Evening star., 1943-08-22

Most yards contain a number o
ornamental shrubs that contribut,
to the beauty and richness of the
yard through their foliage ane
flowers. The spirea, forsythia, flow
ering ounce, lilac and many other!
are planted for these purposes. Le'
us add third purpose for planting
shrubs, their fruits. A number o.
the ornamentals have attractively
colored fruits, some of which may
also add to the family's supply Of
jellies, jams and even sauces.
Many gardeners have planted the
American Cranberrybush (Viburnun
trilobum) where tall-growine
Towering shrub was needed Few
however, have realized that the
fruits were useful in making jellies
The European Cranberrybush V
opulus) which somewhat resembles
" trilobum, has fruits that are toe
bitter for use There are several
horticultural varieties of the Ameri-
can Cranberrybush that have larger
fruits and are thus more produc-
tive than the species.
Other virburnums with useful
fruits are the tall-growing Blackhaw
(V. prunifolium and Nannyberry
(V. ientago). Other viburnums have
fruits of one sort or another but
are less useful than these three
species.
OF recent years number of gar
deners have planted low growing
spring Towering shrub named Han
sens Bush Cherry. which is really a
plum. The small plum-like fruits
are useful in making jams, although
they lack the flavor and quality
usually expected.
Several of the Towering crabs
produce ornamental fruits that may
be used in the kitchen. The dark
colored fruits of Bechtels Towering
crab make richly colored jelly that
Is well worth having. The dwarf
crab, Florence, is seldom thought of
as an ornamental, but it is very at
tractive when in flower and the
fruits are large and fully as useful
as the common horticultural varie-
ties that grow into towering trees
and swamp the gardener with more
fruit than he knows what to do with
The blueberries have received a
great deal of publicity of late be-
cause the newly created horticultural
varieties produce such fine large
berries. For the shady garden they
are desirable shrubs, and the large
fruits may well be considered a lux
ury. However, all of the native blue
berries when grown under good cul-
tural conditions are attractive small
shrubs and their fruits may be
canned if one can overcome the
temptation to eat them fresh.
One of the most widely publi-
cized plums, the Beach plum (Prunus
maritima) is native of the Atlantic
Coast and may be planted in local
gardens. The fruits make excellent
jams and jellies. The 8-foot-high
shrubs have attractive foliage and
flowers. Other plums, cultivated
varieties, are attractive in flower
end foliage, but they seem to suffer
from too many diseases to be worthy
of cultivation in the smaller garden.
The Damson seems to be better
adapted to local conditions than do
the larger fruited sorts.
The wild Elderberry, while sell
dom grown in the home garden, is
adapted to moist conditions and
has large heads of useful fruits. The
tart jellies made from the purple
fruits are especially desirable.
The rugosa roses are not widely
grown, but the gardeners who do
have them may use the brightly
colored hips" for jellies and con-
serves. In England they are very
much priced because they are rich
In pectin and thus may be en-
ployed with other fruits to improve
their "jeHying."
The Towering Ounce, one of the
earliest shrubs to flower In the
spring, oftentimes produces large
greenish yellow fruits that make
jellies, jams and conserves.
The red-fruited Chokeberry (Aro-
MIA arbutifolia) is not widely planted
as an ornamental, although the
brightly colored berries and the
colorful fall foliage is frequently
mentioned as justifying their use in
the shrub border. The fruits may
be used in many ways, although gen.
orally they are used aonly in jelly
making.
Mention is made of the barberry
only to point out that the fruits of
the japanese barberry (Berberis
thunbergi are of no value for the
home Gamer. The fruits of the
common barberry (Berberis vulgaris)
are useful, but this species should
not be grown in this area because
1t is an intermediate host for the
wheat-rust and as such is banned
from cultivation by law.
There are number of other Or
namentals that are useful but those
given above are most commonly
planted. In addition to these orna-
mentals there are number of trees
and shrubs that are commonly
looked upon as fruits. They are
highly ornamental it is true, but
normally they are planted only for
their fruits. The Florence crab
mentioned above is one, but all of
the dwarf fruit trees, the blueberries,
grapes, the brambles and the nut