. Garden and forest; a journal of horticulture, landscape art and forestry. e garden of theman who, like many Americans, is away from home duringthe summer months and wants his garden attractive beforethe hot weather drives him to the sea-shore or to the moun-tains. Now, a plant like D. Mezereum, which does its workfor the year between the first of April and the first of July,showing all its beauty during these few weeks, is the plant ofall others for the spring garden. It is hardy ; it flowers everyyear; it is not very particular about soil or exposure, and itonly grows two feet high. These w
. Garden and forest; a journal of horticulture, landscape art and forestry. e garden of theman who, like many Americans, is away from home duringthe summer months and wants his garden attractive beforethe hot weather drives him to the sea-shore or to the moun-tains. Now, a plant like D. Mezereum, which does its workfor the year between the first of April and the first of July,showing all its beauty during these few weeks, is the plant ofall others for the spring garden. It is hardy ; it flowers everyyear; it is not very particular about soil or exposure, and itonly grows two feet high. These would seem to be qualitieswhich would make a plant popular; and it is remarkablethat florists and small nurserymen, who make a business ofsupplying plants for the door-yards and small gardens of ourcities and their suburbs, have not yet got hold of the it is because it takes some time to make a plantlarge enough to sell, as the Mezereum cannot be struck fromsoft-wood cuttings like Hydrangeas, Spirasas, and other coarse- 366 Garden and Forest. [Number Fig. 61.—A New Hampshire Brook-side.—See page 361. August 5, 1891.] Garden and Forest. 367 growing shrubs. Bigness and cheapness are still, unfortu-nately, the chief factors which influence the choice of thegreat proportion of American plant-buyers. The popularplant is pretty sure to be the one which will grow quickest tothe largest size, and is therefore the most profitable plant to sell.^ The florist and the nurseryman set the fashion in planting*for nine-tenths of us Americans, and until we instruct our-selves about plants and learn their good and bad points so as tohave opinions of our own, we must be satisfied with second-handknowledge, and go on planting what we are told are the finestnovelties which have appeared for years. We can get some ideaof a plant by reading about it, or by seeing a picture of it; ifit is not one of those pictures used to decorate that branch of theliterature of horticulture
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