SPECIAL USES. Rock gardens, trough gardens.

Bruckenthalia spiculifolia Ericaceae Balkan Heath

Evergreen, heath-like shrub ten inches high. Small pink bell flowers in summer. Gives the effect of billowy daintiness.

CARE. Drainage and not soggy wet. Hardy, but mulch in zone 4 with salt hay in winter. Sun; soil gritty and acid.

PROPAGATION. Seeds and cuttings.

SPECIAL USES. Rock and trough gardens.

Buxus Buxaceae Box, Boxwood

Evergreen shrub, very small with clusters of small flowers. Slow-growing; in fact, boxwood I set out two years ago seems hardly to have changed in size. But we await the possibilities with anticipation and patience. It is a versatile shrub.

CARE. Little or no care seems necessary. It grows in just about any soil not sandy or rocky. It has shallow roots. We protect it in winter with a light mulch. Plant in spring or late summer; use little or no fertilizer. It accepts being pruned or sheared.

PROPAGATION. Hardwood cuttings, suckers, division, layering.