October 4, 1919 



HORTICULTURE 



■rx; 



RAMBLING OBSERVATIONS OF 

 A ROVING GARDENER 



When walking through the Arnold 

 Arboretum the other day I was again 

 impressed with the rare beauty and 

 grace of the Japanese flr, Abies Homo- 

 lepis, or as it is often called A. brachy- 

 phylla. When Prof. Sargent gives this 

 tree a place in the very short list of 

 evergreens suitable for New England 

 and other northern states, I am sure 

 that he is making no mistake. It is 

 quite as hardy as any native American 

 evergreen and retains its beauty for 

 years. It has dark green leaves that 

 are silvery white on the lower surface, 

 and dark purple cones. Perhaps the 

 finest specimen in the country is to be 

 found on the Hunnewell place at 

 Wellesley. This splendid example of 

 the Japanese fir's adaptability to New 

 England conditions is over 55 feet high 



and yet its branches sweep the ground. 

 While the Arboretum trees are not so 

 large, they have made good growth 

 and are producing cones. The Arbore- 

 tum also has a variety with green 

 cones and lighter colored leaves that 

 is making vigorous growth. Abies 

 Homolepis is a tree which deserves 

 the consideration of nurserymen not 

 already familiar with it, for it ought 

 to become common on American 

 estates. 



Already many of the trees are put- 

 ting on their gay fall attire, and we 

 cannot fail to rejoice in their beauty, 

 even though it indicates the speedy 

 coming of the melancholy days about 

 which poets have loved to sing in 

 minor key. As a matter of fact, these 



need not be "the saddest days of all 

 the year," for it is quite possible to 

 have the garden so bright with color 

 thai the flowers of summer will hardly 

 lie- missed. Indeed, there are indica- 

 tions that garden makers are coming 

 to plan more for fall and winter gar- 

 dens, because they are choosing such 

 trees and shrubs as carry warm-hued 

 foliage in the autumn and bright ber- 

 ries through much of the winter. 

 There are many such plants, including 

 hawthornes, crabapples, barberries, 

 bayberries, viburnums and the black 

 alder. 



It is even possible to develop trees 

 which are conspicuous for their fall 

 foliage. That some individuals of dif- 

 ferent species have a habit of chang- 

 ing color earlier than most other trees 

 of the same kind and that some have 

 a much higher color than their com- 

 panions is a fact well known to close 

 observers. Sometimes a tree will be 

 found which has a single branch of 

 brilliant leaves while the rest of the 

 foliage remains still green, or the 



Good Specimen of Abies Homolepis 



