El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-02-12

tied by ones desires. OF introduced
! varieties may be noted the beautiful Cal
ifornia privet (Ligustrum Ovalifolium),
! Japanese privet Qigustrum japonicum),
! the pOmegranate, Oleander, especially the
! harder red-flOwered varieties, several
species of tamarisks, including Tamarix
| germanica, and t. hispida var. aesti
wallis, japanese Towering ounce (PyruS
| japonica), Scotch broom (Cytisus scOp-
arius), bird of paradise flower (Caes-
| alpinia pulcherrima var, flava), the
| common manetta rose, and the beautiful
| gold of Ophir'' rose which is notably
drouth resistant for its class. To these
| may be added the tall ArundO dOnax for
/ back ground planting, pampas grass
| (Gynerium argenteum), Agave amerl-
| cana, Yucca filamentOsa, Y. aloifolia,
and Y gloriosa, all of which are de-
sirable ornamental species.
OF the above the California privet, ia
panese privet, oleander. pOmegranate,
and the tamerisks are among the best
| of our resistant ornamental hedge
! plants. The first three of these and the
! latter are readily propagated from cut
tings. Tamarisks can be grown, when
well established, without irrigation
Tamarix hispida var, festivals, should
| be mentioned in particular, as it is
summer bloomer. with attractive, silvery,
| juniper-like stems bearing sprays of
/ pink flowers. Nearly all the others in
! this list except Agave americana require
| some irrigation, though the writer has
! grown oleanders and the gold of Ophir
/ the introduced species, and alum root,
! rose against dwellings, with but few
waterings during the dry fore summer.
| Both these plants are profuse boomers
/ the latter, though, but for short time
| only. The Japanese Towering ounce,
| which is very hardy. does well in al
| luvial soils. being one of the earliest
spring boomers. while Yuccas, pampas
grass, and Arundo donax thrive under
any ordinary conditions with occasional
irrigation. :.
Native Shrubs.
The native shrubs. in which our flora
abounds, can generally be depended up
! on to grow with little care, once they
are given a fair start. The transplanting
should be done just previous to the
time of their beginning growth in the
late fall or summer seasons, as the case
may be, and only small plants should
be used Practically all of them can
| be started from seed with less trouble,
though this is somewhat slower. Many
of our native shrubs are attractive
plants, and will come to be very pop
ular as they are better known, especially
since they require so little care, and
may be left for an entire season with
cut injury. Among the more Important
of these are creosote bush (Larrea tri-
dentata), broom bush (Baccharis En-
oryD, Acacia constricta. wild allspice
Oippia Wrightii), Berberis Fremantii,
and jojobe (SimmOndsia californica), all
of which occur native over our mesa
and foothill country.
The Broom Bush.
The broom bush. though nearly leaf
less. is bright green in color and at
tractive throughout the year, in addi-
ton to this ii is quite snowy in the fall
during its period OF Towering and seed
maturation- In the spring and summer
seasons the familiar creOsote bush is
one of our most SNOWY plants by Tir-
tue OF its shining green leaves, yellow
flowers, and white, hairy Seed-ballS. II
lis especially desirable for arid situa-
tions Acacia cOnstricta likewise has
many good qualities; like the creOsore
bush it blossoms twice annually In the
spring and again in the late summer.
It's masses of small, yellow, fragrant
flower-balls together with the finely di-
vided foliage give it pleasing appear
ance, and with a little attention TO prun-
ing it develops into a symmetrical shrub
we'll worth place in any garden. In
this connection may also be noted the
sweet-scented shrub, occasionally called
wild allspice. but known TO the botan-
list as Lippia Wrightii. This modest
little grayish-green plant which grows
to be Of real merit under cultivation.
Other species that may be mentioned
mere are the slow growing but resist
ant jOjobe (Simmondsia cGlifornica), and
q native barberry. Berberis FremOntii
of northern Arizona. On the university
grounds the latter species does better
with a Scanty supply of soil and water
in the cactus garden, than with moder-
ately heavy irrigation on the lawns.
Being an evergreen species it is always
attractive, and Is specially so with its
masses of pale yellow flowers which
are soon followed by the snowy Blush
fruits. Strange as it may seem. it is
much in demand in parts of Europe,
though as yet scarcely known with us.
Other Hardy Plants.
Besides the above native and intro
duced species, there is a fine list OF
characteristic southwestern plants. the
sAllful planting and arrangement of
winch with such other varieties as Gre |
OSote bush, species OF Agave palo verde !
and hagote adds a touch of rare beauty /
and native art to ones surroundings. |
Among these may be mentioned in par
ticular, sotoli yucca eIata), and the |
Spanish bayonets yucca macrocarpa
and Y. baccata) from southern Arizona, I
and Yucca Whipplei from California: !
also the native palmea (Dasylirion /
WheelefD. Dasylirion graminifolium |
from western Texas, the curious cactus |
ike ocotillo or candle flower (FOuqui- !
era splendens), which is always an /
interesting plant, besides certain of the |
prlckly pears and chollas and the re- /
markable giant cactus.
AilNali Enduring Shrubs.
The fleshy-leaved squaw bushes in /
Guiding Lycium gracilipes and L. Ere /
month. are desirable winter and spring 4
ornamentals, being very conspicuous ar /
these seasons by virtue of their wealth \
or bright green leaves and MANY small 1
beII-shaped flowers. which are soon fol- !
lowed with red berries. In the summer
season these plants are entirely. leaf |
less, and need no attention as concerns
watering or other care. Under native /
conditions the former species. in par-
ticular, lnhabits rather alkaline areas /
though it appears TO grow as wen with /
little care in the ordinary mesa and \
valley soils Certain Of our native SAT-
bushes which invariably frequent alka
line soils, likewise become attractive
with cultivation. OF these Atriplex len
tiformis especially may be noted Tbis