582 



JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



t December 31, 1874. 



water conld not get back to the boiler quick enongli. — William 

 Tayloe. 



EVEEGBEEN HEDGE PLANTS. 



I HAVE read with much interest Mr. Kent's remarks on 

 evergreen hedges (page 537), and as his list of plants suitable 

 for the purpose is a numerous one, I have in reality but little 

 to add in the way of variety, excepting in one class which he 

 may have omitted inadvertently, and that is the family of 

 Berberis, one at least being well adapted for the purpose. 

 B. Darwinii makes, perhaps, as good a hedge as anything I 

 am acquainted with, and I am not sure but it would answer 

 the purpose of a fence as well as an ornamental hedge. Its 

 hardwooded sturdy stems, loaded with leaves almost as pretty 

 as the Holly, and in early spring presenting ns with a mass of 

 orange-coloured flowers of great beauty, form on the whole a 

 hedge by no means the least ornamental of the whole class, 

 and as formidable a one for a pedestrian to penetrate as the 

 Holly itself, as I have on more than one occasion discovered to 

 my cost. It is also very likely B. Wallichii, which somewhat 

 resembles it in habit, may be also equally good, as it grows 

 quite as well, and its foliage in the distance might be taken 

 for B. Darwinii, and both bear the knife well. I fear none of 

 the larger-leaved species, now called Mahonias, will answer so 

 well, B. japonica getting tall, but naked at the bottom, and 

 the same with its compeer B. Bealii ; while the common 

 B. Aquifolia is better adapted for spreading than getting up- 

 ward, and like the common Gorse, which is now and then 

 used as a hedge, occupies more ground than can often be 

 spared. Whereas, for most ornamental purposes, an upright 

 growth with a stiffness of habit is wanted in a hedge plant ; 

 and, as Mr. Kent justly observes, the upright Euonymuses 

 seem well adapted — better, I should say, than Ligustrum ovali- 

 folium, which gets naked at bottom before it ought to do so, 

 even as a solitary plant. 



There is one plant not yet mentioned that I think may be 

 ■worked-in with great advantage in places where it thrives, and 

 that is the Sweet Bay. Some years ago I had occasion to 

 plant a few in a short row, which very quickly of themselves 

 and with scarce a touch of the knife formed a very nice hedge. 

 Its growth being mostly upward, it required little cutting except 

 at top ; and where a tall hedge is wanted I am inclined to 

 •think this will equal any of the Arbor Vita3 or Cypress class, 

 besides being more sturdy and less hkely to open with heavy 

 snows. But I am not sure but the common Arbor Vitse will 

 sooner become a hedge, as they bear transplanting when of a 

 large size better than many other things, while some of the 

 Cypresses are about the worst. Leaving the latter class, how- 

 ever, as Mr. Kent has already exhausted the list of most useful 

 kinds, I think he has not sufficiently advocated the claims of 

 the common tree Box which, next to the Yew and Holly, is 

 most often met with in places where a permanent hedge plant 

 has been reared ; and differing as it does from either of the 

 above, I don't think that with all the multiplied species of 

 plants we now possess available for the purpose, that three 

 more suitable than these could be picked out. True, those of 

 Coniferfe grow faster and may attain a greater height in a 

 limited time, but they also look shabby sooner, and seem by 

 ■the habit they assume to be better adapted for the shelter of 

 nursery stock than to ornament a lawn. The Yew especially 

 carries a stamp of dignity with it that often acts as a preserva- 

 tive to it when many other things are sacrificed to the utilitarian 

 hand of building improvements. A Yew hedge of some antiquity 

 is often so sufficiently respected as to keep bricks and mortar 

 at a distance, and one or two that I have seen are reported to 

 have withstood the rise and decay of two sets of buildings 

 whose presence they embellished. But I fear there is an erro- 

 neous impression abroad about the time it takes to form a 

 decent Yew hedge, which under favourable circumstances is 

 not so serious an affair as is supposed. I recollect some years 

 ago planting a hedge, which in six or seven years looked as 

 well as it was needful to do, in fact was hedge-looking and pro- 

 mising in about half that time. But they were rather stunted 

 plants to begin with, they having been transplanted the year 

 before they were finally put in their places, which is an impor- 

 tant matter with the Y'ew, than which I know of nothing that 

 transplants better. 



On this head we need not enlarge further ; rather let us look 

 round and speculate on the merits of other evergreen shrubs 

 for the purpose of creating hedges or screens, and omitting the 

 ConiferiB for reasons stated above, let us see what else we have 



to work upon. Beginning, therefore, with the ordinary ever- 

 greens we have Aralia japonica, or rather A. Sieboldii, a hardy 

 plant, not at all suitable in consequence of its large foliage. 

 Neither are any of the Arbutus that I am acquainted with, as 

 heavy snows open them ; but I am not sure but a very fair 

 hedge might be made of Alaternus. Its glossy green leaves 

 look well, although they are more thin than could be desired for 

 this purpose. But I hardly know what to say of the Aucubas, 

 as the choicer late varieties are not sufficiently plentiful to be 

 so applied, although they may very likely do ; and for a low 

 hedge or edging of, say, 3 feet high, I don't think anything ia 

 better adapted than the common one, which also bears cutting 

 well, only it ought to be done with the knife. 



The Sweet Bay I have already recommended, and also one 

 or more of the Berberises. Of the varieties of Box I don't know 

 that any exceeds the common tree Box, the greater number of 

 those in ordinary cultivation being varieties of it, and in the 

 distance are not sufficiently distinguished from it to be regarded 

 as distinct species, excepting the one from the Balearic Islands, 

 which, though handsome as a single specimen, is not suffi- 

 ciently clothed with foliage to make a good hedge plant, and 

 I would not recommend any of the variegated varieties. 



None of the Ceanothus genus are sufficiently hardy to make 

 hedges, but the two Colletias, C. cruciata and horrida, would 

 make formidable barriers ; but they are not evergreens in the 

 ordinary sense of the word, although their stems, which are 

 closely packed together, are green in colour ; but as I have in 

 another place advocated the claims of these I need not enlarge 

 further. The white-foliaged Elaagnus may be pretty, but I 

 am not sure it would look well ; and the Escallonias seem dis- 

 posed to keep near the ground rather than ascend ; while the 

 Euonymus have been already alluded to, and the common ones 

 are unquestionably good. Gorse is more in the character of a 

 nondescript fence than an ornamental hedge plant, being often 

 enough met with in wild uncultivated districts, which the ordi- 

 nary Quickset can hardly be expected to do. Grislinia littoralis, 

 although one of the prettiest of our evergreens, is not adapted 

 for hedge purposes. 



The Holly family are all good, but none more so than the 

 common one ; but the merits of this genus might form a chap- 

 ter in themselves alone, I therefore pass on. The common 

 and Portugal Laurel as well as the Laurustinus, the first-named 

 not bearing cutting so well as the common ; while the Laurus- 

 tinus ought to be allowed a wider space than is common with 

 hedges usually so called. In fact it never looks so well in a 

 trimmed condition as when left allowed to assume its own 

 natural growth, although I don't know of any plant that will 

 endure the kuife better ; and in places where it thrives a bank 

 of it, flowering as it often does for eight or nine months in the 

 year, is an object equal in beauty to the most carefully trimmed 

 hedge of any kind. 



The Phillyreas differ considerably in accordance with the 

 position they are planted in, but P. latifolia and P. Iffivis wonld 

 seem to be the best or most likely to make a good hedge, but 

 I can hardly recommend them. Everyone knows the utility 

 of the common Privet, which is superior to that of L. ovali- 

 folium ; and from what I have seen of the Japan and Chinese 

 species, they seem to lack that density of foliage necessary in a 

 hedge plant. The Evergreen Oak is also not satisfactory in 

 a hedge, the white downy appearance of the under side of the 

 leaf detracting from the green hues expected in a hedge ; while 

 none of the Ruscus or Eaphiolepis family seem adapted ; and 

 I fear the Veronicas, having a New Zealand origin, are also 

 unsuitable, which brings the list to an end. 



As I necessarily omitted all Conifers, which most of the 

 ornamental hedges exceeding 4 feet in height are often com- 

 posed of, and which in number form so many varieties, for I 

 have seen the common Spruce kept trimmed to live at a much 

 less height than 3 feet, while Arbor Yitfe are met with of great 

 altitude, for Mr. Kent has alluded to all these it is needless 

 to go over the ground again ; and as the bulk of the shrubs 

 called American plants in general unsuitable, I cannot re- 

 member of anything else in the way of evergreens that can 

 conveniently be worked into this purpose without being sup- 

 ported or in some way or other assisted in making what they 

 profess to be ; for a supported mass of evergreens are more in 

 the character of a screen than a hedge, and trelliswork covered 

 with Ivy makes perhaps the best-looking of all tall uniform- 

 looking hedges, and in this way are perhaps more reaUy useful 

 than any other plant I know of. But as other plants are 

 equally eligible, as Honeysuckle, Jasmine, Clematis, &b., they 

 can hardly claim to deserve the name " hedge," which is sap- 



