832 



TAX US. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



TAXUS. 



conifers became so popular. It is a native 

 of swampy places in river banks and is best 

 planted in like situations in our country. 

 From the roots of old trees in such situa- 

 tions very curious excrescences arise in 

 the shape of great growing knobs some- 

 times 3 or 4 ft. high and a foot through. 

 A tree of such beauty and distinction 

 should be grouped and massed in the 

 many places in England where water 

 enters into the home landscape, the fresh 

 green of the summer leaves being a very 

 welcome gain. There is a pendulous 

 variety of it, but any other so-called 

 varieties of it are better not taken any 

 notice of. In planting this tree care 

 should be taken to secure healthy young 

 plants from seed only. 



TAXUS (Common Yew}. This, one of 

 the most beautiful of evergreen trees, has 

 been much used in our flower-gardens for 

 many years, clipped and distorted in what 

 is called "topiary" work. Evelyn is said 

 to have introduced the practice with the 

 Yew, and we should be glad if it had 

 no earlier authority, but probably it 

 originated with very old gardens, in 

 which the Yew tree stood by the door or 

 gate and had to be clipped if it was not 

 to overshadow the house or garden. In 

 such a case clipping was necessary, but 

 in modern gardens much clipping of a 

 less profitable kind is often resorted to, 

 so that the Yew is seldom seen in all its 

 stately grace. As a hedge its use in 

 gardens is frequent and often good, but 

 its misuse is evident in many of the great 

 gardens of the world, such as Versailles, 

 where nothing is more ugly than the 

 Yews cut hard against the sky-line, many 

 of them distorted, diseased, and ugly from 

 constant clipping for years. Their effect 

 at Versailles is bad, either against the 

 palace, the landscape, or the trees around. 

 Although intimately connected with the 

 flower garden, it need hardly be said that 

 the Yew, being a gross feeder, should be 

 kept as far as possible from the flowers 

 of the garden. Indeed, in many cases 

 hedges are used where walls would be 

 better, as the walls have not the defect of 

 robbing the good soil near. It is more 

 as shelter, and as fine evergreen trees 

 for groups seen from the flower garden, 

 that the Yew is precious. As a shelter- 

 belt there is perhaps no tree known to 

 us quite so good in all stages of its 

 life. Unlike many other fine evergreen 

 trees, it is not at the mercy of heavy 

 snowfalls and winds, and we have rarely 

 seen it injured by them. A precious 

 shelter from the north and east may be 

 created round the flower garden, or any 



choice garden, by its means, if allowed 

 to grow naturally and planted not too 

 thick. Delightful [shaded bowers may 

 be formed under old Yew trees ; and 

 alcoves and arches for seats under clipped 

 Yews occasionally. Lines of hedging Yews 

 should never be formed without good 

 reason. 



The Golden Yews and variegated kinds 

 will form striking groups of colour ; but 

 are better held together than dotted about 

 at regular intervals, which is fatal to all 

 artistic effect. The Golden Yew, and 

 every Yew worth having of variegated 

 sorts, is most striking in colour in bold 

 picturesque groups. The Irish Yew, a 

 plant of striking form, has been very 

 much over-used by those who do not 

 consider the effect of things on the 

 landscape. I have seen houses with rows 

 of Irish Yews on every side, destroying 

 all possibility of good effect from other 

 and far more beautiful trees, and all the 

 variety and life that should be in an 

 English garden. Variegated and other 

 interesting forms often come from 

 seed. 



Of the recognised forms sold in 

 nurseries not one of which is half so 

 precious as the wild or common Yew, 

 the following is an abstract of a classi- 

 fication by Mr. William Paul : 



VARIETIES OF SPREADING HABIT. 

 T. baccata, common Yew. T. b. fructu- 

 luteo (yellow-berried Yew) is one of the 

 most elegant ; the fruit yellow instead of 

 red ; growth vigorous. T. b. nigra is a 

 striking plant of bold upright growth ; 

 leaves bluish-green. It is effective in the 

 landscape, forming a somewhat sombre, 

 but massive tree. T. b. procumbens forms 

 a spreading bush with bright green leaves, 

 the plant having a reddish tint. 



VARIETIES OF ERECT HABIT. T. b. 

 fastigiata (Irish Yew) is a plant of rigid 

 growth, columnar in form ; leaves dark 

 green. Seeds of this variety produce for 

 the most part the common Yew, but some 

 vary in form and tint. T. b. cheshunt- 

 ensis is a graceful variety, of pyramidal 

 growth, the leaves a glossy green. It is 

 midway between the common and Irish 

 Yew, but less formal than the latter and 

 grows twice as fast. T. b. pyramidalis 

 resembles cheshuntensis in form ; but the 

 leaves are broader, and the bark of the 

 young shoots is reddish. T. b. nidpath- 

 ensis (Nidpath Yew) resembles cheshunt- 

 ensis, but is of stiffer growth, being 

 columnar rather than pyramidal, with a 

 disposition to spread at the top. T. b. 

 stricta is similar, but has smaller and 

 paler green leaves, is almost as erect as 



