[Illustration: _A WITCH HAZEL IN FLOWER: HAMAMELIS JAPONICA VAR. ZUCCARINIANA._]
"It is possible to make a new feature in gardens by setting apart a piece of ground exclusively for the cultivation of trees, shrubs, and bulbs--in short, any plants that flower or are bright with fruit or bark between, say, the beginning of November and the end of February. One might term it 'an outdoor winter garden.' For the purpose there would be required a well-drained piece of ground, the soil of which was fertile and open. The situation should be fully exposed to the south and west, but guarded well on the north and east sides by a thick belt of evergreen trees and shrubs. The shelter would be still more complete if the site sloped rather steeply to the south-west. Such shelter would be welcome, not only to the plants that grew there, but to those who might visit and tend them. Some of the more noteworthy trees and shrubs with ornamental barks I have already mentioned. Plants that carry their fruit into winter might be included, such as the Hollies, especially the yellow-berried Holly; _Cratægus Crus-Galli_ and _C. cordata_; _Cotoneaster rotundifolia_, which is the best of all the Cotoneasters, and frequently carries its bright-scarlet berries till March; and _Hippophaë rhamnoides_, the Sea Buckthorn, whose orange-coloured fruits are borne in such profusion and retain their colour till past Christmas if the frosts are not too severe. The scarlet-fruited _Skimmia japonica_ and its varieties are very ornamental during the winter months, but of these (as well as the Hippophaë) it is necessary to grow male and female plants together. Groups of variegated evergreens would not only help to give shelter and warmth, but would also add to the brightness of the garden. The best of them are the golden and silver variegated Elæagnuses, the Hollies of a similar character, and the best of the Aucubas, of which there are now some very fine forms; the female plants are also very ornamental as fruit-bearers. _Pinus sylvestris aurea_, a variety of the Scotch Pine that turns golden in winter but is green at other seasons, and _Cupressus macrocarpa lutea_ are the two best Conifers of their class. Many of the variegated Conifers lose most or all of their colour as autumn and winter approach.