Small gardens, and how to make the most of them

by Violet Purton Biddle

A GOOD ALL ROUND PLANT. Berberis aquifolium is another shrub which has a great deal to recommend it; it is ever-green, and will do in almost any position; it bears lovely yellow flowers in spring, purple powdered berries in August, and the foliage turns a rich red in October. Always ornate, it is one of the easiest shrubs to grow, and just the thing for a small garden.

The myrtle, though liable to be killed in a very hard frost, can often be grown to a great size in a sheltered garden; I have seen bushes eight yards round, in an exposed position near the river Thames, which must have been braving the storms for many a year past. They should not be planted out till March or April, though November is the month for most other shrubs. The old pyrus japonica makes a good bush, though most often grow on a wall; its bright flowers, carmine-scarlet in colour with yellow anthers in the centre, appear early in April, a week or two later than the climbers, which of course are protected. When grown in bush form, it is sometimes pruned out of all recognition; this is especially the case in public gardens, and is quite an affliction to any one who knows how lovely it can be! The knife should be restrained, allowing the pyrus to take its own shape as much as possible; it is often sold under the name of cydonia japonica, as that is really its rightful title.

One or two of the araucarias make very good shrubs for a small garden; they should not be grown in cold, wind-swept places, as their branches soon turn brown if exposed to continued frost and furious blasts. There is a magnificent specimen in the nurseries of Messrs. Veitch, Kingston Hill, Surrey, planted about 1865; its ornamental appearance is greatly due to the number of young branches springing out from the main trunk and almost completely covering it; they nestle under the larger branches, and produce a very picturesque effect. Small plants of this variety may be had for three or four shillings.

Messrs. Veitch have a splendid selection of shrubs, all in the best of health; their hollies are well grown, and include all the good sorts; a variety that bears fruit when quite young is ilex glabrum, of which they have a large stock; these trees are such slow growers, that it is advisable to get one that will look attractive almost at once.

Pernettyas are ornamental little shrubs, not so much grown as they deserve; in winter, when most things look drooping and unhappy, these American visitors to our gardens are bright and cheerful. The dwarf erica carnea, both pink and white, show their buds as early as November, and at the turn of the year present a very pretty appearance; they look well as edgings to rhododendron beds; their price is about sixpence each.

Another charming winter shrub is cornus sanguinea; its beauty lies in the red glow of its leafless stems, which makes it visible some distance off.

Spirea Anthony Waterer is a fine plant in late summer, having pink umbels of flowers and a habit somewhat like the valerian. The snow-berry is good in autumn and winter, having large white berries which hang on a long time; it is deciduous, and likes a rich soil.

Messrs. Veitch have a splendid collection of conifers for all aspects and positions; their small junipers are most fascinating little trees, with flat spreading branches of the loveliest shade of green, and their seedling firs are well balanced. They sell a great variety of lilac trees too.

GRAFTED LILACS. A note on lilacs will not be amiss; if you notice that any lilacs you may happen to have flower sparsely, and are poor in size and colour it will be as well to examine the stems close to the soil, and you will probably find a fine crop of suckers; all these must be cut away as sedulously as those on your rose-trees, for nearly all lilacs are grafted, very few kinds being sold on their own roots.

The forsythias are pretty climbers or shrubs, according to the variety chosen, much like the yellow jasmine, with its golden stars on leafless stems. Just as the latter, however, is going out of flower the forsythias are coming on, and therefore give a succession of very pretty blossoms.