■M iS^i :t>; -a 2 uj ■£ OJ < o oj BROAD-LEAVED EVERGREENS 139 and torrid parts of the earth and, with few excep- tions, are not found in the cold, temperate, and arctic regions. In a subsequent chapter the Rhododendrons, the noblest group of hardy broad-leaved flowering Ever- greens, will be dealt with in detail, and here we may review carefully the remaining field in order to find out just what is our position in the matter of hardy broad-leaved evergreen plants. The regions of the world where possible hardy types of these subjects' grow have been pretty well ransacked and the chances of New England gardens securing any notable addi- tions are remote. China which has so bountifully supplied us with favorite flowers during the past hundred years and more, has contributed very little to our list of hardy broad-leaved Evergreens. North Japan has been fairly liberal and one or two have come to us from Europe, but the great majority are native of American soil If the whole of this coun- try were under consideration, it would be found that more such Evergreens can be grown out of doors here than in the whole of Europe. Indeed, this is true if the Pacific Slope alone be considered, but such favored regions are outside of this purview. In New England and southward to Washington, D. C, the case is very different and it is only after 140 ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN years of trial that gardeners learn just what plants can withstand the hot, dry summers and cold, changeable winters characteristic of these parts of eastern North America. The Arnold Arboretum is the only place in this country where data on the comparative hardi- ness of woody plants, covering a long period of years, is to be found. For this reason, this chapter is based on the experiences of that institution. Here and there in gardens, even in the neighborhood of Boston, Mass., a plant thrives which is not hardy in the Arn- old Arboretum. Nevertheless, this Arboretum is the safest guide for all desirous of growing hardy woody plants in the colder parts of the United States of America. Very probably some reader has in his (or her) garden some broad-leaved Evergreen not men- tioned here and this should be a source of joy, for the list in its extreme limits is all too scant. We who garden in the cooler parts of eastern North America may envy those of warmer climes their var- iety of broad-leaved Evergreens, yet in the native Mountain Laurel {Kalmia latifolia) we possess one plant that has no superior. The foliage is good at all seasons and in mid-June the broad, dome-like clusters of bowl-shaped flowers, either pure white, or silvery to deepest pink, make a wondrous picture. Truly the Mountain Laurel is in early simimer the BROAD-LEAVED EVERGREENS 141 glory of woodland and hill slope, and is the most beautiful of evergreen shrubs native of eastern North America. Many Asiatic Rhododendrons have larger leaves and larger and more brilliantly colored flowers, but of all the broad-leaved evergreen plants which can be grown successfully in this climate, Kalmia latifolia is the handsomest and most satisfactory. There is a variety (alba) with pure white flowers and another (rubra) with deep pink, nearly red flowers and rather dark leaves. Between these extremes there are forms with flowers of all shades of pink and there is one (fuscata) with flowers conspicuously marked by a chocolate band. Another variety (polypetala) has the flowers segmented into narrow lobes, but this plant is not very ornamental. The variety obiusata, which rarely flowers, has broad, handsome. Rhododendron- like leaves. Lastly, there is a dwarf variety (myrti- folia) with small leaves and small clusters of minute flowers. All these varieties are sports from the wild type and have all been found on wild plants. By hybridization and selection it is highly probable that new and improved forms could be evolved. In the matter of soil and situation, the Mountain Laurel is not exacting, but it is fond of leaf mould and an autumnal mulch of leaves is beneficial. Like other members of the great Heather family, it detests lime- 142 ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN stone. This Kalmia is essentially a social plant and when massed together is most effective. The two other Kalmias {K. angustifoUa and K, glauca) hardy in this climate are much less ornamental but are likewise evergreen. The former, familiarly known as the Sheep Laurel, is common in swampy places from Maine to Georgia and westward to Wis- consin. It is a branching shrub growing from a foot to a yard tall, and has dull olive-green leaves and clusters of crimson-pink flowers. It is popu- larly believed to be poisonous to sheep. The other species, known as the Pale Laurel has much the same distribution. It is a twiggy and smaller plant with flattened stems, narrow leaves with recurved edges and white on the under side and has terminal clusters of pale lilac to crimson-pink flowers. It is essentially a moisture-loving plant. Closely related to the Pale Laurel and very similar in habit, foliage, and general appearance is Andromeda polifolia. This is a low shrub from one to two feet tall, with slender stems and small clusters of pinkish urn-shaped flowers and is distributed through the cold, temperate, and sub- arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Another very hardy member of the Heath family is Pieris floribunda (better known as Andromeda Jlori- bunda), which opens its small, white. Heather-like BROAD-LEAVED EVERGREENS 143 flowers at the first burst of spring. This plant is native of the higher slopes of the southern Appalachian Mountains and is a low, broad, round-topped bush with dark green shining leaves and short, erect clusters of flowers which are fully grown in the autumn and the flower buds are white and conspicuous through the winter. Its Japanese relative (P. Japonica) grows taller and has larger flowers but, unfortunately, is much less hardy. For planting in the shade of trees and more es- pecially by the s de of woodland streams Leucothoe Catesbaei, with yard-long, arching stems, glossy green, broad, pointed leaves, and axillary racemes of small, pure white flowers, is a charming plant. It is native of the mountains of Virginia and Georgia, but is very hardy. By the side of a babbling brook in the Hemlock grove of the Arnold Arboretum it is perfectly happy and a joy to behold at all seasons of the year. The American Holly {Ilex opaca), with its dull green leaves, is much inferior to the English Holly (/. Aquifolium) , which has lustrous foliage, but it has the merit of being fairly hardy in northern Massachusetts, whereas its European relative is not. The American Holly is a large bush or small tree and has red fruit. It delights in a cool soil and a position 144 ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN sheltered from cutting winds and the morning sun in winter. A broad-leaved Evergreen which should be planted in every garden is the Inkberry {Ilex glabra), one of the most attractive of native shrubs. It is densely branched and compact in habit and grows from five to eight feet high and as much in diameter, and has dark, glossy green, smooth, rounded leaves and black fruit on inch-long stalks. It forms a neat and shapely specimen in the open, is excellent for massing, and is a good hedge plant. The leaves do not burn and the plant grows well in ordinary garden soil and is beautiful at all seasons, be it midwinter or midsummer. One would reasonably suppose that so useful a shrub would be grown in quantity by the nurserymen of eastern North America, but, alas! this class from earliest generations has derived its inspiration entirely from Europe and apparently de- spises American plants as too common for attention. The Japanese Ilex crenata is another valuable evergreen Holly and being an exotic is fairly easy to obtain from nurserymen. It makes a stiff bush with its short, dense branches and is handsome as a speci- men and is well adapted for making hedges. The leaves are small, blackish green and the fruit is black and is freely produced. There are two or three BROAD-LEAVED EVERGREENS 145 forms of this Holly and if plants are raised from seed much variation in size of leaf is shown. Those with the smallest leaves are hardiest and seldom burn in winter, whereas the form known as major has not proved hardy in the Arnold Arboretum. This shrub, or small tree, is widely spread in Japan and is also much grown in Japanese gardens where it is usually clipped and trained into the grotesque. The Common Box of Europe {Buxus sempervirens) is scarcely hardy in New England and as a rule browns badly in March and looks unsightly in the spring. There are many forms of this Box, and the hardiest is myrtifolia, with dull green leaves which are longer than they are broad. As a low edging around formal beds the Common Box winters fairly well when the snowfall is normal or in excess of nor- mal, but if exposed to full sun in March the leaves scald. A much superior plant for northern gardens is the Japanese Box (B. micro phylla) and its taller growing variety japonica, both being perfectly hardy in the Arnold Arboretum. The type is dwarf in habit and has narrow, wedge-shaped leaves and is very useful for edging purposes and for rockeries. The variety has rounded leaves, yellowish green in color and makes a compact bush in size comparable with its European relative. Both flower in early spring 146 ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN and are freely visited by bees. The Japanese Box, which is distinguished from the Common Box by the relatively long stalk to the rudimentary ovary of the male flowers, is far from being well known. It is rare in nurseries where forms of the less hardy B. sempervirens erroneously and unintentionally pass muster for it. The lovely Oregon Grape {Mahonia Aquifolium)^ with its lustrous, metallic green leaves which in late fall assume rich shades of bronzy green and blackish crimson is, unfortunately, not properly hardy here. In winters, when the snowfall is heavy and lies on the ground until spring, this shrub winters fairly well; but usually the leaves burn badly and though the stems are not often killed the plants are very un- sightly until new leaves develop. Much hardier and entirely satisfactory is its relative M. repens, with similar terminal clusters of yellow flowers and bloomy black fruits but gray-green leaves. This species grows about a foot high and has a creeping rootstock from which shoots arise and form a broad, low thicket. Very beautiful and quite hardy is the new Chinese Berberis verruculosa, with prostrate and arching stems, small, prickly Holly-like leaves, dark shining green above and white below. It grows from one to two feet high, is very densely BROAD-LEAVED EVERGREENS 147 branched and has yellow flowers in the axils of the leaves and these are followed by bloomy black fruit. Very handsome in flower and striking at all sea- sons are the Yuccas with their spear-like evergreen leaves. Three species (Y. flaccida, Y. filameniosa and y. glauca) are hardy in the neighborhood of Boston, Mass., and thrive in ordinary garden soil. Their pure white, nodding, top-shaped flowers are borne in profusion on erect, branching stems from four to six feet tall. The Garland Flower (Daphne Cneorum) is a well- known evergreen with gray-green and terminal heads of fragrant pink blossoms. Many find it difficult to establish for it resents transplanting and for this reason pot-grown plants should be obtained in prefer- ence to those grown in open ground. For planting beneath trees there is nothing better than Pachysan- dra terminalis, a native of Japan and China. It grows about ten inches high and, spreading from a creeping rootstock, forms a dense ground cover in situations where but few plants will grow. The leaves are light green, and the inconspicuous flowers are followed by whitish fruits. Another favorite broad-leaved Evergreen is the Lesser Periwinkle (Vinca minor), native of Europe and western Asia. This plant trails over the ground 148 ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN and forms a broad mass of glossy dark green. It thrives equally well in the open and in partial shade. There are forms with white and purple flowers but none is better than the type with its clear blue flowers. A very pleasing little evergreen is Pachystima Canbyi, native of the mountains of North Carolina and Virginia, which forms neat little clumps six inches or more high. The fohage is dense, small, and rather shining pale green. The western P. Myrsinites is a taller plant with much larger leaves but the habit is less good and it often suffers in winter. These plants have inconspicuous flowers and are related to the Spindle-trees (Evonymus). The Cowberry {Vaccinium Vitis-idaea) is a north- ern, circumpolar plant which grows a few inches high and forms dense, broad mats. The leaves are shining green, the flowers white or pinkish and the fruit dark red. At any season of the year this little plant is pleasing. A closely related evergreen is the Box Huckleberry {Gaylussacia brachycera), one of the rarest of American plants. It is a spreading plant growing from six to ten inches high and has shining green Box-like leaves. The Mayflower or Trailing Arbutus {Epigaea repens) common on the borders of rocky woods and BROAD-LEAVED EVERGREENS 149 hillsides of New England and southward, is a lovely plant but alas! not very amenable under cultivation. Its sweet-scented white to delicate pink flowers open beside the remnants of snowdrifts in early spring. It is regrettable that this plant, a favorite with every- body, is so coy and hard to please in gardens. An allied plant, the Wintergreen or Checkerberry {Gaul- theria procumbens), however, grows readily in any garden soil. This common shrub, so abundant in woodlands and wild places generally from Maine southward and west to Michigan, grows from three to six inches high and has lustrous dark green ovate leaves clustered on the top of a ruddy stem and tiny urn-shaped white flowers which are followed by pure red, hanging, aromatic fruits. The Crowberry {Empeirum nigrum), abundant in cold, temperate, and sub-arctic regions throughout the Northern Hemisphere, has insignificant leaves, yet it forms neat mats of dark green in the vicinity of eternal ice and snow. Its relative, Corema Conradii, is a more conspicuous plant with broader leaves and forms compact clusters about six inches high. As a ground cover in the open there is nothing bet- ter than the Bearberry {Arctostaphylos uva-ursi), with its long trailing shoots and gray-green leaves forming a dense carpet. The flowers are white or pinkish, 150 ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN urn-shaped, and borne several together at the end of the lateral shoots; the fruit is globose and wine- red. Like many other members of the Heath family, the Bearberry is not only native of this country, but is spread over the colder regions of the North- em Hemisphere. This prostrate evergreen can be used to good effect in many ways, but I never saw it more appropriately employed than in a private cemetery on Long Island, N. Y., where, in an open- ing in a thin wood, it carpets a basin or bowl round which nestle flat graves in clearings of the native vegetation. The Creeping Snowberry (Chiogenes serpyllifolia), with thread-like stems and white fruits, is pretty on rocks and tree stumps in shady places. So, too, is the well-known Partridgeberry (Mitchella repens), with a similar habit and scarlet fruits, though belonging to a widely different family. Twice previously in these pages reference has been made to the Heather (Calluna vulgaris) and certain Heaths {Erica spp.), but I may again emphasize the fact that these charming plants are perfectly hardy provided they be grown in the open where they may enjoy the full sun and wind. For climbing plants with evergreen foliage we are badly off. The Ivy {Hedera Helix), so celebrated in BROAD-LEAVED EVERGREENS 151 poetry and folklore, is not hardy, although here and there rambling over an old tomb in a shady part of some cemetery, a plant may be found more or less in- different to the winter's severity. No other plant can exactly take the place of the Ivy, but we are really fortunate in having so good a substitute as the Japanese Evonymus radicans and its variety vegetus. These are invaluable plants with good foliage, are quite hardy, and admirably adapted for covering walls and the north and west sides of buildings. On boulders or even in the open border they form a fine tangled mass of green. They are root climbers and have small white flowers in clusters and attractive white fruits which open and display the seeds with their orange-scarlet covering. The juvenile stage of the variety vegetus is sold under the name of Evonymus radicans, var. minimus and also as Evonymus kewensis. It has prostrate stems and prettily marbled rounded foliage and is a charming cover and rock plant. In China grows £. radicans, var. acutus and the baby stage of this plant has ovate, marbled leaves and from the manner of its growth in the Arnold Arboretum prom- ises to be a very useful addition to the best of ever- green climbers. The only hardy and really evergreen twining vine we have is Lonicera Henryi, a recent addition from 152 ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN China. Over walls and rocks this plant makes a de- lightful tangle and, whilst the flowers are not showy and the fruit is dull black, the leaves are of good size and dark green throughout the winter. There are a few other broad-leaved Evergreens whose hardiness in New England is not yet fully established and a number of the low-growing plants mentioned here are better suited for the rockery than for the open border. c c -a C U o o 1^ C t/5 C — ■(-> x: .2 o ja O