EVERGREEN TREES 



to the many colors in which they occur and the light, 

 feathery quality of their foliage. This beauty of 

 foliage is particularly noticeable in winter, when the 

 more common evergreens often look dull and weather- 

 beaten. Some of the golden varieties of retinospora 

 show, then, a contrast to the prevailing tones of the 

 landscape as cheery and vivid as that of the yellow 

 bells with the awakening browns and greens of early 

 spring. In general, they are perfectly hardy, doing 

 well at short distances from the sea. They are not 

 adverse to being sheared, and through this means can 

 be advantageously used as hedge plants or made to 

 develop into fine, bushy specimens. 



Many retinosporas are by nature very dwarfish, 

 never exceeding two or three feet in height. Reti- 

 nospora obtusa var. nana is used by the Japanese as 

 dwarf evergreens, prominent features of their miniature 

 gardens. The varieties of them now well established 

 in this country are very numerous. For formal work 

 they have become almost indispensable. 



At a country place in Connecticut, where the lawn 

 slopes down to the water, the planting immediately 

 about the house is confined exclusively to collections 

 of retinosporas and Japanese maples. Scarcely a more 

 bleak or exposed place can be imagined than this 

 very spot in winter; yet these Japanese trees have 

 thriven remarkably, showing no damage from their 

 nearness to the sea. The color effect of this plantation 

 of rare trees is suggestive of the American autumn at 

 its most vivid stage of gold and crimson. 



The English yew, Taxus baccata, is most pleasing 



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