Vinca.—Periwinkle. Pretty rock plants, growing freely in ordinary soil. V. herbacea, of creeping habit, with purplish-blue flowers; V. minor, of trailing habit, blue; and V. major, 1 to 2 ft. high, also trailing, are suitable for the rock garden. The last two are evergreen, and afford varieties which differ in the colour of their flowers, while some are single and others double.
Viola.—Violet. Charming dwarf plants, mostly evergreen and of tufted habit, requiring well-worked rich sandy soil. V. calcarata, 6 in., light blue; V. cornuta, 6 to 8 in., blue; V. lutea, 4 in., yellow; V. altaica, 6 in., yellow or violet with yellow eye; V. palmaensis, 6 to 8 in., lavender-blue; V. pedata, 6 in., pale blue; and V. odorata, the Sweet Violet, in its many single and double flowered varieties, are all desirable.
Yucca.—Noble subarborescent liliaceous plants, which should be grown in every garden. They do well in light, well-drained soils, and have a close family resemblance, the inflorescence being a panicle of white, drooping, tulip-shaped flowers, and the foliage rosulate, sword-shaped and spear-pointed. Of the more shrubby-habited sorts Y. gloriosa, recurvifolia and Treculeana are good and distinct; and of the dwarfer and more herbaceous sorts Y. filamentosa, flaccida and angustifolia are distinct and interesting kinds, the first two flowering annually.
The taste for cultivation of the class of plants, of which the foregoing list embraces some of the more prominent members, is on the increase, and gardens will benefit by its extension.
Hardy Trees and Shrubs.—Much of the beauty of the pleasure garden depends upon the proper selection and disposition of ornamental trees and shrubs. We can only afford space here for lists of some of the better and more useful and ornamental trees and shrubs, old and new.
The following list, which is not exhaustive, furnishes material from which a selection may be made to suit various soils and situations. The shrubs marked * are climbers.
Hardy Deciduous Trees.
| Acer—Maple. | Larix—Larch. |
| Aesculus—Horse-Chestnut. | Liriodendron—Tulip-tree. |
| Ailantus—Tree of Heaven. | Magnolia. |
| Alnus—Alder. | Morus—Mulberry. |
| Amygdalus—Almond. | Negundo—Box-Elder. |
| Betula—Birch. | Ostrya—Hop Hornbeam. |
| Carpinus—Hornbeam. | Paulownia. |
| Carya—Hickory. | Planera. |
| Castanea—Sweet Chestnut. | Platanus—Plane. |
| Catalpa. | Populus—Poplar. |
| Celtis—Nettle Tree. | Prunus (Plums, Cherries, &c.). |
| Cercis—Judas Tree. | Ptelea—Hop Tree. |
| Cotoneaster (some species). | Pyrus—Pear, &c. |
| Crataegus—Thorn. | Quercus—Oak. |
| Davidia. | Rhus—Sumach. |
| Diospyros. | Robinia—Locust Tree. |
| Fagus—Beech. | Salix—Willow. |
| Fraxinus—Ash. | Sophora. |
| Ginkgo—Maidenhair Tree. | Taxodium—Deciduous Cypress. |
| Gleditschia—Honey Locust. | Tilia—Lime. |
| Gymnocladus—Kentucky Coffee Tree. | Ulmus—Elm. |
| Juglans—Walnut. | Virgilia. |
| Kolreuteria. | Xanthoceras. |
| Laburnum. |
Hardy Evergreen Trees.
| Abies—Silver Fir. | Libocedrus. |
| Araucaria—Chili Pine. | Magnolia grandiflora. |
| Arbutus—Strawberry Tree. | Picea—Spruce Fir. |
| Biota—Arbor Vitae. | Pinus—Pine. |
| Buxus—Box. | Quercus Ilex—Holm-Oak. |
| Cedrus—Cedar. | Retinospora. |
| Cephalotaxus. | Sciadopitys—Umbrella Pine. |
| Cryptomeria—Japan Cedar. | Sequoia (Wellingtonia). |
| Cupressus—Cypress. | Taxus—Yew. |
| Ilex—Holly. | Thuiopsis. |
| Juniperus—Juniper. | Thuya—Arbor Vitae. |
| Laurus—Bay Laurel. | Tsuga. |