FLOWER-GARDENS AND PLEASURE-GROUNDS, 



273 



as Conifers and other evergreens, should be used, 

 not so much in a regular mixture of species as 

 showing here and there a preponderance of par- 

 ticular species or varieties, such as may best 

 suit the situation, or are found to thrive in the 

 district. A list of the more desirable species 

 and varieties will be found in another place, 

 so that here it is only necessary to allude to 

 them generally, and to particularize a few that 

 especially deserve to be largely employed. As 

 a tree for the pleasure-ground, either to stand 

 singly or in a conspicuous place in front of 

 others, the Tree of Heaven (Ailantus glandulosa) 

 has not been nearly so much planted as it de- 

 serves to be; neither have the American Plane 

 (Platanus occidentalis), Tilia americana alba, a 

 large-leaved variety of Lime with silvery 

 tomentum on the lower side of the leaf, and a 

 profuse bloomer; Gymnocladus canadensis, and 

 Liriodendron tulipifera ; all excellent garden trees. 

 Other fine species for garden planting are So- 

 phora japonica, a tree not of dense habit, but 

 admitting of being partially seen through, and 

 therefore suitable for planting in certain posi- 

 tions; the Maples furnish a number of not 

 over-large trees, whose foliage dies off in the 

 autumn in beautiful tints of amber, crimson, 

 and yellow; the Gingko or Maidenhair-tree is 

 a tree of erect pyramidal growth when the plant 

 is a seedling, and remarkable in the form and 

 hue of the leaf; Magnolia acuminata and M. 

 conspicua (the Yulan). All of these retain their 

 leaves late into the autumn, and have an im- 

 munity from the attacks of insects which is 

 greatly in their favour. The same cannot be 

 said of the common Lime, which is so much 

 used, notwithstanding that it is often bare of 

 foliage by the middle of August from the ravages 

 of red spider. 



The varied green hues of the Coniferous trees 

 contrast well at all seasons of the year with 

 those of deciduous subjects; but in the selection 

 of the former, none should be chosen for this 

 mixed planting in the pleasure-ground that 

 has not been proved to be sufficiently hardy 

 to stand the severest winters of our climate. 

 This is a matter not always sufficiently con- 

 sidered. The great number of Conifers and 

 allied trees that have been introduced to this 

 country within the last sixty years has induced 

 many persons to plant them largely, regardless 

 of their suitableness for the position or of their 

 requirements as to soil, &c. Such mistakes 

 should be carefully avoided; some of them 

 may thrive and look well for a quarter of a 



century, and then go wrong or be destroyed 

 vol. i. 



by a frost such as that experienced in the 

 winter of 1860-61, leaving gaps that it will 

 take many years to fill. The better to avoid 

 planting species of Conifers unsuited to the 

 climate of these islands, except in the most 

 favoured parts, the intending planter should 

 consult The Manual of Coniferce brought out by 

 Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons, nurserymen, Chelsea, 

 than which no better exists. The beautiful 

 Cedrus Deodara has been frequently planted in 

 positions where even the common Larch could 

 not grow satisfactorily, with the result that, in- 

 stead of making a handsome tree, it has become 

 stunted or one-sided, or anything but an orna- 

 mental object. This is, of course, a mistake 

 which the planter could avoid by selecting trees 

 of known hardiness, such as Pinus Pinaster, P. 

 ■maritima, P. austriaca, and Abies bracteata, to 

 occupy exposed positions, and placing Cedars 

 of various species, Sequoia sempervirens, S. gi- 

 gantea, Taxodium distichum, Abies amabilis, A. 

 concolor, A. grandis, A. nobilis, &c, on the inner 

 sides of shelter belts, or amongst groups or 

 clumps of hardier trees, coniferous or deci- 

 duous. 



At the present day it is sometimes recom- 

 mended to mass particular kinds of trees in 

 pleasure-grounds — and in extensive grounds 

 isolated groups of dark evergreen trees, such 

 as Pinus austriaca, P. Cembra, P. Strobus, or 

 P. excelsa, may be introduced with the best 

 results. Where planting is done on a large 

 scale for broad landscape effects, as on the side 

 of a hill, large masses of particular species may 

 be employed with excellent effect. If, for in- 

 stance, there exists a winding ravine of con- 

 siderable extent, and this be sparsely planted 

 with Conifers having dark-green foliage, and 

 flanked with the ordinary mixed plantations, 

 in which deciduous subjects to a large extent 

 may predominate, the effect produced at a dis- 

 tance will be good; but in the pleasure-grounds, 

 unless these are of great extent, this kind of 

 planting should rarely be attempted. 



So far as it falls in with the general idea of 

 planting an estate, the hills, knolls, and higher 

 parts should be planted with timber, the plan- 

 tations to be carried down the slopes for a short 

 distance in bold sweeps or straight lines; the 

 lower slopes and the valleys being to a great 

 extent kept free from trees of large growth. By 

 planting in this manner the height of the hills 

 is apparently increased, and the contrasts of 

 light and shade made sharper. 



In the case of pleasure-grounds, after the 

 trees that are intended to remain permanently 



18 



