"With regard to the trees and shrubs that bear flowers between November and February, the number is not, of course, great; still, they constitute a group that is larger, perhaps, than is generally supposed. The following list, which comprises all that I can call to mind, may be useful even to those who would not intend to bring them together in one spot. Some country houses are only occupied during the shooting and hunting seasons, and these winter-flowering plants are of especial value in such places. The tree or bush Ivies are very beautiful, and may be had in great variety, such as yellow berried, _palmata aurea_, _rhomboidea ovata_, and _amurensis_."
Arbutus hybrida. ,, Unedo and vars. Daphne Mezereum grandiflora. Elæagnus glabra, macrophylla, and pungens (all delightfully fragrant). Hamamelis virginica. Jasminum nudiflorum. Lonicera fragrantissima. ,, Standishii.
Chimonanthus fragrans. Clematis calycina. Cratægus monogyna præcox (Glastonbury Thorn). Erica mediterranea hybrida. ,, carnea. ,, ,, alba. Garrya elliptica. Viburnum Tinus.
Berberis japonica. ,, nepalensis. Cornus Mas. Corylopsis spicata. Daphne blagayana. ,, Laureola and var. purpurea ,, Mezereum. ,, ,, var. alba. ,, oleoides. Erica mediterranea. Hamamelis arborea. ,, japonica. ,, mollis. ,, zuccariniana. Prunus davidiana (pink and white forms). ,, Amygdalus persicoides. Populus tremuloides pendula. Parrotia persica. Pyrus japonica. Rhododendron altaclarense. ,, dauricum. ,, nobleanum. ,, præcox.
When thinking of trees and shrubs in early spring we must remember those with beautiful catkins. Of the earliest flowering hardy trees and shrubs the majority are those with flowers borne in catkins. Their appearance is one of the first evidences of the approach of spring. It is to the catkin-bearing group that the Poplars, Willows, Birches, and Alders belong. These catkins are pendulous, cylindrical, and often slender inflorescences, carrying flowers of one sex only, which spring from the axils of scaly bracts. Being mainly dependent upon the wind for their fertilisation, they have none of the varied or bright colours that are characteristic of flowers fertilised by insect agency. Often, indeed, sepals and petals are entirely absent. Still, many of these catkin-bearers possess a charm and beauty of their own, which, taken with the early, often inclement, season when they appear, make the best of them indispensable in gardens where early spring effects are desired. As a rule it is the male or pollen-bearing catkins that are most ornamental. They are longer and more graceful than the seed-bearing ones.