THE FORMAL ARRANGEMENT OF TREES. 



advisable to have a grass walk, as broad as possible, between the hedge and border, as 

 shown in the second sketch (111. No. 334). 



The number of different trees or shrubs which may be used for forming clipped Materials 

 hedges is very large. There is no doubt, however, of the pre-eminence of yew for this available 

 purpose, wherever the conditions are at all normal. Not only has it the advantage of f r hedges. 

 . possessing the sentiment which must inevitably cling round the material from which 

 the trim hedges of the old-fashioned English garden were formed, but there is something 

 in its habit which gives it a quiet homelike appearance which is unattainable in other 

 materials, and which is so obvious in the accompanying photographs of the gardens at 

 Levens Hall (111. Nos. 336 and 337), while its colour is an ideal shade against which to 

 display the brilliant hues and bold foliage of the old-fashioned hardy perennials. Where 

 yew is not used, the best and most permanent evergreen hedges are formed by holly, 

 tree box, Cotoneaster macrophylla, C. Simonsii, C. buxae folia, Ligustrum ovalifolium, 

 (oval-leaved privet) or sweet briar. Privet is practically evergreen and, in fact, entirely 

 so in mild winters when the old leaves remain until the new ones push forth. Sweet 

 briar is really deciduous but, as the stems are of a bright green colour, it may almost 

 be considered as an evergreen. There are also numerous varieties of Arborvitae, Cupressi, 

 Retinosporae and Juniperi, nearly all of which stand trimming while the several 

 varieties of Laurus, Cerasus laurocerasus, and C. rotundifolia are useful. Even Scotch and 

 spruce fir, when grown under favourable conditions, form most excellent hedges. In some 

 parts of Scotland, particularly in Aber- 

 deenshire, the former tree is largely used 

 for hedges of fields lying in exposed 

 positions, and that they will stand trim- 

 ming is shown in the forests along the 

 Dee-side, where thousands of them may 

 be seen which have been trimmed into 

 dwarf symmetrical bushes by the deer. 



The best materials for deciduous 

 hedges are undoubtedly beech, hornbeam, 

 thorn and myrobella plum. Of these 



the most suitable are beech and hornbeam, and the latter is probably the best of all 

 deciduous hedging plants for use in the garden. 



A very economical and effective fence between small gardens and the highway may 

 be made by planting a prim hedge, say of privet, behind plain railings, and trimming 

 the former a few inches above the top of the latter. In this way effective use may 

 even be made of that otherwise unaesthetic material known as unclimbable iron fencing, 

 as shown in the sketch (111. No. 335). 



Most of the hedging plants named above may be obtained from good nurseries in 

 almost any size and in some cases a nurseryman will sell the half-matured hedges divid- 

 ing his nursery quarters. When an already well-grown hedge is to be transplanted, it 

 should be prepared for lifting at least six months before it is required. The best plan 

 is to purchase in the early Spring and prepare the plants by close root pruning and 

 then remove in the Autumn. Where there is no hurry, however, it is better to start 

 with small plants, as they make more perfect hedges than larger transplantations, which 

 are liable to lose their lower branches. 



For formal pleasaunces or the more decoratively treated portions of the gardens, 

 there are very few positions where a hedge composed of more than one variety of tree 

 could be successful, unless a privet hedge is planted between the garden and home park, 

 when thorn may be inserted to keep back cattle, but, in the home park or even in the 

 wild garden, delightful effects may be obtained by mixing two different species. Thus, 



ft 



FIG. 335. 



257 



