Evening star., 1925-09-12
XXXIII.

Wild local shrubs which have been
neglected by other collectors have
been made the basis of a colorful
garden by Carlos Kramer, 144 Strick-
Ter avenue, Clarendon.
Kramer has sought out his speci-
mems in the denser swamps of nearby
Virginia and he has had unusual
luck in domesticating them in the
comparatively dry soil of his yard
The swamp mallow, for instance, is
probably the most colorful of all local
wild growths. There are small islands
up the Potomac which this month
are masses of large pink and white
blossoms topping stalks 8 and 6
feet high. But the soil of the islands
is sandy and water flows around the
roots of the plants.
Mr.. Kramer dug up several speci-
mems and planted them where they
obtain very little water-much less
than would have been the case in a
city garden where the hose can be
used freely. Much to his surprise,
they not only grew but thrived bet
ter than in their original surround
ings. One plant, for instance, grew
5 feet high this Summer and sent
up Is stalks. Each stalk ended in a
cluster of from IS 70 20 buds, one
of which opens each morning, fading
during the heat of the day.
Restored to Habitat
This unexpected behavior led Mr.
Kramer to study the history of the
swamp mallow. He found that it
originally was a dry-land flower, but
that 1t gave all it's strength to bios
soming, with the result that it had
none left TO fight the other growths,
which sought to crowd 1t out. In the
process OF evolution it was driven
into the moistest parts of the
swamps. Bringing it into the garden
and keeping its bed free of weeds, he
believes, simply is restoring it to it's
original habitat under much more IA
vorable conditions than it encountered
centuries ago. He predicts that in the
future 1t VIII have a wide vogue as
a garden flower, since the stalks are
very fioriferous and easy to grow.
Among other wild local shrubs
which he has domesticated are:
The fringe tree, which bears in
May great clusters of white, sweet
scented, droopy blossoms which look
very much like fringes of white lace
The buttonbush, plentiful in local
marshes, which bears masses of fra
grant, white, button-shaped flowers.
The wild spirea, crowned in Spring
with long, tapering spikes of white
1t is not a woody growth like the
cultivated spirea, but sort of half
perennial. About half the growth
dies each Winter and is replaced
during the Summer, with the result
that the shrub will remain the same
size for many years.
Has Swamp Honeysuckle.
The swamp honeysuckle, related to
the azalea and almost extinct in local
swamps. 1t bears masses of very
fragrant blossoms. which are sticky
to the touch, like fly paper.
The juneberry, a swamp growth
Is to s feet high, which is re-
lated closely to the huckleberry 1t
Is covered with featherlike, white
blossoms in Spring, after which the
branches become loaded with wine
colored berries. This berry, Mr..
Kramer says, probably is the most
tasty of all wild fruits in this local
ity. 1t has a richer, more fiavory
taste than the blueberry. Few per-
sons ever have tasted it, however
1t is the greatest delicacy known to
local bird life. The instant a berry
ripens it is snapped off by some bird,
30 that the ripe fruit Is a rare sight
Even in his garden Mr.. Kramer can
not protect it.
The beach plum, common along the
coast from New England to the
Carolinas. 1t is at home in very
sandy soil. Mr.. Kramer grew his
specimen from seed. 1t seldom
grows more than or 6 feet high
and starts branching almost from the
ground, SO that it would be a good
hedge bush. 1t bears quantities of
purple plums, which are excellent for
canning, but have a slightly bitter
taste when eaten raw.
Rare Wild Geranium.
The wild geranium, the most
f1oriferous and the rarest in cultiva-
ton of all Mr.. Kramer's specimens
A single root taken from the woods
has sent up a clump about q foot
high and 215 feet in diameter. 1t
bears clusters of or pink blossoms
about an inch in diameter. The leaf is
like that Of a rose geranium, but the
flower has very little similarity to
that of the cultivated geranium. tt ,
plant loves shady places.
The sweet fern, an unusually fra
grant member of the fern family. 1t
leaves it's characteristic aroma on
the clothing of those who brush
against it in the woods. 1t Is a close
relative of the sage brush of the
Western plains.
The blazing star, which sends UP
from a bulb long, brilliant, purple
sptkel,