PLANTING 



PLANTING 



2661 



like the chokeberry, Thunberg's barberry, the hazels, 

 viburnums, dogwoods, and sumachs are beautifully 

 colored in autumn. The rhododendrons, laurels, and 

 mahonias, and the daphne already named, are 

 examples of shrubs having evergreen foliage. Some 

 leaves, like those of the Saiix lucida, are glossy; others, 

 as those of the common hazel, are hairy; 

 some are thick, and others are thin; some 

 large, some small; some entire, and some 

 lobed, serrated or compound. Through- 

 out the season the foliage of a good collec- 

 tion of shrubbery will present the greatest 

 variety of color, including all the hun- 

 dreds of shades of green as well as yellow, 

 white, gray, and purple. Even in winter 

 shrubbery is wonderfully attractive in 

 appearance from the gracefulness of its 

 stems and branches, and from the color 

 of its bark. With the right selections, it 

 will serve almost as well as evergreens 

 to shut out from view fences or other low 

 unsightly objects. 



This great variety in foliage, flower, 

 fruit, and habit of growth makes shrub- 

 bery adapted to very extended use in the 

 development of landscapes. It is especi- 

 ally appropriate along the boundaries of 

 ornamental grounds (Fig. 2999), upon 

 steep slopes, and in the immediate vicinity 

 of buildings where foliage and graceful 

 lines are needed to connect the walls of a 

 structure with the ground (Fig. 3000), 

 without making too much shade. It 

 might with advantage replace the grass upon all sur- 

 faces too steep to walk upon with comfort. The foliage 

 of shrubs that are well established remains green when 

 dry weather turns grass brown. The broad mass of 

 shrubbery will take care of itself when the grass needs 

 frequent attention. Even some level surfaces might be 

 improved in places by exchanging a lawn covering for 

 the covering of low woody plants. Often a broad open 

 space over a lawn is an important feature of a landscape, 

 since it allows extended views. Many times a landscape 

 would be more interesting if the green underneath this 

 open space were produced by a broad mass of shrubbery, 

 like a miniature forest, instead of grass. 



In planting borders or groups of shrubs, the ground 

 to be occupied by such a group should be entirely 

 spaded over or plowed. Perhaps no better advice could 

 be given than to prepare the soil as it should be prepared 

 for a field of corn. The bushes should then be planted 

 so that there is room for about two years' growth before 

 their branches intermingle. If placed closer they would 

 have a crowded appearance from the start and would 



not join their branches as harmoniously as when the 

 new growth is allowed to choose its own position. If 

 placed farther apart the effect is also bad. Occasionally 

 a single shrub at the margin of a belt may stand out 

 almost by itself, but generally the effect of a group 

 should be that of a continuous mass of varying foliage. 



""" . **'tx->f 



"-.. '-:''?* 



2999. The open center and margined sides. 







3000. An effective planting against a hard corner. 



In arranging different shrubs, the taller-growing kinds 

 should generally be placed in the center of the group, 

 and the lower species along the border, the space being 

 graded from the highest to the lowest. The reason for 

 this arrangement is that the lower plants would be 

 killed by the shade of the larger ones if placed back of 

 them, and moreover would not be seen ; but one should 

 avoid too uniform a slope. For example, in a continuous 

 border there should be places where shrubs of larger 

 size occupy the full width so as to bring growth of con- 

 siderable height into the lawn. The arrangement should 

 be varied so as to avoid all monotony, but in securing 

 this variation a mixture of miscellaneous shrubs of all 

 kinds does not give so good an effect as broader areas 

 of single species or genera slightly interspersed at the 

 margin with shrubs of another kind. Straight rows 

 should be avoided. A laborer or a novice when told 

 this wall arrange the plants in a zigzag manner, thinking 

 that he is placing them irregularly, the result often 

 being almost the same as that of two rows. If the 

 group is being planted along a straight line, as the 

 boundary of a lot, the distances of the successive plants 

 from this line might be somewhat as follows: 2 feet, 

 4 feet, 5 feet, 3 feet, 1 foot, and the distances apart, 

 measured parallel with a fixed line, should vary also. 



The ideal condition of a group of shrubbery is to have 

 all the individual plants healthy, so that the foliage will 

 appear fresh and of good color. This foliage should 

 extend down to the surface of the adjacent lawn or walk, 

 and shade the ground underneath so completely that 

 nothing will grow there. The leaves which fall with 

 the approach of winter should be allowed to remain as 

 a perpetual mulch. The desired result cannot be 

 secured the first year the shrubs are planted unless 

 they are of large size and moved but a short distance. 

 The aim in caring for a new plantation should be to 

 secure thrifty plants, and this care, like the preparation 

 of the soil, should be such as is given to a field of corn. 



Very little trimming should be done. If a bush is tall 

 and spindling it may be well to cut it off next to the 

 ground and allow it to sprout again. If there is any 

 dead wood it should, of course, be cut off. But when a 

 shrub is healthy and vigorous, let it grow in its own 



