Article FlipElite Article Directory

Though a member of the ericaceae, this genus shows a benign tolerance of alkaline soils. One of the finest specimens of the Strawberry Tree, Arbutu.v unedo, I have ever seen grows in a lime soil, full in the path of a wind from the sea.

Ranging as they do from species which grow only inches high to tree-like specimens of 20 ft. or so, cotoneasters are virtually indispensable to the gardener. The choice is bewildering, and there is space here only to include those which have proved their worth in my experience.

February is a time of excited anticipation. This month a gradual heralding of early spring begins in the lower parts of the region and steadily advances through the entire area.

Ceanothus includes species with popular names redolent of romance - Californian Lilac, Jersey Tea, and Squaw Carpet. I find it a matter of great regret that not even with the deciduous species can I sit back and enjoy that rare delight of a shrub covered in blue flowers for no sooner do the ceanothus in my garden reach full size than along comes a really severe late frost to turn fresh green to black ruin.

The Chilean Fire Bush, Embothrium coccineum, was a lunatic piece of extravagance which succeeded beyond my expectations. The first bush planted 17 years ago on what was then an exposed hillside is now a small tree 15 ft. high. The label reads Embothrium coccineum Norquinco Valley.

What can we plant in our gardens this spring that will insure plenty of material to fill our vases, bowls and other flower containers this summer? The answer is annuals. Annuals are probably used for cutting more than any other type of flower. They may be used alone or combined with perennial or shrub blossoms.

Any shrub border would be incomplete unless it included one member of this family of evergreens. The greatest problem I have to contend with is which of the varieties to omit. Any soil with even a tentative protestation to fertility will support escallonia. On this day, with suitable encouragement, they are a valuable addition to the shades of summer and early autumn. In Cornwall and other coastal areas they make grand flowering hedges which are trimmed as required to keep them within bounds but with a view to gaining the maximum amount of flower. Cuttings taken in July - August root readily.

No tree excites more affection in me than the graceful native birch. In winter sculptural in white beauty, in spring touched with the pale green charm of breaking bud, then in autumn all golden glory in the October sunshine.

The fact that the redoubtable sycamore is a member of this noble clan may prove a cause for reflection amongst the more sober-minded gardeners. However, contained in this genus are some of the loveliest moderate-sized trees for foliage it is possible to cultivate.

I grow the Glastonbury Thorn, C. monogyna praecox (sometimes listed in catalogues as biflora). Some years it leafs up much earlier than others while C. m. inermis compacta, which graces my rock garden, is a stiff impregnable shrublet 3 ft. high and 14 years old.