Hardy Ornamental Flowering Trees and Shrubs — Key Ideas to Explore

HARDY ORNAMENTAL FLOWERING TREES AND SHRUBS.

_Author of "Practical Forestry," "Hardy Coniferous Trees," "British Orchids," &c., &c._

PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION, 1893.

This book has been written and is published with the distinct object in view of bringing home to the minds of planters of Hardy Trees and Shrubs, the fact that the monotonous repetition, in at least nine-tenths of our Parks and Gardens, of such Trees as the Elm, the Lime, and the Oak, and such Shrubs as the Cherry Laurel and the Privet, is neither necessary nor desirable. There is quite a host of choice and beautiful flowering species, which, though at present not generally known are yet perfectly hardy, of the simplest culture, and equally well adapted for the ornamentation of our Public and Private Parks and Gardens.

Of late years, with the marked decline in the cultivation of Coniferous Trees, many of which are ill adapted for the climate of this country, the interest in our lovely flowering Trees and Shrubs has been greatly revived. This fact has been well exemplified in the numerous enquiries after these subjects, and the space devoted to their description and modes of cultivation in the Horticultural Press.

In the hope, too, of helping to establish a much-desired standard of nomenclature, I have followed the generic names adopted by the authors of _The Genera Plantarum_, and the specific names and orthography, as far as I have been able, of the _Index Kewensis_; and where possible I have given the synonyms, the date of introduction, and the native country. The alphabetical arrangement that has been adopted, both with regard to the genera and species, it is hoped, will greatly facilitate the work of reference to its pages. The descriptive notes and hints on cultivation, the selected lists of Trees and Shrubs for various special purposes, and the calendarial list which indicates the flowering season of the different species, may be considered all the more valuable for being concisely written, and made readily accessible by means of the Index.

No work written on a similar plan and treating solely of Hardy Ornamental Flowering Trees and Shrubs has hitherto been published; and it is not supposed for a moment that the present one will entirely supply the deficiency; but should it meet with any measure of public approval, it may be the means of paving the way towards the publication of a more elaborate work--and one altogether more worthy of the interesting and beautiful Flowering Trees and Shrubs that have been found suitable for planting in the climate of the British Isles.

Of the fully thirteen hundred species and varieties of Trees and Shrubs enumerated, all may be depended upon as being hardy in some part of the country. Several of them, and particularly those introduced from China and Japan, have not before been included in a book of this character. Trials for the special purpose of testing the hardiness of the more tender kinds have been instituted and carried out in several favoured parts of England and Ireland.

A.D.W. HOLLYDALE, WOBURN.

PREFACE TO SECOND AND CHEAP EDITION, 1897.

The First Edition of Hardy Ornamental Flowering Trees and Shrubs having been sold out, it has been considered desirable to run off a second and cheap edition on exactly similar lines to the first, and previous to the more elaborate illustrated edition which is now in hand.

A.D.W. BOXMOOR, HERTS, 1897.

HARDY ORNAMENTAL FLOWERING TREES & SHRUBS.

ABELIA CHINENSIS (_syn A. rupestris_).--The Rock Abelia China, 1844. This is a neat, twiggy shrub, growing from 2 ft. to 3 ft. high, with slender shoots, and very pleasing, shining green serrated leaves. The tubular, sweet-scented flowers are produced in clusters at the ends of the shoots, even the smallest, and are of a very delicate shade of pink--indeed, almost white. It makes an excellent wall plant, but by no means refuses to grow and flower freely without either shelter or protection, provided a fairly rich and well drained soil is provided. From August to October is the flowering period of this handsome deciduous shrub. This is the only really hardy species of the genus, for though the rosy-purple flowered A. floribunda from Mexico has stood for several years uninjured in the South of England, it is not to be relied upon. Both species are readily propagated from cuttings.

A. TRIFLORA.--Himalayan regions, 1847. A half-hardy and beautiful species with small lanceolate, entire leaves, and pretty star-shaped flowers that are white and flushed with pink. The long, narrow, and hairy calyx-lobes give a light and feathery appearance to the flowers, which are produced continuously from May to November. It does best as a wall plant, and several beautiful examples may be seen in and around London, as also at Exeter, and in the South of Ireland.