows well in half-shady places.

_Ceanothus azureus._--This succeeds either trained to a wall or as a bush. In the latter case it should be in a sheltered position. It seems quite frost-proof, and its blue flowers are very beautiful at a time when few shrubs are in bloom (July and August). Its shoots should be well thinned, and those left shortened as soon as the buds begin to show signs of movement in the spring. The best form I have tried is Gloire de Versailles.

_Choisya ternata_ (Mexican Orange Flower).--This is well worth growing as a bush in a sheltered angle of a wall, where it can be protected in winter with a hurdle or some such contrivance, lightly thatched with Broom. It is even then, in very severe weather, cut about the points of the shoots, which, of course, spoils the blooming; but it soon grows through again, and it is worth growing for its foliage alone.

_Clematis._--These mostly do well, and the newer sorts are very attractive, but for all purposes it is very hard to beat _C. montana_ and _C. Jackmani_, the former in May and the latter for the autumn.

_Clethra alnifolia._--A neat and free-flowering shrub, with spikes of white flowers in August; it is very hardy and useful, as few shrubs are in flower at that time.

_Cornus alba._--A clump of this Dogwood is very effective in winter, especially when the sun is shining on its bright-red shoots. _C. a.

Spaethii_ is a good variegated variety.

_Corylus Avellana purpurea._--A good purple-leaved nut.

_Cotoneaster microphylla._--Quite hardy either as a bush or on a wall.

_Cytisus albus._--No garden should be without this beautiful Broom. _C.

praec.o.x_, the Cream Broom, is a dwarfer but no less beautiful variety; it is very pretty grouped with a few plants of _C. purpureus_, which flowers at the same time. Another fine Broom is the red and yellow variety of the Common Broom (_C. scoparius andrea.n.u.s_). The Brooms will grow anywhere, but prefer an open place in full sun. They should be cut hard back after flowering, and if the young seed-pods can be picked off so much the better.

_Daphne Cneorum._--A bright little shrub best grown on the rock garden; quite hardy.

_Daphne Laureola._--This has fine foliage and will grow in quite a shady place.

_Daphne Mezereum._--A beautiful early-flowering Daphne, too well known for description.

_Deutzia crenata._--A most useful hardy shrub, growing to a good size.

The variety, Pride of Rochester, is very pretty.

_Diervilla (Weigela)._--Indispensable shrubs, very hardy, free-flowering, and easily grown. The flowering shoots should be cut back to strong young wood as soon as the flowers fade. They are most accommodating in this respect, as the strongest of the young shoots start well back and not at the points, as is usual with most plants.

Good varieties are Eva Rathke, _Hortensis nivea_, and _rosea_.

_Escallonia macrantha._--A good wall shrub.

_Escallonia philippiana._--Hardier than _E. macrantha_, and can be grown as a bush in a sheltered spot.

_Forsythia suspensa._--Quite hardy, and very beautiful in early spring, as it flowers before the leaf-buds burst. It should be cut back to young growths after the flower is over.

_Fuchsia Riccartoni._--This gets cut down every winter, but is never killed, and it flowers abundantly every year treated as a hardy herbaceous plant.

_Garrya elliptica._--Quite hardy as a bush.

_Genista tinctoria fl. pl._--A low-growing trailing Genista, useful for the rock garden and flowering when many of the alpines are over.

_Genista virgata._--A very different plant from the above, and will make a very large bush, covered with pale-yellow flowers in late summer. A good shrub.

_Halesia tetraptera._--Quite hardy and attractive both in bloom and foliage.

_Hamamelis arborea._--This is quite hardy, but grows very slowly. It flowers in a small state, but not very freely. I have only had this plant for four years, but I think it will do very well, and should flower more freely when a bit larger.

_Hedysarum multijugum._--Quite hardy. An attractive shrub, with spikes of reddish pea-like flowers in July and August. It increases freely from the root by suckers. Thin and cut back the shoots in spring.

_Helianthemum vulgare_ (Rock Rose).--There are many garden varieties of this, both double and single, the single sorts being the most attractive. They are quite hardy on a warm and sunny rock garden.

_Hydrangea paniculata._--Hardy. A splendid low-growing shrub, flowering in autumn. A group of this, with a few plants of _Prunus p.i.s.sardi_ cut hard back every spring to keep them small, is very effective, and the group can be carpeted with Lily of the Valley or London Pride to cover the bare soil underneath. The shoots of the Hydrangea should be well thinned, and those left cut hard back in the spring. It well repays a dose or two of liquid manure in the growing season. The variety, _grandiflora_, is better than the type.

_Hyperic.u.m calycinum_ (Rose of Sharon).--Grows well in half shade. It is a dwarf plant, very pretty, but perhaps too often seen. Useful for carpeting other shrubs.

_Jasminum nudiflorum._--Best on a wall. Winter flowering (yellow) and very pretty when in bloom.

_Jasminum officinale._--Requires a wall, but does well while young. It is not a very long-lived plant here.

_Kalmia latifolia._--Very attractive pink flowers; hardy, and will do wherever Rhododendrons flourish.

_Kerria j.a.ponica._--A pretty yellow-flowered shrub that increases rapidly from the root. The double-flowered variety is the most commonly grown.

_Laburnum._--Too well known for description. _L. Adami_ is curious and worth growing.

_Lavendula Spica._--The Lavender needs no description.

_Leycesteria formosa._--A good plant for a shady place. It grows well under trees, and is very hardy.

_Ligustrum ovalifolium_ (Privet).--The golden form of this is good and bright.

_Liriodendron tulipifera._--Grows well here, and is quite hardy, but seldom flowers so far north.

_Lonicera periclymenum._--The common native Honeysuckle is an indispensable climber, and will grow almost anywhere; but looks best, perhaps, climbing up trees, or over shrubs or hedges. The variety, _serotina_, flowers later than the type, and is best known under the name of Late Dutch. _L. Sullivantii_ is a shrubby sort, with not unattractive flowers of a brownish-orange colour.

_Magnolia._--The only one I have tried is _M. stellata_, which has proved quite hardy, and I have no doubt that several others would do quite as well in sheltered places.

_Neillia opulifolia_ (_Spiraea opulifolia_).--Quite hardy.

_Pernettya mucronata._--Does well.

_Pieris_ (_Andromeda_) _floribunda_.--Is quite hardy and very beautiful early in the year. Will grow in soils that suit Rhododendrons.

_Potentilla fruticosa._--A little summer-flowering shrub, with yellow flowers. It does well on the upper parts of the rock garden, and is quite hardy.