CHAPTER IV. TREES FOR THE HOME GROUNDS 



I. Flowering and Ornamental Trees 



By O. C. Simonds 



O BOOK on floriculture can be complete without a chapter on 

 trees. Some of the showiest flowers are borne on small 

 trees which are suitable for gardens of moderate size. The 

 foliage of trees and shrubs is indispensable as a background 

 for flower borders. Trees make the sky-line — an important 

 feature. They are often invaluable as windbreaks, and they supply shade 

 and retain moisture — conditions which are essential to the life of some of 

 our choicest flowers. 



Who has not seen trees so profusely covered with bloom as to almost 

 hide the branches and 3'^oung leaves ? Witness the plums and cherries, 

 including those that come to us from Japan; thorn-apples, comprising the 

 English hawthorne and the great number of American species, all varieties 

 of crab-apples, and ornamental peaches. With them naturally go Japanese 

 quinces, roses, and spireas. 3tlany of the trees mentioned are ornamental 

 in fruit as well as in flower. The Juneberry forms a connecting link between 

 snowstorms and summer. Its pure white flowers often appear in contrast 

 with those of the redbud. The flowering dogwood is another tree noted 

 for its bloom. Some of the willows would be especially appropriate near a 

 bog garden, their catkins and brightening bark frequently making the first 

 announcement of spring, an announcement which is quick to be repeated 

 in a different manner by the song-sparrow perched on one of its branches. 

 Trees of a larger size noteworthy for their flowers are the red maples, the 

 horse chestnut, the catalpa, the linden, and the locust. The sugar maple 

 and Norway maple are also worthy of mention, on account of their yellow 

 flowers, although these are not quite so rich in colour as those of the maple 

 first mentioned. The flowers of some of the trees named are quite fragrant 

 wdien in bloom. This is especially true of the common locusts and lindens. 

 The tulip tree, with its large, glossy leaves of unique shape, is in full summer 

 attire when the blossoms appear, and the latter are frequently unnoticed, 



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