38 VILLA GARDENING part i 



or overshadow the buildings, as they generate damp in onr climate ; 

 and somehow modern builders, in their efforts to create stylish- 

 looking structures, frequently fail to keep out damp. In seeking 

 for winter effects, evergreens are sure to be largely employed, but 

 they should not monopolise all our attention, for there is a charm 

 about a leafless tree that evergi-eens cannot furnish. I like to 

 stand under the spreading boughs of the old forest trees in winter 

 and look up into the sky through the branches : how beautiful 

 they are on a frosty morning when covered with white rime ! 

 Walking across a lawn in the evening, I have stood for a minute 

 imder the spreading boughs of a large Horse Chestnut. I have 

 done this with all kinds of trees at all seasons, for there is a 

 fascination in thus, as it were, being able to get behind the scenes. 

 Every tree has its own individuality. The Horse Chestnut, with 

 its drooping, densely-branched conical shape, towering towards the 

 sky, is alwaj's and everywhere an object of interest ; unfortunately 

 nothing will live under it, so dense is the shade. The Beech is 

 another delightful tree, yet when well developed, as I have seen 

 it, it is a bad neighbour. The Lime has a light and elegant 

 habit, so numerous and delicate are the twigs which form upon 

 the branches. And let me ask. How is it that as a rule the 

 Birch is so much neglected by planters 1 For winter or summer 

 no tree can surpass it for lighting up the sombre effect of heavy 

 masses of evergreens. The Plane is another tree that should 

 become more common near a winter residence to give dignity and 

 elevation to the lumpish groups of evergreens. 



A group of Cedars or Hollies fits in well beside a fine old Plane, 

 and Rhododendrons or Laiu-els associate well with the Birch. A 

 winter residence should always have plenty of trees for shelter, 

 and deciduous trees are as useful as evergreens for breaking up 

 cold winds. The evergreens will for the most part be used to 

 fill in the foregrounds, and partially the middle distance also, the 

 Scotch and the Silver Firs mingling their dark foliage with the 

 lighter shades of the deciduous trees for distant effect. On the 

 sides of the hills where space can be found for considerable planta- 

 tions of timber, a bold group of forest trees is always a great 

 set-off to any place. I saw at Thorpe, near Norwich, a very 

 happy instance of the way in which a wood-crowned hill had lent 

 its charm to a number of villa residences standing near its margin. 

 There is a grandeur about these forest giants which the evergreens 

 for the most part cannot attain to. 



Fruit-hearing Trees and Shrubs which ripen and retain their 

 fruit in winter are indispensable in winter arrangements. There 

 is much beauty in the arrangement of cones upon the Fir tribe. 



