100 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



A GOOD INDIVIDUAL SPECIMEN OF THE TREE BOX 



The tree box is often used as a hedge in gardens, but is quite 

 as well adapted to clump or individual use, the foliage holding 

 its beautiful, shiny color throughout the year. 



and the plants must be well chosen for the conditions <to 

 be met. 



In the Southern States as in other parts of the coun- 

 try plantings should include a liberal amount of ever- 

 green plants so that the winter landscape will be interest- 

 ing as well as that of other seasons of the year. Although 

 the shorter winters make a shorter season in which the 

 deciduous plants are without foliage than farther north 

 yet the season of denuded branches is sufficiently long 

 to require attention especially when planning for home 

 surroundings. Then too, frequently balmy days dur- 

 ing the .sea.son seem to make a special appeal for foliage 

 to be in evidence. Although the coniferous evergreens 

 native to this region are comparatively few and intro- 

 duced species that succeed are correspondingly scarce, yet 

 there is a wealth of attractive broad-leaved evergreens 

 that more than conipensate for the few species of the 

 conifers that do well under the conditions. 



One of the bes't known of this class of evergreens 

 for the south is the box. This is associated in the minds 

 of all with the old time gardens and is to be found in 

 many of those that date back a hundred years or more. 

 It is not exclusively a southern plant as it will grow even 

 in New England in favored spots. There are two dis- 

 tinct types; the one popularly called box bush (Buxus 

 suffruticosa) being a low growing shrub with small leaves, 

 but with age some times attaining a height of seven feet, 

 the other called box tree {Buxus sempennrcns) is a much 

 larger shrub with longer and relatively narrower leaves, 

 the jilaiit with age .sometimes attaining a height of fifteen 

 to twenty loc-t. The foliage of the dwarf box is a lighter 



green than that of the tree box, but both are rather 

 shiny and keep their characteristic color throughout the 

 season, not varying as with many evergreen plants. Both 

 plants are largely used for hedges and are also well adapt- 

 ed for use as clumps and as single specimens. The tree 

 box has been used as a hedge in many of the old gardens 

 and through neglect at some time in their life the bushes 

 have grown clear above the walks and covered them over, 

 leaving the walk in an arch of green. From the walk the 

 trunks and branches of the bushes may be seen with the 

 foliage beyond, while from without there is simply the 

 mass of green foliage. These plants both withstand prun- 

 ing well, and will even recover from very severe pruning. 

 They are of slow growth and for that reason are often of 

 more value than more rapid growing plants. 



Another of the better known broad-leaved evergreens 

 is the azalea. There are two distinct types of these plants 

 grown in the south. One is the dwarf hardy evergreen 

 azalea {Azalea amoena) a low shrub two to three feet 

 high with small leaves that turn bronze in the winter. The 

 ])lants are thick and bushy and form good, low ornamental 

 hedges. The flowers are purplish red, borne in great pro- 

 fusion during a period of nearly or quite three weeks. It 

 is hardy all through the south and north into New Eng- 

 land. The other type is the Indian azalea {Azalea indica). 

 This species has a large number of varieties that vary 

 from white to all shades of pink, red and purple, with 

 splotched and striped forms in both single and double 

 flowers. The leaves are much larger than in the dwarf 

 azalea and a dark green. There is a great difference in 

 the hardiness of the different varieties, one of the sub- 



DWARF EVERGREEN AZALEA 



This is a low shrub {Azalea amoena) splendid for ornamental 

 hedge use. The plants are thick and bushy, with purplish 

 red flowers and small leaves that turn bronze in winter. 



