LOOKING ALL OVER THE WORLD FOR SAFE ARBOR.

Byline: JOSHUA SISKIN

Not long ago I received the following e-mail:

``Could you recommend some umbrella-shaped trees or bushes that grow to be less than 15 feet and that I could use in my garden?''

- Daria

As if by divine providence, I was just delivered a book titled ``Trees,'' by Susan Roth, and now feel eminently qualified to answer Daria's question.

Actually, the book in question is one of ``Taylor's Gardening Guides,'' a wonderful series published by Houghton Mifflin. Each volume in the series opens with general planting and maintenance guidelines on the type of plant to be discussed. This is followed by some 300 photographs of different species and varieties of the plant type in question - whether trees, shrubs, bulbs, perennials or annuals - and ends with specific cultural tips on the care of each.

Few trees grow to a height of 15 feet or less, but the ones that do are memorable. For example, no garden should be without a crimson or purple Japanese maple, a small tree whose delicately cut foliage provokes oohs and ahs from tree watchers everywhere. The problem is, how do you keep the exquisite Japanese maple leaves from curling up and turning crispy brown? This time of year, the Japanese maple is the most fetching tree in the garden. Its leaves have just broken dormancy, and they have such a fresh, neat and finished look, fashioned as if by a master craftsman with snowflake-like precision.

Advertised as a shade tree, the Japanese maple requires some sunlight to flourish. It seems likely its leaves' eventual browning is as much a reaction to the salts in our soil and water as to the presence of too much sun or too little humidity.

Moving into the sun, there are quite a few varieties of crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia) that grow no more than 15 feet tall, including red-flowered ``Cherokee'' and ``Dallas Red,'' pink-flowered ``Seminole'' and ``Miami,'' and lavender-flowered ``Wichita'' and ``Muskogee.'' The beauty of crape myrtle is not confined to its heavy panicles of flowers, but is also evident in its deciduous foliage that turns fiery colors before dropping off in the fall, and in its bark, a smooth, multicolored, exfoliating subject for bare-branched winter contemplation.

There are also many varieties of ornamental cherries, plums, peaches, apricots and almonds, all less than 15 feet at maturity, that are grown for their flowers rather than their fruit. Many have weeping- or umbrella-type growth habits with blinding springtime flower displays in either white or pink. There is also a grafted dwarf mulberry (Morus alba ``Pendula'') with weeping branches.

Lastly, there are several exotic magnolias, with flowers in the white to pink to purple range, that will not grow over 15 feet in height.

``Bulbs,'' another one of Taylor's Gardening Guides, has bulbs and bulb-type plants from A to Z, but I was especially taken with the two ``Z'' entries in this volume. ``Zantedeschia aethiopica'' is the scientific name for calla lily, that white-spathed, rhizomatous plant that is not really a lily at all, but actually in the Araceae family of common indoor plants such as pothos, Aglaonema, spathiphyllum and philodendron. Widely considered a staple of the shade garden, the calla lily is promoted here as a species for sunny exposures as well, as long as it is situated in fairly well-drained soil that is kept on the moist side. Red, pink and yellow callas, some with white-flecked leaves, are also pictured.

The other ``Z'' entry here is Zephyranthes, variously known as fairy lily, rain lily and zephyr lily. Like the calla lily, the zephyr lily craves moist, fast-draining soil. It also requires a warm and sunny spot in your garden.

TIP: If you dig up a woody plant from one spot in your garden and transplant it to another, you should water in a liquid growth stimulant, available at your local nursery, that contains root hormone. Make sure the label specifies that root hormone (auxin, NAA or IBA) is among the ingredients. Until vigorous new growth is visible, mix the proper dosage of growth stimulant into your watering can every time you water.