1895. 



GARDENING. 



163 



THE WKaT LAWW AT BRIAR CLIFF ON THE HUDSON, 



ever, offers excellent opportunities for the 

 formation of a lovely "Fairy Woods." 



In planting the woods rel'useeveij-thing 

 wiih double Howers, for instance, the 

 duuble-fiowered lorse chestnuts Of cherry 

 trees, snowballs, or H. P. rosef; exclude 

 everything of a strikingly foreign appear- 

 ance, as common lilacs, and omit varie- 

 gated leaved plants. Such things belong 

 to the garden, not to the wood. 



Make a selection of plants that will, in 

 leaf, flower, or fruit, afibrd you interest 

 the whole year round, and special selec- 

 tions for special purposes. Prepare the 

 ground thororghly for every plant to be 

 set out. for it is better to have one plant 

 that is happy and flourishing, than a 

 dozen that are stunted and wretched: 

 then give all of them the conditions for 

 thrift. Get the very finest nursery-grown 

 stock that can be bought, and don't 

 waste time and money on collecting or 

 digging up wild plants. Don't take big 

 old plants or stunted small ones at any 

 price; insist upon having j'oung plants 

 that have been transplanted in the nur- 

 sery once at least, and are of even, clean 

 form and well rooted If you want a 

 large numberof trees youcanbuy nursery 

 stock of Al quality at a very moderate 

 figure. 



Points to onsERVE.— Make the Fairy 

 Woods as luxuriant and gay and beauti- 

 ful as you please, but preserve its identity 

 as a wood Don't make it a garden, nor 

 give it the aspect of a garden, nor fill it 

 with garden plants. Preserve, but em- 

 phasize its best natural features. .Make 

 a pond of the swamp, plant an uneven 

 shelter on the norlhwest side, embolden 

 the rocks, nn<l otherwise fix the topogra- 

 phy of the land as you would like to 

 imagine it when the woods ha vcmatured. 

 .\void long artificial, smooth, even sur- 

 faces, and have as few roads in it as you 

 can get along «ith. IIow to arrangethe 



ground can be determined only on the 

 spot. 



A SELECTION OF HANDSOME FLOWERING 

 TREES FOR THE FAIRV WOODS. 



Probably the soft maple is loo large a 

 tree, but it is the earliest in bloom; about 

 the first of April t'ne red maple is in floral 

 glory. The little mountain maple I, 4cer 

 spicatiiw), blooming in early summer 

 should be included because of its great 

 profusion. Blooming before the leaves 

 appear and lasting till they are out, are 

 several wild plum trees as the .American, 

 Chickasaw and Myrobalan, Daridiana 

 and toraen«osa and that lovely fountain 

 o( ])ink, pendula, and the wild red cherry 

 (PruTius Pennsylvanica). Several kinds 

 of native June-berry [Amelanchier) are 

 exceedingly profuse in spring, and are fol- 

 lowed by the pretty Asiatic species. In 

 May we ha\e red and j'ellow buckeye 

 trees and red and white horse chestnuts, 

 and in mid-summer the dwarf or spread- 

 ing on ■. Before its leaves appear the red- 

 bud lightens up the landscape, and if set 

 in fr nt of an evergreen background has 

 a very telling effect. The Japanese species, 

 which is dwarlerand brighter, should also 

 be planted, but remember it is subject to 

 the "die-back." 



Early in May what can be lovelier than 

 our native flowering dog woods? Plant 

 it abundantly, and g t some pink and red 

 flowering forms of it too. There are 

 several other comuses we should iiicluilc 

 for instance our native alternate leaved 

 one, and the Japanese Benthamia (C. 

 Koiisa). The Benthamia's "flowers" are 

 quite as sho A-y as those of our flowering 

 dogwood, but not produced in such quan- 

 tity. Give it a sheltered spot and good 

 grouiul. About the middle of May the 

 common snowdrop tree is a lovely sight 

 dripping with its myriads of white bells, 

 and a fortnight later the species diptera, 

 whiter and prettier, is in pcrfcctiuu. Give 



the last named a sheltered place. There 

 are other both American and Japanese 

 snowdrop trees we mustn't omit, for in- 

 stance Styrax Ohassia. .^. Japonica, S. 

 Americana and Pterosiyrax hispidum. 

 The first tree to leaf out in spring is the 

 Siberian bird cherry (Prunus Maackia) 

 and it is the earliest to bloom, about two 

 weeks ahead of the European bird cherry, 

 which in its turn is about a fortnight 

 earlier than the American one. Get all 

 three. 



What can be more beautiful that apple, 

 pear, peach, and apricot trees when they 

 ai-e in bloom, or what is more profuse? 

 But they are too suggestive of the orchard 

 and garden for admission into the Fairj- 

 Woods. The Japanese crabs [Pyrus 

 Tor'wgo) usually catalogued as P. Malus 

 florilninda, however, we would use both 

 for their mist of blossoms in May and 

 their wealth of pea-big, persistent fruit in 

 fall. And the American fragrant crab 

 apple I Pyrus coronaria) later blooming 

 than theothers, and very beautiful, should 

 be used freely. 



Plant the flowering ash (Fraxinus 

 Ornus) for its white fleecy flower heads 

 and peculiar fragrance, but it will reciuire 

 some tact to know where best to put it. 

 Hawthorns are so subject to rust and 

 borers that they are losing favor, still we 

 should recommend that you plant a few 

 single flowered white and red blooming 

 sorts (but no double ones, for thev are 

 s.-entless) (or the delightful fragrance of 

 their blossoms, and their berries in fall. 

 .\nil don't omit the cockspur thorn, 

 it does fairly well with us. The 

 laburnum or golden chain is such 

 a foreign looking tree that you had better 

 restrict its society to locusts, roseacasia, 

 yellow wood and other of its own kin- 

 dred: among them it may be admissible. 

 .\lthough our common and clammy 

 locusts are troubled so much with borers 



