Nurseries in the Shadow of the Black Mountain

This is a nursery catalog from John M. Houck of Marion, North Carolina, offering trees, shrubs, vines, and plants for delivery by parcel post. The catalog systematically lists forest trees with botanical and common names, including detailed descriptions: maples (white, red, sugar), oaks, hickories, walnuts, chestnuts, dogwoods, magnolias, poplars, willows, elms, and others. Each entry notes characteristics like growth habits, seasonal appearance, shade quality, and practical uses—some species having medicinal properties (slippery elm bark, sassafras tea) or edible fruits. A section covers evergreens: various spruces, pines, cedars, hemlocks, and the magnolia grandiflora. Deciduous shrubs include azaleas, rhododendrons, lilacs, witch hazel, honeysuckle, forsythia, hibiscus, and various berry-bearing varieties. A final section lists broad-leaved evergreen shrubs. The pamphlet emphasizes native and ornamental qualities suitable for landscaping in the North Carolina mountain region.