Acer
I grow amelanchiers from seed because not even in a mist unit will they condescend to root from cuttings with any degree of certainty. Amelanchier canadensis, the Shad Bush, comes very high on my list of indispensable shrubs. Even in winter the graceful form of the plant is obvious.
In April each branch forms into a plethora of white blossom and the autumn leaf colour is pale yellow, deepening to copper red. In my garden it has taken 20 years for this splendid shrub to reach 14 ft. Where necessary, pruning, of which it shows a remarkable tolerance, should be aimed at emphasising the umbrella shape, and winter is the best time to perform this operation.
The Paperbark Maple, A. griseum, when well grown in a sheltered position, is a magnificent spectacle. The divided leaves have a grey undertone throughout the summer and they contrast well with the polished orange bark. In October the leaves fall in a blaze of orange and scarlet. I grow A. japonicum aureum surrounded with primroses in the spring, Gentiana sino-ornata for the autumn. Growth could he described as painfully slow, but when the garden is small this characteristic becomes a virtue. In spring the soft yellow of the leaves makes a patch of sunshine in the border while during the summer the green is relieved by an edging of red.
Andromeda polifOlia compacta could hardly be called versatile for it demands an acid peaty soil. The grey leaves with clusters of bright pink flowers from May onwards, sometimes into July, make this a splendid ground cover plant. I mulch the bed each year so that the branches root themselves to spread the group wider.
Aralia elata, or as it is sometimes called A. chinensis, is a shrub I have a complex about. In winter the straight, branchless stems thickly studded with thorns resemble devils’ walking sticks. Once the compound leaves, which are 3 to 4 ft. long by 18 in. wide, unfold, it becomes a flower arranger’s delight. In due season, usually around August, these are surmounted by huge panicles of white flowers.
The uninhibited freedom with which this shrub suckers makes control, rather than propagation, a problem. Suckers dug away in early spring find a welcome in gardens of fellow enthusiasts. In the various soils I have grown it in, from clay to sand, it has never reached more than 14 ft. high.
