152 LAWN-PLANTING FOR WINTER EFFECT. 



their winter guise. They look cold and poorly clad, it is 

 tnie, but the broad solid tints of evergreens readily relieve 

 this bleak effect. And how grand and exquisite they ai-e 

 according to the nature of the tree, ^vhether it be oak or 

 birch, elm or beech ! Two of the finest oaks for our 

 purpose are the over-cup and pyramidal, although of the 

 numerous varieties none fail to be effective in their winter 

 habit. But the over-cup oak is specially striking on 

 account of its I'ugged, grotesque twigs and branches, and 

 the pyramidal for its bold, regular form and rapid growth. 

 Elms, too, with their intersecting Gothic lines, must not 

 be forgotten in planting for winter ; neither the cork- 

 barked variety nor wide-reaching weeping elm. 



The Japan ginkgo also throws out great arms or 

 branches against a clear blue winter sky in the most eccen- 

 tric manner. No less eccentric, but far more charming, are 

 the noble masses of curled and drooping branches and 

 twigs of the weeping beech. No tree is more picturesque 

 in winter, and no evergreen more grand and striking. The 

 tossing shapes and forms it assumes are myriad, and the 

 play of color on the icicles it at times supports, is a wonder 

 to behold. Its silhouette cut against the sky is remarkable 

 for grace. The weeping sophora is also fine in -winter, 

 regularly curving downward, more dwarfed and less odd 

 than the weeping beech. Both of these last-named trees 

 merit the choicest and most conspicuous positions on the 

 lawn, and perhaps the middle distance, a little to one side, 

 suits their proper exhibition best. The strange, far-reaching 

 branches of the weeping larch, especially when laden with 

 snow, are picturesque in the extreme. 



