58 THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 



and in rapidity of growth will amply repay the additional expense 

 for the initial planting of the larger sizes. 



THE FORMAL BEAUTY OF THE CYPRESSES 



With outlines more symmetrical and formal, with branches 

 more closely appressed, with leafage more delicate in color and 

 feathery in texture than the native Cedar {Juniperus virginiana) 

 of comparatively rapid growth and with great adaptability, the 

 Cypresses from many quarters of the earth that grow easily and 

 beautifully along the lower Atlantic and Gulf Coast regions of 

 the Southern States form a long list. 



They vary in color, in height, and in contour and can be secured 

 to suit almost any requirement of soil or situation. Where a 

 screen planting is desirable and deciduous plantings like the Pop- 

 lars are used as a background, the slower growing Cypress trees 

 can be put in to fill the spaces and ultimately to make an ever- 

 green screen. For such positions Cupressus Benthami and Cu- 

 pressus gracilis are equally good. C. Benthami forms a perfect 

 cone with its greatest diameter five feet or six feet from the ground. 

 Its leaves are feathery and of a soft glaucous green that is almost 

 the same in Summer and Winter. C. Bentha?ni is one of the most 

 rapid growers among the evergreen trees. It is beautiful in 

 every stage of its history, but it is more susceptible to cold than 

 C. gracilis^ and can only be used in warm sections. Both it and 

 C. gracilis are very fine trees for formal plantings to accent the 

 architectural notes in the garden plan and for thickets along the 

 boundaries. 



Of a rich green that is almost velvety black in the deep shadows 

 is the pyramidal Cypress, Cupressus Knightiana. On the border 

 of a plantation of Pines where the deep browns and vivid greens 

 of these trees carry the same color tones, this Cypress is wonderful. 

 Its broad base and uplifted arms with closely massed leaves are 

 not as graceful as the softer colored and more feathery varieties, 

 but its beauty deserves a position of prominence and its stateli- 

 ness requires a dignified setting. 



