HEDGES 95 



which reason they are frequently used to screen propagating plots in 

 nursery gardens. They are also cheap. But not one of them, either 

 in permanence or beauty, compares with the holly or yew for the 

 present purpose, and they are all more liable to become bare at the 

 base and patchy at the sides. In Perthshire, I have seen a very good 

 tall hedge made of Douglas fir. 



Laurels. Both the laurels, "common" and "Portugal," are some- 

 times recommended, but should be religiously avoided. Hedges made 

 of them are coarse and rough, and terribly ugly after pruning with shears. 

 Secateurs or the knife should be used. The small-leaved variety of the 

 Portugal laurel (Prunus lusitanica var. myrtifolia) possibly might make 

 a neat hedge if not kept too narrow, but one would have to propagate 

 one's own plants, as it is not stocked in quantity by nurserymen. All the 

 laurels are greedy plants. 



Privets. The oval-leaved privet is one of the most useful plants 

 we possess for making an effective hedge quickly, especially in towns 

 and smoky districts. In the villa gardens of London suburbs the golden- 

 leaved variety is very popular, and helps to produce the gaudy effects so 

 much beloved by proprietors of these places. Both these privets have 

 the disadvantage of being greedy-rooting plants, and are, therefore, not 

 suitable for making hedges behind borders or plots where other plants 

 are grown. If they already exist in such places, the spade should be 

 thrust down as far as it can be once or twice during the summer, about 

 i ft. from the hedge and all along it, so that all top roots are cut 

 off. It is the fashion to condemn the oval-leaved privet as a hedge, 

 and really there is little necessity for it in high-class gardening, as better 

 and more effective hedges can be made. At the same time, where other 

 plants are not near enough to be robbed by its roots, it is permissible 

 to use it, and, as stated above, in dark, smoky places it is decidedly 

 the best shrub available. It requires pruning twice a year at least in 

 summer and autumn. It is not strictly evergreen, and in hard winters 

 loses its leaves. 



The common privet is deciduous and makes an inferior hedge, but 

 some of the new species of Ligustrum from China, like L. Prattii, will 

 be worth trying for this purpose. 



For ornamental hedges that need not be kept close trimmed, nor are 

 intended as barriers, and from which flowers may be obtained, large 

 numbers of evergreens are, of course, available. In Mrs Chambers' 

 garden at Haslemere, and at Kew, very ornamental hedges are made 

 of Berberis stenophylla^ cut back annually after flowering. B. Darwinii 

 may also be used in the same way. In Lord Annesley's garden at 

 Castlewellan, Cydonia japonica makes a good flowering hedge. In 

 Cornwall a frequent and beautiful broad hedge is formed of Escallonia 



