SCOTTISH GARDENS 



from the nursery and perhaps do not betray their 

 true character for several years. Gradually they 

 assume the appearance of branches stuck in the 

 ground, which indeed they are, or they send up a 

 crowd of sticks instead of one straight leader. 

 The only way to avoid disappointment in this 

 matter is either to grow one's own seedlings, 

 whereby five or six years delay is incurred, or to 

 employ a trustworthy tradesman and insist on 

 being supplied with plants grown from seed. 



Another delightful tree, which used to be classed 

 as a conifer, but has now been ascertained to be 

 nearly related to the cycads and palms, is the 

 gingko or maidenhair tree. It is deciduous : it is 

 often misshapen, because grown from a cutting : 

 but for grace and distinction a well-grown specimen 

 is hard to beat, and it is perfectly hardy in many 

 parts of Scotland. 



Conifers, however valuable for winter greenery, 

 afford unsatisfactory shade ; and a shady place or 

 places there must be in every garden however 

 small. This can only be had in perfection from 

 broad-leaved trees, and there is abundant variety 

 to choose from. In a woodland country it is perhaps 

 desirable to mark the select character of garden 

 ground by giving a preference to exotic growths. 

 Where beech and oak, elm and sycamore, form 

 the background of garden sceneiy, it is an agree- 

 able change to see fine specimens of sweet and 

 horse-chestnut, robinia, tulip-tree, gleditsia, and the 



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