CALIFORNIA POPPY. (Romneya Coulteri.)

Name. Country or Origin and Natural Order. Colour and Season. General Remarks.
Rubus bambusarum Rosaceæ The flowers give place to a black edible fruit Henbane. Introduced by Messrs. Veitch from China, the trailing branches 10 ft. to 12 ft.
*R. biflorus (White-stemmed Bramble) Himalaya; Rosaceæ White This Bramble forms an upright freely-branded specimen, 10 ft. high, and has whitened stems, which, especially in winter, are very conspicuous.
*R. deliciosus (Rocky Mountain Bramble) Rocky Mountains White A Currant-like, bushy shrub, with large white flowers (like single Roses) in great profusion. It is one of the finest flowering shrubs we have.
R. flagelliformis Central China White Introduced by Messrs. Veitch. The flowers are on growths 6 ft. to 8 ft. in length. Partly evergreen. A useful climber.
*R. fruticosus flore-pleno (Double Pink Bramble), Syn. R. bellidifolius. Garden form Pink; late Summer A double pink form of our common Bramble, and of a loose rambling nature, soon forming a tangled mass.
R. innominatus Hupeh; Central China Interesting for its stems covered with a soft pubescence and large orange scarlet fruits, which are edible Introduced by Messrs. Veitch, and is a great addition to dessert fruits.
R. laciniatus (Cut-leaved Bramble) Garden origin White A strong-growing Bramble with elegantly cut leaves. It is essentially a plant for the wild garden, while the fruits are particularly good.
R. nutkanus (Nootka Sound Raspberry) North America White A free upright species that pushes up annual shoots like the Raspberry, while the lobed leaves are decidedly ornamental. The large white blossoms are borne in May and June.
R. odoratus (Purple-flowered Raspberry) North America Rosy purple Somewhat like the last, but with rosy-purple blossoms that are rather later in expanding than those of R. nutkanus. It thrives best in partial shade.
*R. phœnicolasius (Japanese Wine Berry) Japan Whitish A strong-growing Raspberry-like plant, densely clothed with hairs. It is principally grown for its fruits, that are, when ripe, of a bright red tint, and appreciated by many. But this is a picturesque spreading shrub worth growing for its colouring and rambling growth alone. It is a good bank shrub, or to spread about over the rougher parts of the rock garden.
R. spectabilis (Salmon Berry) North America Purple; early May A shrub so aggressive that it must go into the wild garden. It forms a dense tuft 6 feet high, and when laden with its drooping purple flowers is decidedly ornamental.
R. thyrsoideus flore-pleno (Double White Bramble) Garden form White A semi-double white-flowered Bramble, less effective, however, than the double pink.
Sophora japonica China; Leguminosæ Creamy white panicles, which show up against the dark-green foliage Excluding the plants formerly known as Edwardsia, now included in Sophora, this is the only well-known member of the genus, and it is the only one of our large-growing hardy trees that flowers in autumn. Regarded only from a foliage point of view, it forms a very handsome specimen, the elegant pinnate leaves retaining their deep green tint long after most trees acquire their autumnal hue. Like many other Leguminosæ, the deep descending nature of its roots enables it to resist a long period of drought during the summer months better than most trees. It is very quick in growth, and is therefore valuable where rapid results are desired. The Sophora has been grown in this country for the last century and a half, and though in its early days considered to be rather tender, it has long proved to be thoroughly hardy. Varieties are not numerous, there being one, variegata, which is but a poor thing, while another, pendula, is one of the most striking of weeping trees. In winter the bright-green bark of this is a very noticeable feature.
Spartium junceum (Spanish Broom) Europe; Leguminosæ Golden yellow Owing to the deeply-descending nature of their roots, many of the Leguminosæ resist drought better than the majority of shrubs. A case in point is furnished by the Spanish Broom, which in summer is laden with its large golden-yellow blossoms. Against a dark-tinted background it stands out conspicuously, while seen in a mass or clump it is particularly striking. The Spanish Broom ripens seeds freely, from which young plants can be readily raised, but as they make very few fibres and do not as a rule transplant well, they should be put into their permanent quarters while still young. The leaves are very few in number, their place being filled as in some of its allies by the young shoots, which are dark green and Rush-like. There is a double variety, flore-pleno.

SPIRÆA CANESCENS.

Name. Country or Origin and Natural Order. Colour and Season. General Remarks.
*Spiræa arguta Garden origin; S. multiflora and S. Thunbergi (Rosaceæ) White; late April One of the best of the shrubby Spiræas, forming a dense bush about 4 feet high, which towards the end of April is profusely laden with clusters of pure white blossoms, despite frosts or cold winds, which play havoc with some of the early kinds.
S. bella Nepaul Deep pink; May and June A free-growing species, 5 feet high, with pretty flowers.
S. betulifolia (Syn. S. splendens) Europe Clear cherry-pink; midsummer A dwarf bush, 2 feet high, with pretty cherry-pink flowers.
S. brachybotrys (Syn. S. luxuriosa) Garden origin; S. canescens and S. Douglasi Pale pink; June A bold bush, 6 feet or more in height.
S. bracteata Japan White; May Grows 5 or 6 feet high.
*S. bullata (Syn. S. crispifolia) Japan Rosy carmine; July A dwarf species suitable for rockwork.
*S. canescens (Syn. S. flagelliformis, Syn. S. nepalensis, Syn. S. rotundifolia) Himalaya White; June and July The shoots of this are slender and arching so that it forms a graceful freely-branded shrub, some 5 to 8 feet in height. It is one of the best Spiræas.
*S. discolor (Syn. S. ariæfolia) North-West America Creamy white; July A well-known shrub, far better known, however, under the name of Spiræa ariæfolia. It reaches a height of 10 to 12 feet or even more, with plume-like clusters of creamy white blossoms. This is a shrub for the smallest garden.
*S. Douglasi North America Rosy red; July and August Forms a crowded cluster of erect shoots 6 feet or so in height, with each shoot terminated by a dense spike of flowers. It succeeds best in damp soil.
S. hypericifolia Europe White The slender arching shoots are clothed with clusters of pure white flowers in late May.
*S. japonica (Syn. S. callosa) Japan Rosy carmine; June and July Far better known under the name of S. callosa than that of japonica; it forms a shrub 5 or 6 feet high with brightly coloured flowers in flattened clusters. There are many distinct varieties, all good, the best being alba, a dwarf form with white flowers; Bumalda, also dwarf with pink blossoms; Anthony Waterer, the richest tinted of all dwarf kinds; superba, a deep tinted form of the type; and glabrata, with curiously broad leaves. Anthony Waterer is especially worth growing.
*S. lindleyana Himalaya White; August Reaches a height of 10 to 12 feet, and is remarkable for its handsome pinnate leaves, while the large feathery flower panicles are very striking.
S. media (Syn S. confusa) Europe White; May Forms a dense rounded bush from 5 to 8 feet high, and has clusters of pure white blossoms in profusion.
S. opulifolia (Nine Bark of the United States), (Syn. Neillia opulifolia) North America Whitish One of the largest of all the Spiræas, being of almost tree-like habit, but the flowers are not showy. There is a golden leaved form (aurea) of dwarfer habit than the type, which is in the first half of the season very pretty.
*S. prunifolia flore-pleno Japan White; Spring The flowers of this are quite double, like little rosettes, and in clusters along the arching shoots. Early in April as a rule they are very pretty.
S. salicifolia Europe Pinkish A variable kind, more or less approaching S. Douglasi, but with light-tinted flowers.
S. sorbifolia Northern Europe White; July A pinnate-leaved species somewhat in the way of S. lindleyana, but it does not grow more than half the height and flowers a month earlier.
S. Thunbergi Japan White; very early Spring The first of all the Spiræas to bloom, but its beauty is often marred by inclement weather. It forms a dense mass of slender twigs clothed with tiny leaves.
S. Van Houttei Garden form White A hybrid kind with pure white blossoms, which are as a rule more satisfactory under glass than in the open ground.

FLOWERS OF SPIRÆA LINDLEYANA.

Name. Country or Origin and Natural Order. Colour and Season. General Remarks.
Staphylea colchica Caucasus; Sapindaceæ White; Spring A sturdy upright deciduous shrub, 6 to 8 feet high, with drooping clusters of white flowers. Though decidedly ornamental it is as a rule more effective when flowered under glass than in the open ground. Needs a fairly moist loamy soil.
*S. pinnata (European Bladder-Nut) Europe Greenish white; Spring A shrub from 8 to 10 feet high, which has bladder-like capsules in which the seeds are contained. The capsules are more attractive than the flowers themselves.
S. trifolia (American Bladder-Nut tree) North America Greenish white; Spring In the way of the last, but a stronger grower, while the leaves are pinnate.
Stuartia pentagyna (Syn. Malachodendron ovatum) United States; Ternstrœmiaceæ White; July and August In its native country this attains the dimensions of a small tree, but in England it is from 5 to 8 feet high. The flowers, somewhat suggestive of those of a single white Camellia, have the edges of the petals wavy, while the reddish stamens are very conspicuous. Though very beautiful, this is not a shrub for every garden, as it needs a cool moist soil with a fair proportion of peat, a remark that applies equally to the other members of the genus.
*S. Pseudo-Camellia Japan White; with golden stamens; July and August The finest of the Stuartias, bearing much general resemblance in foliage, flowers, and habit of growth to a Camellia, hence its specific name. The flowers are about 3 inches in diameter. Beside its other ornamental qualities the leaves die off in Autumn brilliantly tinted with crimson and gold, being in this respect much superior to its American relatives.
S. virginica (Syn. Stuartia Malachodendron) Southern United States White; July and August Much in the way of S. pentagyna, but forms a smaller and less vigorous bush, while the leaves are more hairy.
*Styrax japonicum (Japanese Storax) China and Japan; Styraceæ White; Midsummer A shrub or small tree with flattened spreading branchlets, thickly studded on the undersides with drooping pure white fragrant Snowdrop-like blossoms. It is a delightful shrub, and best in a fairly moist light loam. Height 8 to 12 feet. Messrs. Veitch mention that it is occasionally a low tree, 20 to 25 feet high, and in its wild state on the hillsides in central Japan it flowers in May. It has proved quite hardy.
S. Obassia Japan White A very beautiful but rare species, forming a more sturdy bush than the last, while the pure white flowers are borne in drooping racemes. It succeeds under the same conditions as the preceding.
S. officinale Levant White From 6 to 8 feet high, but more delicate in constitution than either of those above named. It needs the protection of a wall in many districts.

GROUPING OF LILACS (several varieties). THE BUSH IN THE CENTRE IS THE PERSIAN LILAC, SYRINGA PERSICA.

Name. Country or Origin and Natural Order. Colour and Season. General Remarks.
Syringa (lilac) Eastern Europe and Northern Asia; Oleaceæ Various A lovely family. Mr. Bean in The Garden, April 2, 1898, writes: "As now constituted, the genus consists of two groups: First, the true Lilacs, represented by S. vulgaris; and second, the Privet-like Lilacs, of which some authorities have made a separate genus under the name Ligustrina. The species in this latter group are distinguished from the true Lilacs by flowering later in the summer, and by having large panicles of smaller Privet-like flowers, the corolla of which is white and much shorter than in the other group. There are three of them in cultivation—S. amurensis, S. japonica, S. pekinensis—which, however, some botanists have considered to be merely geographical forms of one species existing in Manchuria, Japan, and China. The following is a complete list of the species in gardens, with some of the commoner synonyms: S. Emodi, var. rosea (S. Bretschneideri), S. Josikæa, S. oblata (S. chinensis), S. persica, var. laciniata (S. filicifolia, S. pinnata), S. villosa (S. pubescens), S. vulgaris, S. chinensis (S. dubia, S. rothomagensis) hybrid. Ligustrina Group.—S. amurensis (Ligustrina amurensis), S. japonica (Ligustrina amurensis var. japonica), S. pekinensis (Ligustrina pekinensis)."
S. amurensis Manchuria; discovered in 1857 by a Russian botanist named Raffe Creamy white A sturdy bush with stout, erect branches. The small creamy white flowers are borne on large branching racemes. It is a native of the valleys of the Ussuri and Amur Rivers. One of the earliest of hardy shrubs to break into leaf.
*S. chinensis Probably raised in Rouen Botanic Garden by M. Varin over 100 years ago from seed borne by S. persica. Synonyms S. correlata, S. dubia, S. rothomagensis May The flowers are in panicles intermediate in size between those of its parents, and are of the same colour. Very free-flowering and pretty, and might be recommended as a substitute for the common Lilac in positions where the latter would be too large. To add to the confusion respecting its origin, it is still called in some nurserymen's catalogues the Siberian Lilac, Rouen Lilac, and Chinese Lilac. It lasts longer in flower than the common Lilac.
*S. Emodi (Himalayan Lilac) Dr. Aitchison found this on the Afghan Mountains in 1879, 9000 feet to 10,000 feet elevation Pale purple This is altogether of sturdier growth than the ordinary Lilac, with large leaves and terminal panicles of flowers. Of greater ornamental value is the variety rosea which was introduced a few years ago from the mountains about Pekin by Dr. Bretschneider, and in gardens (French chiefly) it is known as Syringa Bretschneideri. It is more robust than the type, and bears large panicles of rosy-tinted flowers in June or later. There is a variegated-leaved variety of S. Emodi, which is handsome when vigorously grown. Another form with more or less golden is foliis aureis. When the soil is rich the leaves measure 6 inches long and 4 inches wide.
S. japonica Japan White A large growing shrub, of bushy growth, and larger in foliage than S. vulgaris. It bears large branching panicles of small white flowers, reminding one of those of the Privet, hence the name of the group to which it belongs (Ligustrina). These panicles in Japan and the United States attain as much as 18 inches and even 2 feet in length, but whether it will grow in this country in such a way remains to be seen.
S. Josikæa (Hungarian Lilac) Hungarian Mountains Lilac; May An old shrub of moderate growth, but is not of great value, as it happens to flower when we have a wealth of bloom from the commoner kinds. It is, however, interesting and worth growing, if only for the sake of the pretty sentiment that attaches to its origin, having been found by Baroness Von Josika in her wanderings about the Hungarian mountains in 1835. It may be best described as a small form of S. Emodi. It was first grown in Britain at Edinburgh, in the year mentioned. Its height is 6 feet to 10 feet, with the young twigs of a purplish colour; the panicles are terminal, erect, and small compared with those of the more showy Lilacs, and usually about 4 inches long, rarely as much as 6 inches to 9 inches.
S. pekinensis Mountains of North China White One of the three Privet-like Syringas, and one of the last introduced. It is the Chinese representative of the Ligustrina group. From its two allies (S. amurensis and S. japonica) it is to be distinguished by its long and much more slender branches, which in one form are distinctly pendulous (var. pendula).
*S. persica (Persian Lilac) Found by Dr. Aitchison in 1879. Afghanistan. 7000 feet to 8000 feet elevation Deep purplish; May This old favourite is often confused with the Rouen Lilac, but it is quite different, being smaller in stature, with much smaller leaves, and with an elegant spreading habit of growth. In the type the flower clusters are nearly as large as those of S. chinensis, deep purple in colour, varying to almost a pure white in the variety alba. In the variety laciniata, known also as S. ficifolia, pinnata, and other names, the leaves are cut or coarsely toothed. It is a beautiful little shrub, and suits a place where the tall growing kinds would be too large. Like the common and the Rouen Lilacs, it may be forced into flower at Christmas time, and, unlike the others, its small size enables it to be grown in pots for room decoration. The exact length of time the Persian Lilac has been in cultivation is not known. It had long been cultivated in the country to which it owes its name—since the year 1200, say some authorities—but it has never been found truly wild in Persia. It was not until 1879 that its real native habitat was revealed.
S. villosa (Syn. pubescens) Introduced from the Chihli province of China in 1880 Rose Lilac; May This interesting species first flowered in 1888. It is very fragrant, and the panicle is from 3 inches to 4 inches long.
*S. vulgaris (Common Lilac) A native of Eastern Europe, and although it appears to have been originally introduced from Persia about, or previous to the year 1597, it was found to be a native of Southern Hungary, in the region of the Danube especially on the chalky precipices of the Cverna Valley and on Mount Domoglet. It is not found truly indigenous further west than these localities, and it is not, as has been stated, a native of Italy, although, no doubt it has become neutralised there and elsewhere Lilac; May See below for remarks.
The common Lilac has been the glory of English gardens since the days of Gerard and Parkinson of the sixteenth century. From the time that Parkinson grew it in a pot, with no doubt as much care and anxiety as is bestowed nowadays on a hundred-guinea Orchid, the Lilac has, on account of its extreme hardiness and easy culture, become almost naturalised in these islands, as now we see it in copse and hedgerow, besides gardens large and small, and even in the town forecourt. To every place where the Englishman goes to make a home he likes to have about him Lilacs and Roses. As in the case of several other beautiful shrubs, the improvement of the Lilac by the raising of new varieties is of comparatively recent date. Gerard and Parkinson write of the blue Pipe and the white Pipe (the Lilac being then called the Pipe tree, on account of pipes being made from its wood), besides the ordinary lilac-coloured sort, and Loudon, writing fifty years ago, only enumerates the blue (cærulea), violet (violacea), the white (alba), and alba major, and one double called alba plena, seven in all. He just mentions, however, a fine variety, Caroli (or Charles X., as we know it), which about that time had been raised in France. This still is one of the choicest sorts, and particularly valuable for forcing into early bloom in winter. Since that time there has been great activity in raising new kinds in France, till now the list of named single sorts numbers upwards of fifty, while the doubles are almost as numerous. There are far too many named sorts, in fact, as the differences between many of them are of the slightest, so that the selection of the best from catalogues, from the mere names and brief descriptions (not always accurate) is perplexing to an amateur. To no raiser do we owe more to the improvement of the Lilac of late years than to that famous veteran French hybridist, Victor Lemoine of Nancy, who has made the genus Syringa one of his special studies, and favoured as he is by a climate suitable for the free seeding of the Lilac, he has been highly successful. There are four more or less distinct shades of colour among the sorts, viz. whites, reds, pinks, and so-called blues. A selection of a dozen single sorts would include the following, placed in order of merit: Whites—Marie Le Gray, Alba grandiflora. Blue or Bluish—Cærulea or Delphine, Duchesse de Namours, Lindleyana or Dr. Lindley. Reds or Purple-reds—Souvenir de L. Späth, Philemon, Rubra insignis, Mme. Kreuter, Camille de Rohan, Ville de Troyes. Pinks—Lovanensis, Schneelavine. This selection comprises the finest sorts, having the largest flower clusters in their respective colours, and is representative of the whole of the sorts. Of the double flowered sorts there has of recent years been a great number sent from French nurseries, and only a few of the oldest sorts have developed into large specimens, and therefore one cannot judge of their merits, as in the case of the single sorts. The best varieties include the following dozen sorts: Lavender and Blue—Leon Simon, Renoncule, Alphonse Lavallée (pale blue). Pinks—President Carnot, M. de Dombasle. Whites—Mme. Abel Chatenay (the finest), Mme. Lemoine, Cassimir fils. Reds—President Grévy, Senateur Volland, Comte H. de Choiseul, Maxime Cornu. In the Lilacs there is material for the tasteful planter of gardens, yet how seldom does one see in ordinary gardens full advantage taken of them for producing beautiful effects! In the common way of planting they are dotted about shrubberies indiscriminately, and jumbled with trees and shrubs of a totally different character, so that the Lilacs cannot be seen to the fullest advantage. An isolated group of the choicest kinds, or even a simple hedge of the white or rich purple kinds is seldom seen, except in some old gardens, and still less seldom does one see any attempt at culture in the way of pruning and the cutting away of suckers. At Kew one may see bold examples of grouping Lilacs, as well as well-developed specimens standing alone on grass, while about London one sees in the market gardens fine hedges of Lilac planted for the twofold purpose of cutting from and providing shelter. Mr. Goldring writes in The Garden, "The most beautiful Lilac hedge I have seen was that I enjoyed recently at the White Farm, Crichel (an enclosure devoted to white animals), where there are glorious hedges of the pure white Lilac Marie Le Gray in abundant flower—quite appropriate to the white surroundings. The only culture the Lilacs require is occasional manuring in light, poor soils, occasional pruning so as to induce a bushy growth, as the growth is apt to become 'leggy,' and continuous attention in cutting away suckers, which are so plentiful as to rob the tops. Two or three suckers should be allowed to grow so as to keep up the supply of strong, vigorous flowering stems. Lilacs can be made to form standards by keeping the bush from the outset to one stem, and when seen rising out of a low hedge of Lilac, or a mass of the dwarf kinds, they have a pleasing effect, and is one of the various ways they can be arranged in planting."

STANDARD LILAC, MME. LEMOINE.

Name. Country or Origin and Natural Order. Colour and Season. General Remarks.
*Tamarix gallica (the Tamarisk) Northern portion of the Old World; Tamariscineæ Pink; May A charming shrub, not half enough grown, owing, in some respects at least, to a wide-spread idea that it will not flourish away from the sea-coast. True, it luxuriates there, but it may be depended upon to thrive anywhere unless the soil is a stiff clay, chalky, or too much parched up in the summer. It is deciduous, but during the Summer the foliage is as delicate as any of the Conifers, and in May, when the branches are terminated by the waving plume-like panicles of pink blossoms, it is delightful. As a plant for the waterside it is most useful, and forms a pleasing picture if a score or so of plants are grouped on a lawn or open stretch of grass. In such a situation the long straggling shoots must be shortened back occasionally to keep the plants within bounds, as growing unchecked they will reach a height of 10 to 15 feet. There are several forms of Tamarisk, by some considered distinct species, and by others as forms of T. gallica, but a good deal of confusion prevails concerning them. One of the best (perhaps the very best Tamarisk) is that known as tetrandra or taurica, in which the feathery plumes are of a deeper pink than the type. Other names that occur are parviflora, chinensis, and japonica, but given tetrandra, as a rule no other is wanted.
T. germanica (German Tamarisk), (Syn. Myricaria Germanica) Europe Pinkish A smaller shrub than the last, more upright in growth, and with a glaucous tinge. The pinkish flowers are far less effective than those of the preceding.
*Ulex europæus (the Furze, Gorse, or Whin) Europe; Leguminosæ Yellow The common Furze is known to every one, but its great beauty as a flowering shrub is apt to be overlooked, for it luxuriates in dry, sandy, and stony soils, where little else will grow, and its golden blossoms are borne usually from February to May, though occasionally throughout the entire winter. The double-flowered variety—flore-pleno—is even more valuable from a flowering point of view than the type. Both transplant badly, hence the common kind is usually sown where it has to remain, and the double-flowered form struck from cuttings in a frame, and kept in pots till permanently planted.
*U. nanus (Dwarf Furze) Europe Yellow Of dwarfer and denser habit than the common Furze, but its most prominent feature consists in the fact that it often commences to flower in August, and continues till Christmas, after which the common Furze asserts itself. The cultural items appended to the preceding species apply with equal force to this.

VIBURNUM MACROCEPHALUM.

Veronica.—There are a vast number of Veronicas, all natives of New Zealand, and garden forms raised from them, but many can only be regarded as hardy in the extreme west of England and Ireland, whereas some of the hardiest are from their diminutive growth suitable only for rockwork. The best are—
Name. Country or Origin and Natural Order. Colour and Season. General Remarks.
*Veronica Andersonii Garden Origin (Scrophularineæ) Purple; Summer and Autumn A neat evergreen shrub with dense spikes of bluish-purple blossoms in great profusion for a long period. Near the sea, in especially favoured spots, it is delightful, while in other districts it forms a valuable subject for greenhouse or conservatory. Of the numerous other garden forms belonging to this section the following are all good: Blue Gem, light blue; Bolide, reddish; Celestial, sky blue, light centre; La Seduisante, rich reddish-purple; Marie Antoinette, pink; Purple Queen, rich purple; and Reine des Blanches, white.
V. hulkeana New Zealand Pale lavender; May and June Very distinct; it has large terminal panicles of pale lavender flowers.
*V. Traversii New Zealand Pale mauve; June and July The hardiest of all the shrubby Veronicas; it is a dense box-like bush, with a profusion of dense spikes of flowers. In the neighbourhood of London this is a thoroughly good shrub of easy culture.
Viburnum Caprifoliaceæ ...... The Viburnum family includes several beautiful shrubs, and of the thirty or forty species and varieties in cultivation at least six are indispensable, i.e. no good shrub garden is without them. Most of them are vigorous in growth and easily propagated; they like a fairly rich soil and moisture at the root. Several of the American species grow naturally in damp, more or less shady woodlands. Taken collectively the Viburnums possess a variety of attractions. Some species are evergreen, and thus useful Winter plants; others are amongst the most beautiful shrubs for their flowers, others again, like our native Guelder Rose (V. Opulus), have showy fruits; finally the foliage of several of the deciduous species dies off rich red or yellow tints.
V. dentatum (Arrow-wood) North America. Introduced in 1763 White; June and July The American Viburnums are not apparently so valuable in the British Isles as in their native country. Most of them are handsome vigorous bushes, but without the same flower attractions as plicatum, macrocephalum, and the Guelder Rose (V. Opulus var. sterile). Many of them, however, bear very showy fruits in their own country, and the leaves turn to beautiful Autumn tints. V. dentatum is deciduous, free-growing, leaves bright green, deeply toothed and strongly veined. The trusses are 3 inches to 4 inches across, the flowers white, and fertile. It is one of the handsomest as regards flowers of the American Viburnums. The dark-blue fruit ripens neither abundantly nor regularly in England.
V. Lantana (Wayfaring tree) Britain, also Europe North and Western Asia, and N. Africa White; May and June A beautiful native shrub. Its chief beauty is in the colour of the flowers and the gorgeous Autumn leaf tints. Groups of this are pictures of colour in Autumn. The fruit, at first black and afterwards red, soon disappears before the birds. The tree grows rapidly and generally attains a height of about 12 or 15 feet; the leaves are large and downy. The wayfaring tree should be more planted in English gardens. It will grow almost anywhere. There are two variegated-leaved varieties, but these we know little about, and we care more for the type than any golden variegation.
V. macrocephalum China and Japan. Introduced from China in 1844 by Fortune Pure white This must be included, but it is not very hardy. Mr. Bean, writing of it in The Garden, November 17, 1900, p. 361, says: "The shrub known under this name is a cultivated form of a Chinese species, in which all the flowers have, under artificial influences, become sterile. The wild plant to which it belongs is also in cultivation, and is known as V. Keteleeri. In this type plant the middle of the truss is filled with perfect flowers, the edges only being occupied with the large and showy sterile ones. V. macrocephalum is by far the most striking plant, its large, rounded or pyramidal trusses of pure white flowers being unequalled among the Viburnums. The plant is, however, better adapted for growing in pots for greenhouse decoration or as a wall plant than it is as a shrub in the open. In my experience it is scarcely hardy enough to assume its best character without some sort of protection. Although hard winters may not kill it outright they seriously cripple it. It is only in recent years that it has attained popularity, but it has long been known."
V. Opulus (the Guelder Rose). It is called in America the Cranberry bush or High Cranberry Britain, Europe and Northern hemisphere White; May and June Of the two species of Viburnum this is the better known, and is the more valuable as a garden shrub. It grows to a height of from 10 to 15 feet, and is easily known by the beautiful lobed Maple-like leaves, which die off brilliant crimson shades. Sterile as well as fertile flowers are produced on each truss, the flowers being white and three-quarters of an inch across. But the wild Guelder Rose is in its fullest beauty in Autumn when the fruits change to brilliant red, and the leaves gradually assume their gorgeous colouring. As this species appreciates moisture it is a noble shrub to make groups of in moist places, such as by stream, pond, river, or moist margin. The beauty of the wild Guelder Rose is not realised by many planters of gardens. Its colouring is intense. In the "Cyclopedia of American Horticulture" it is mentioned: "Handsome native shrub, very decorative in fruit, which begins to colour by the end of July, remains on the branches, and keeps its bright scarlet colour until the following Spring. The berries are not eaten by birds."
V. O. sterile (Snowball tree) Variety. Origin unknown White; early June This is too well known to need description. It is a graceful shrub, its branches bent with the weight of the rounded flower trusses. As in the case of V. macrocephalum and of V. plicatum the small and insignificant fertile flowers have become transformed by cultivation into large barren ones, and the truss also loses its flattened shape and becomes rounded or conical. It appreciates a moist soil.
V. rhytidophyllum China Yellow white A handsome evergreen shrub, introduced by Messrs. Veitch. Ornamental foliage, and in September the berries turn to a rich red colour.
V. tomentosum Mariesi Japan Cream white A very graceful shrub but little known. The sterile flowers are on the outer edge of the flat cymes, and line the spreading shoots. We hope it will soon be plentiful.
V. tomentosum var. plicatum Japan. Introduced by Fortune in 1844 Ivory white We have used the word tomentosum as plicatum is a variety of that species. V. tomentosum itself is a handsome shrub with big, flattish cymes and creamy-white sterile flowers round the margin of the truss. That known as V. plicatum, a sterile form of V. tomentosum, is a beautiful shrub; the most precious perhaps of the whole family. It makes a glorious group on the lawn, and in early June the spreading shoots are so thickly covered with flower clusters that scarcely a vestige of the dark-green, wrinkled leafage is visible. It is quite hardy, but in the north it will be wise to choose a sheltered position for it. As a wall shrub too it is valuable, and a specimen on a wall in the Royal Horticultural Society's gardens at Chiswick is quite a mass of bloom every year. Passers by who know not the shrub wonder what it is making so thick a mantle of white. It grows 4 to 5 feet high in the British Isles, taller in its native country; the trusses of flowers are erect on short branches, and each measure about 3 inches across. Being in pairs they make a striking double row on every branch. V. plicatum must come into the smallest list of flowering shrubs.
V. Tinus (Laurustinus) South of Europe and North of Africa. Introduced in 1596 White; flowers in Winter in the south, but much depends upon locality This is a well-known evergreen shrub, and quite hardy in the south of these Isles, where its planted as a hedge. Even when out of flower the bush has a certain beauty owing to its shining green leaves. Near London it succeeds. Many things considered hardier get severely injured when the Laurustinus escapes. North and easterly winds are harmful to it. There are several varieties. Lucidum is the finest; the leaves and corymbs are larger than those of the type, the former being of a very glossy green and smooth. In lucidum the leaves and branches are woolly, whilst there are also purpureum, with purplish leaves, and a variegated variety, but neither is of value.

YUCCA GLORIOSA IN A SURREY GARDEN. (Height 15 feet.)

Name. Country or Origin and Natural Order. Colour and Season. General Remarks.
*Xanthoceras sorbifolia North China White; stained with red in the centre; Spring A beautiful tree, but seldom seen in English gardens. The following note appeared in The Garden about it: "This tree does not appear to be widely grown, and I have heard doubts expressed as to its being hardy enough to stand the winter in some districts. Not long ago I saw a fine specimen in a Kentish rectory garden. The tree is 5 feet or 6 feet high, and under the shelter of a thick hedge of Laurustinus it flowers freely every year, and also produces fruit. The long white and slightly tinted blooms, which change to purple, are very effective, but one rarely gets an opportunity of seeing this interesting tree in flower. Perhaps this is because it does not belong to the common order of things, or else it is not accommodating enough for general culture, but it is very beautiful." The Xanthoceras is sometimes trained against a wall, but its growth is too stiff for the purpose. The flowers are in dense spikes about 6 inches long, reminding one of the Horse-Chestnut, and are an inch across individually. The foliage is very ornamental, and each leaf-stalk has seven pinnate, serrated, bright-green leaves. Apt to get spoilt by frost, however.
Yuccas Liliaceæ See pages 149, 250.