CHAPTER V 



TREES AND SHRUBS IN POOR SOILS 



As there is vegetation to suit nearly all natural con- 

 ditions, so those who find they have to undertake 

 planting in poor, dry, hungry sands and gravels will 

 find that there are plenty of trees and shrubs that 

 can be used, though the choice is necessarily a more 

 restricted one than they might make on better land. 

 The very fact of the fewer number of available trees 

 and shrubs may even be a benefit in disguise, as by 

 obliging the planter to be more restricted in his 

 choice the planting scheme will be all the more 

 harmonious. 



As to trees, Holly, Thorn, Juniper, Birch, Scotch 

 Fir, and Mountain Ash are found wild on the poorest 

 soils, and will even grow in almost pure sand. Oaks, 

 though they never grow to the dimensions of the 

 Oak of loamy woodlands, are abundant on poor soils, 

 where they have a character of their own that is full 

 of pictorial value. The lovely Amelanchier, daintiest 

 of small trees, revels in sandy woods, as does also 

 the Bird Cherry, another good native tree, while the 

 Wild Cherry becomes a forest tree of large size and 

 of loveliest bloom. Evergreen or Holm Oak and 

 Arbutus are excellent in the south of England, en- 

 joying the warmth and winter dryness of light soils. 



