132 ON TUB FORMATION OP SHRUBBERIES. 



ARTICLE VI. 



ON THE FORMATION OF SHRUBBERIES. 



BY 4 NORTH BRITON. 



The shrubbery may be defined to be the link which connects the man- 

 sion and the lawn to the flower garden, or to the other parts of a 

 residence, and is most generally planted either for shelter or shade, 

 although often as a screen to hide disagreeable objects, for which the 

 plants which compose it are better suited than for forest or other 

 trees. The shrubbery is often a matter of utility as well as of orna- 

 ment, in which case it gives the highest satisfaction when formed for 

 the purpose of shutting out the offices or the kitchen -garden from the 

 view of the house ; for sheltering the latter or the garden, or for con- 

 necting the house with the garden and the orchard, the shrubbery 

 becomes useful and interesting. 



Sometimes a shrubbery is formed merely for the purpose of grow- 

 ir.g rare shrubs, and for obtaining agreeable walks ; in this case it is 

 necessary to be at more pains, and to display a greater degree of taste 

 in the laying of it out than in the formation of the useful shrubbery ; 

 in the former case a tasteful arrangement of plants is a matter of less 

 importance than the choice and disposition of kinds that will soonest 

 afford shelter and ultimately become thick screens. 



In planting shrubberies for screens, to hide disagreeable objects, 

 evergreens should form the principal mass, as affording a permanent 

 blind and giving a cheerful appearance even in winter. A few 

 deciduous shrubs of the most showy sorts may, however, be with 

 propriety added, which will give relief to the more sombre appearance 

 of the evergreens, particularly while the former are in flower ; but 

 from their nature of annually shedding their leaves, and consequently 

 becoming thin in winter, they are not so well calculated for a per- 

 manent blind. 



In the disposal of shrubs the tallest should be planted farthest from 

 the walk or front side, and the lower in stature in front, but if an im- 

 mediate effect be desired it is better to elevate the ground than to 

 plant trees of too great an age ; it is also a matter of importance that 

 they may be planted thickly, as it is an easy task to thin them out 

 when required. Little taste has generally been displayed in the forma- 

 tion of shrubberies as to the production of picturesque beauty ; they 



