EVERGREENS 101 



All that has been said about fancy varieties and novelties 

 applies with even greater force to the "golden-leaved" and 

 " silver-tipped ' ' conifers so much in use at present. It is always 

 a question whether any tree or shrub with abnormal foliage 

 and variegated foliage is, with one or two exceptions, abnormal 

 is in good taste; and the doubt makes it safer to draw the 

 line quite this side of planting them, altogether. Certainly no 

 artist would ever dream of painting them, unless many were 

 grouped together in such a way as to give them the meaning and 

 force which unity might express. 



This is the test which will ultimately decide the merit of any 

 garden work. No planting can be regarded as a complete suc- 

 cess if it does not offer, finally, a subject worthy canvas and 

 paints and brushes and a cultivated eye and trained hand to 

 use them. It occurs to me that a solitary blue spruce in the 

 middle of a lawn will hardly permit even its fondest admirers 

 to hope or expect this for it. 



Generally speaking, the grouping of evergreens should follow 

 the same lines as the grouping of deciduous trees. Fewer will 

 ordinarily need to be planted however, because of their stronger 

 individuality and dominating qualities. They may either be 

 combined with deciduous trees or planted by themselves. In 

 combination with the former, however, they should occupy the 

 prominent positions, and should be in either a decided majority 

 or a minority. Never use an equal, or nearly equal, number of 

 both kinds. 



Usually one variety of evergreen will be found repeated more 

 or less often, in any patch of woods or within any special area, 

 just as we have noted previously that one variety of deciduous 

 tree is nearly always to be found dominating in a similar growth. 

 The reason of course lies in the fact that all the conditions are 



