Varieties Of Spring Shrubs

These words will be read at about the beginning of the fall planting season, and so it may be well to consider some improvements in the spring garden which can be made by the planting of well chosen shrubs in the fall.

At the outset, however, I must emphasize that only shrubs which have matured and are really fit for moving should be planted or moved at this time, because all the advantages of fall planting may be lost if the growth of shrubs or rose plants has not matured and reached the beginning of its dormant period.

I grew up in an atmosphere of Spiraea vanhouttei and what were called “snowballs,” which preceded the mock-oranges and the weigelas. Then we came to have Hydrangea paniculata grandiflora, which we now call “Peegee.” This particular shrub, from Japan, was violently advertised and came close to covering the entire country with its summer blooms which were actually praised because they never ended but hung on in a dirty, dull pink – if you could call it pink – over the winter. Myself I like the look of a full flowered bougainvillea to dress the patio.

Incidentally, it was all of 20 years before I discovered that H. paniculata – not Peegeewas a grand and different shrub which could be relied upon to do a beautiful late summer job without any winter imposition. And I am sorry that this is not more widely grown, because it is vigorous enough and much more beautiful than the overdone Peegee ever was.

For a long time the planting about my summer home at Eagles Mere was dominated by a man who really knew only three plants, which he called hydrangea, lilac and fern. As time went on it seemed advisable to look for other spring flowering material, and for aid in that direction I turned to some real plant lovers among the nurserymen, who responded with many other items.

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