The Vashon Island record. [volume] (Vashon, Wash.) 1916-1919, 1917-03-22
Our NdtiUe Shrubs

trunks that would make bows for all
Robin Hoods men We viii take him
up Hoods canal and show him thou
sand acres of fhododendrons In bloom
| acres upon acres of many varieties of
broadleaved evergreen shrubs He
will see here the adopted home of the
hollies, the laurels and other English
/ plants and roses and host of decldu.
GUS trees and shrubs. And then we
viii stand him up on an acre carpet
of uya-ursi foot thick, and make him
swear by all the gods that he will
write again some true words.
What vision he will get when he
comes here and secs this new and or.
lginal western wildwood, the noun.
tains and valleys, the beautiful
streams, the towering conifers, the
iungles of evergreen and deciduous
shrubs and the fern brakes in the
gulches that make them look like one
of the geological ages when the world
was young.
know what he will say. He will
say Why, here you have every
thing that can satisfy the eye. the
heart and the longings of man, except
heaven ITSELF
Now let us try to gel better ac
quainted with some of our native
shrubs. and get down to our subject.
Let us study the genus vaccinillm. the
huckleberries. They are nearly all
natives of America, and every one of
them will be esteemed more and more
as the years go by. There are two
kinds of huckleberries. Seven or
eight of them have ten seeds that are
hard like little nuts and craclSle be.
tween the teeth They are known in
the East as box huckleberry, black
huckleberry. blue bangles and high.
bush blueberry. In botany these are
known as gaylussasias. These are of
little account. The useful huckleber.
ries are known as yacciniums. They
have many very small seeds that are
not noticed in the eating The ever
green highbush huckleberry, which is
SO abundant here everywhere on the
upland is vaccinnium ovatum. We
have another one higher up in the
hills with much larger berries, known
as vaccinium membraceanum 1t
grows four to six feet high We have
also a beautiful deciduous variety
known as V. parvifolium, with bear
tiful pink berries and foliage, as deli
cate as ma'den's hair fern. AS pretty
a combination for little ornamental
group as | ever saw was made up of
this huckleberry and the gymnocarpa
or redwood rose. This has very deli
cate foliage. the stems covered with
small yellow bristles and beautiful
pink rose not quite as large as an or
uiidly penny. Cuiy tbOst WIZ hd'c
seen such a combination can know
and appreciate its beauty.
The huckleberry which we all know
but do not appreciate as much as the
pies made from its berries, is the
vaccinium ovatum. This has great
future. 1t is one of the most beauti- |
full broad-leayed evergreens We have
II is always fresh and green 1t will |
live long time. Its value in orna-
mental gardening is beginning to be
No plants make a more |
beautiful or lasting ornamental hedge |
II stands the shears well and will |
grow as compact as a box tree. 1t is
not only beautiful shrub but very
useful one, Some day 1t will be ri |
val of the strawberry and cherry. All /
the canneries want the berries They
bring Sc to 10a in the market. HuclSle
berry pie is coming more and more
in demand.
In November lass the Hon. Freder-l
ick V. CoIville, botanist of the bureau
of plant industry, wrote as follows
81 am very glad indeed to learn that
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