Spiraeas have filled so many ugly gaps for me that it would be easy to take them for granted were they not such attractive shrubs. Most species have a graceful arching branching system, dainty foliage, and white flowers, except in the species Spiraea x bumalda.

The graceful weeping branches are lovely when sufficient space can be given for full unrestricted development. Vitellina is very like the above but the young shoots are yellow and the annual growth less vigorous.

Of this genus none can rival our native Rowan or Mountain Ash. Even when grown in some suburban gardens the deeply divided leaves and orange-scarlet berries hint of the wide reaches of moor and lonely upland loch. First, in alphabetical order must come the whitebeam, Sorhus aria, with leaves which are green on the upper surface and silver grey underneath. The fruits in autumn are highly coloured and irresistible so far as the birds are concerned.

Salix hastata wehrhahnii, of similar stature, makes a picture when each naked branch is studded with large pearl-coloured catkins in April. Any moist soil will support a willow even if the water content is maintained by a thick mulch of peat. Cuttings of any young shoots removed at leisure and pushed into moist earth will root with nearly one hundred per cent. success.

Hydrangeas are not remarkable as foliage plants as a rule, but so outrageously floriferous they command immediate attention the instant buds show colour. Hydrangea arborescens grandiflora at 5 ft. vies with H. cinerea sterilis in the grossness of the white balls of bloom.

Both are lovely grown against a dark background of evergreens. The blue and white flowers of H. involucrata on 18-in. stems provide just the right softening influence to the lustre of the orange lily Enchantment, so I mix them up like a floral salad in a bed dominated by a sombre yew.

Some plants radiate a positive bonhomie, and in this respect St John’s Wort has few equals. In the old herbals it is credited with the ability to cure melancholy, so the prudent gardener should always have a bush on hand, at least on budget days!

Just as good-natured people are usually called upon for all the arduous chores, so do we tend to take advantage of plants like hypericum which will grow in the least salubrious corner of the garden.

Rosa alba Celestial makes a tall bush of 6 to 8 ft., grey leaved and superlatively lovely in a glory of pale pink sweetly scented flowers. R. banksiae lutea needs a sheltered, sun-warmed wall to show its true quality. The straw-yellow flowers are individually small yet carried in noble profusion ; the soft yellow flowers are followed by dark red hips.

Fruhlingsmorgen and Fruhlingsgold grow to a similar height, 6 to 8 ft., and are alike in leaf and smell, but the one has cherry-red flowers centred yellow, and the other petals of palest primrose.

I grow all the forms of R. moyesii available and when named varieties are exhausted I experiment by growing more from seed. R. moyesii Geranium is more compact than most with the typical delicate leaves, orange-scarlet flowers, and flask-shaped hips, while Sealing Wax has red flowers followed by orange hips backed by the soft yellow dying leaves. Nevada with white blooms and the bud sport Marguerite Hilling with pink- should also be included here for both have R. moyesii as parent. R. xanthina Canary Bird has the beauty of finely divided leaves with small canary yellow flowers in June, followed by vivid red hips.

Alders are often planted near water or in moist areas, but their ornamental attributes are often overlooked. Even the native forms, have interest. The cut- or golden-stemmed forms acid variety and interest, making them worth planting provided they are in the right type of soil. The soil is acid or alkaline. but prefers moist soil; dislikes very dry conditions

The species of real quality, Weigela florida, like so many other worthy plants, comes from China. The flowers are rose pink outside and like pale apple blossom within and they resemble a well-proportioned digitalis. I do not approve of the variety variegata, as I feel it reduces the dignity of the species, but I am very much in the minority in this respect. At 4 ft. it is 18 in. shorter than the type with pale pink flowers and leaves margined cream.

A cause of infinite regret is that no member of this beautiful genus will tolerate the slightest trace of lime, no matter how disguised with peat. There are no better evergreen shrubs than the Tree Roses whose members range in height from the 30-ft. splendour of Rhododendron sinogrande to the prostrate posturing of R. repens. The evergreen species can be used as a background contrast to later flowering shrubs.

Deciduous azaleas are available by the hundred. Ignes Nova, carmine red blotched yellow, is good in autumn when the leaves turn purple. Unique is late flowering and rather tall with apricot blooms. Comte de Gomer is compact and dainty with pink blossoms. Hugo Hardyzer is 4 ft. high and a very impressive scarlet. R. luteum has all the qualities of a good shrub with sweetly scented magnificent autumn colour.

Mrs G. W. Leak is so utterly reliable that no frost has yet marred the array of pink flowers, each with a purple blotch at the throat. To this must be added the ability to resist the most vicious east wind. I use Pink Pearl with restraint. It is strong growing and with a rather loud rose-pink colour needs careful handling.

The dendrobiums comprise an enormous genus and their growth is extremely varied to suit all environments. A somewhat unusual species is D. cunninghami, which is adapted to the temperate conditions of New Zealand.

Flower spikes are produced at regular intervals from the axils of the young leaves. Aerial roots are also made at intervals from the opposite side to the leaf, lower down on the plant.

No part of the plant is soft, the roots arc thin and wiry, the leaves hard, almost rough to the touch. Thus the plant is able to stand a severe climate, at the same time capable of extracting what little moisture there is available through its foliage.

The thin, diminutive pseudobulbs carry little food reserves and would not sustain the plant through any lengthy period of drought, although in extreme seasons the soft leaves would quickly be shed to help the plant.

The leaves of D. cunninghami are far more important to it than the roots or the pscudobulbs, both of which appear very meagre in their usefulness to the plant. -There are numerous miniature orchids found throughout the world which deserve more attention. They are every bit as beautiful as their Larger counterparts although a magnifying glass is helpful to see this.