Gardening for Amateurs 



895 



Evergreens 



EVERGREENS play a very important 

 part in the adornment of the garden, 

 for during winter they relieve what 

 would otherwise be, in many instances, a 

 dreary landscape. They are, however, less 

 suitable for planting in smoky manu- 

 facturing districts than leaf -losing kinds, 

 for, whilst the latter throw off their leaves, 

 and with them much dirt, once a year, 

 the leaves of evergreens continue, for 

 sometimes several years, collecting dirt 

 and becoming only too often deplorable 

 objects. When evergreens must be planted 

 near large towns it is advisable to select 

 kinds with glossy leaves rather than those 

 with dull leaves, as the dirt is more easily 

 removed from the former by rain. 



Taken on the whole, evergreens are more 

 fastidious regarding root disturbance than 

 deciduous shrubs, and whereas the latter 

 may be transplanted at almost any time, 

 when the weather is open, between early 

 October and mid-March, there are certain 

 kinds of evergreens which may only be 

 transplanted successfully during late April 

 and early May, or during late August and 

 September. Even then it is not advisable 

 to injure the roots much or to transplant 

 large specimens unless a large ball of soil 

 can be moved attached to the roots. Coni- 

 ferous trees are not included in this chapter, 

 as they are dealt with elsewhere. 



Arbutus (Strawberry Tree). A. Unedo 

 is a well-known shrub in many parts of 

 the country. In Ireland, in the vicinity of 

 Killarney, it grows wild in the woods, and 

 attains the dimensions of a small tree, but 

 in most gardens it is frequently seen as a 

 bush 12 to 18 feet high and almost as far 

 through. The ovate leaves are showy, whilst 

 the cream or reddish flowers, according to 

 variety, are very attractive during Septem- 

 ber and October. The fruits are round and 

 covered with short, flesh}' spines. They are 

 orange-scarlet when ripe, which is about 

 twelve months after the appearance of the 

 flowers. Soil free from lime suits it, and 

 propagation is usually by seeds or layers. 

 Other useful sorts are A. Andrachne and 



A. Menziesii, the former from the Levant 

 and the latter from California. They possess 

 the peculiarity of shedding their bark each 

 year. 



Aucuba japonica is well known by reason 

 of its golden variegated-leaved forms, but 

 it is rather over-planted, and its repetition 

 becomes tiring. It is, however, one of the 

 most useful evergreens we possess for plant- 

 ing beneath the shade of trees, and it gives 

 good results in both town and country. 

 Male and female flowers appear on different 

 plants, and it is necessary to grow both 

 together in order to procure a crop of red 

 berries which are very showy during winter. 

 For general planting the varieties with green 

 leaves are to be encouraged. Cuttings may 

 be rooted quite easily if inserted in light 

 soil in a warm frame in late summer. Any 

 kind of garden soil suits, and fairly hard 

 pruning may be given when necessary. 



Berberis (Barberry). There are numer- 

 ous kinds of evergreen Berberis, the majority 

 of which are of decorative value. B. steno- 

 phylla is not only one of the best of all 

 evergreen shrubs, but also one of the best 

 flowering shrubs. Growing from 8 to 10 

 feet high, it forms a spreading but shapely 

 bush, with graceful branches clothed with 

 small green leaves, and bearing during May 

 a rich profusion of golden, fragrant blossoms. 



B. Darwinii, from Chile, of stiffer habit, is 

 another useful, free-flowering shrub with 

 golden blossoms. B. Hookeri, from China 

 and the Himalayas, is a good evergreen, grow- 

 ing from 2 to 3 feet high, whilst a pretty 

 little new evergreen is found in B. candidula. 

 B. Aquifolium is one of the most useful of 

 the Mahonia section. It thrives both in 

 shade and sun, and during winter the leaves 

 very often assume rich bronze and red 

 shades. Although it sometimes grows 6 feet 

 or more high, it may be kept to a height of 

 1 foot or 1^ feet by repeated pruning during 

 summer. B. japonica and B. wallichiana 

 are noted for their long, handsome, pinnate 

 leaves. Both are difficult to transplant. 

 Neither B. stenophylla nor B. Darwinii re- 

 quire any regular pruning. 



