SUBURBAN RESIDENCES. 119 



irito the shade ? " All that can be done is, either to plant large coarse trees 

 like our neighbour, or rather still larger and more rapidly-growing ones ; or 

 to cultivate only such trees and shrubs as prosper best in the shade. Of these, 

 one of the most valuable is the holly, of which there are twenty or thirty 

 varieties, with very distinctly variegated leaves ; all of which attain in time 

 the size of trees, and, by the gaiety of their foliage, make a splendid appear- 

 ance at eveiy season of the year. There are also other varieties of holly 

 which are curious ; such as the hedgehog, the myrtle-leaved, and the recurved- 

 leaved holly. Some foreign species of holly, which attain the size of low 

 trees, might also be introduced ; such as /lex opaca and /. madeirensis, both 

 of which thrive better in the shade than in the sun. The yew, of which there 

 are two very distinct sorts, the common and the Irish, will afford two other 

 trees which, like the holly, will thrive better in the shade than in the sun ; 

 and to these may be added the box, than which, when planted singly in deep 

 free soil somewhat calcareous, and allowed to take its own natural shape, 

 there is not a more picturesque and beautiful low evergreen tree in the British 

 arboretum. The tree box is picturesque, from its irregular outline, and the 

 varied forms of the masses of its foliage ; and it is beautiful from the smooth 

 glossy green of the latter, and the graceful tendency of its lower branches, 

 which recline on the ground. This tree, when grown in full sunshine, assumes 

 a yellow hue, compared with the rich deep green which it has in the shade ; 

 and the same may be said, to a certain extent, both of the yew and the com- 

 mon green holly. Besides the common tree box, the broad-leaved and the 

 myrtle-leaved varieties, and the variegated box, all of which attain the size of 

 low trees, there is the Minorca box, which forms a very handsome tree ; and, 

 in addition to these trees, and others which will be found in ovu- list of those 

 that love the shade, there is the common laurel, which may be trained so as 

 to assume the character of a tree,^ a shrub, or a hedge, at pleasure ; and in 

 each capacity there are a denseness and an appearance of comfort and gaiety 

 in its foliage, which render this' plant welcome almost everywhere. Few are 

 better adapted for making evergreen screens, either between a front garden 

 and the street, or between two adjoining front gardens. The privet, in like 

 manner, may be trained so as to form a handsome small tree, an ornamental 

 bush, or an evergreen hedge. The common arbutus, of which there are two 

 very distinct varieties, also forms a very handsome low tree. For shrubs that 

 delight in the shade, it is only necessary to mention the whole families of 

 rhododendrons, azaleas, mezereons, and some of the evergreen daphnes. In 

 the most shady part of the garden, against the walls, where nothing else will 

 grow, the gold and silver ivy will produce a most brilliant effect; but, as both 

 are weaker and more slowly growing plants than the common and the giant 

 ivy, care must be taken that they ai-e not overpowered by these kinds. With 

 respect to rhododendrons, azaleas, mezereons, &c., the different species of 

 these genera, with their varieties, are of themselves enough to fill a shady 

 garden with a display of evergreens in winter, and splendid flowers in summer. 

 We shall not enumerate any other plants adapted for shaded gardens, those 

 above-mentioned being enough to show that the possessor of a garden shaded 

 by the trees of his neighbours, though unable to grow some of the finer kinds 

 of trees, has still ample resources left for ornamenting his grounds. Among 

 herbaceous flowers, there is still more ample choice : lor example, in annuals 



