Of late years, with the marked decline in the cultivation of Coniferous
Trees, many of which are ill adapted for the climate of this country,
the interest in our lovely flowering Trees and Shrubs has been greatly
revived. This fact has been well exemplified in the numerous enquiries
after these subjects, and the space devoted to their description and
modes of cultivation in the Horticultural Press.

In the hope, too, of helping to establish a much-desired standard of
nomenclature, I have followed the generic names adopted by the authors
of _The Genera Plantarum_, and the specific names and orthography, as
far as I have been able, of the _Index Kewensis_; and where possible
I have given the synonyms, the date of introduction, and the native
country. The alphabetical arrangement that has been adopted, both with
regard to the genera and species, it is hoped, will greatly facilitate
the work of reference to its pages. The descriptive notes and hints on
cultivation, the selected lists of Trees and Shrubs for various special
purposes, and the calendarial list which indicates the flowering season
of the different species, may be considered all the more valuable for
being concisely written, and made readily accessible by means of the
Index.

No work written on a similar plan and treating solely of Hardy
Ornamental Flowering Trees and Shrubs has hitherto been published;
and it is not supposed for a moment that the present one will entirely
supply the deficiency; but should it meet with any measure of public
approval, it may be the means of paving the way towards the publication
of a more elaborate work--and one altogether more worthy of the
interesting and beautiful Flowering Trees and Shrubs that have been
found suitable for planting in the climate of the British Isles.