Amateur Gardencraft, page 139 by Eben E. Rexford
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ery of Spruce or Arbor Vitæ, would make the winter garden fairly glow with color.
I have seen the red-branched Willow planted near an evergreen, and the contrast of color brought out every branch so keenly that it seemed chiselled from coral. The effect was exquisite.
Train Celastrus scandens, better known as Bittersweet, where its pendant clusters of red and orange can show against evergreens, and you produce an effect that can be equalled by few flowers.
The Berberry is an exceedingly useful shrub with which to work up vivid color-effects in winter. It shows attractively among other shrubs, is charming when seen against a drift of snow, but is never quite so effective as when its richness of coloring is emphasized by contrast by the sombre green of a Spruce or Balsam.
Our native Cranberry--Viburnum opulus--is one of our best berry-bearing shrubs. It holds its crimson fruit well in winter. Planted among--not against--evergreens, it is wonderfully effective because of its tall and stately habit.
Bayberry (Myrica cerifera) is another showy-fruited shrub. Its grayish-white berries are thickly studded along its brown branches, and are retained through the winter. If this is planted side by side with the Alder, the effect will be found very pleasing.
The Snowberry (Symphoricarpus racemosus) has been cultivated for nearly a hundred years in our gardens, and probably stands at the head of the list of white-fruited shrubs. If this is planted in front of evergreens the purity of its color is brought out charmingly. Group it with the red-barked Willow, the Alder, or the Berberry, and you secure a contrast that makes the effect strikingly delightful--a symphony in green, scarlet, and white. If to this combination you add the blue of a winter sky or the glow of a winter sunset, who can say there is not plenty of color in a winter landscape?
The value of the Mountain Ash in winter decoration is just beginning to be understood. If it re