THE FORMAL ARRANGEMENT OF TREES. 



yards in length, two rows of trees at either side. The length of the avenue and the 

 scale and style of the architecture which it graces will decide the variety of tree to be 

 planted, and regulate the width and distance apart. For an ordinary avenue of about 

 a hundred yards in length, fern-leaved beech, ilex or other trees of moderate size would 

 be most suitable, the distance between the lines of trees being not less than twelve 

 paces, and the trees in the rows eight paces apart. For an avenue of five hundred 

 yards, the trees might be of stronger growth, such as elm, lime, sycamore or chestnut, 

 placed ten paces apart in the rows, the latter being from fifteen to twenty paces apart. 

 To obtain an early effect, double the number of trees may be used and planted half 

 the distance apart in the rows, alternate trees being removed as soon as they begin to 

 touch each other. 



A local note may often be struck by forming an avenue of some tree which is specially 

 characteristic of the district, especially when the tree adopted is one not usually chosen 

 for this purpose, but is known to thrive particularly well in the locality. Exceptional 

 trees may also be used with great effect in exceptional circumstances such as the avenue 

 of Cedrus Deodara, at Linton Park, Maidstone. 



Woodland 

 glades. 



Pleached 

 walks. 



FIG. 321. 



Where the ground on which the avenue is to be formed is at a much lower level 

 than the floor of the house, spreading low-growing fern-leaved beech would, after twenty 

 years' growth, have a pleasing effect when viewed from above. 



In forming a new domain in wooded country, the effect of a series of grass avenues 

 may often be obtained by careful and discriminate clearances such as those shown in 

 illustrations Nos. 155 and 156. The rough ground is carefully made up and either 

 turfed or sown down and hedges provided on either side, young trees being planted, so 

 that very soon, new and old together form a pleasing vista. 



Besides the avenues of full-grown forest trees, suitable only for use with imposing 

 architecture, there are many other arrangements of greenery which partake of the same 

 nature but which are useful where a large avenue would be out of place. The first of 

 these is the pleached lime walk, of which examples may be found in many old gardens 

 and which has always been a favourite device of the artist gardener both in this country 

 and on the Continent. It forms a useful and beautiful feature in the garden and may 

 be said to bear the same relative scale to it that the avenue bears to the park. While 

 the latter, however, is a symmetrical arrangement of trees which individually are allowed 

 to grow naturally, the former is not only planted in a formal manner but is afterwards 

 trained and trimmed to a symmetrical design and kept strictly in scale with its surround- 



252 



