194 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



D ECEMBER, 19 13 



Suggestions for Deciduous 

 Planting 



DECIDUOUS trees and shrubs should 

 be planted in California some time 

 between January and April with early 

 planting to be preferred. Do not put in a 

 tree here and a shrub there without care- 

 fully considering its value in making a pic- 

 ture, however. California homes are 

 largely surrounded by an unbalanced con- 

 glomeration of this and that without any 

 regard at all to the general effect. 



Our wonderful climate loses half its 

 value if we live in what is almost as bad as 

 a tangled underbrush. 



In planting trees and shrubs, you must 

 use your imagination. It is more difficult 

 than composing a picture on paper because 

 on paper you can see each part of the pic- 

 ture as it will remain, but trees grow and 

 change as they age. An arrangement that 

 makes a picture to-day, may be entirely 

 out of balance in five years. 



It is necessary first to see for yourself 

 the plants full-grown that you propose to 

 use. Then with these in mind, work out 

 your outline, and then fill in the details — 

 with very, very few details. Never make 

 the main idea in planting the securing of a 

 certain tree — always buy a tree to fill a 

 definite need. 



One of the things most sadly neglected 

 is the large open lawn. There is a well 

 kept lawn here and there, 

 but usually it is cut up 

 in a dozen or more 

 places with flower beds 

 and shrubs and trees. 

 Where there is grass 

 between trees and shrubs, 

 it is used as a part of 

 the picture made by the 

 shrubbery. The large 

 plants are the main ob- 

 jects there, the grass is 

 a filler. 



I saw a home garden 

 recently where there were 

 planted not less than 

 thirty varieties of shrubs 

 on an area about fifteen 

 feet wide and fifty feet 

 long. So far as I could determine no two 

 of those shrubs were alike. All were differ- 

 ent in habit of growth, in color and style of 

 foliage, and in color and size of blossoms. 

 The result was — hash ! What is your 

 garden and lawn? 



I believe the trouble with most home 

 makers is that they do not buy enough 

 plants of one kind. There are some sorts, 

 of course, that make an attractive showing 

 when a single plant is used, but there are 

 very few cases indeed, where such plants 

 serve the purpose when they are crowded 

 in with a lot of other plants. 



Here is a list of several deciduous trees 

 suitable for street planting. Don't select 

 one of each of five different kinds for your 

 front terrace, however. Furthermore, 

 don't select a variety that is almost the 



opposite of the trees in front of your neigh- 

 bors' houses. There is no place where 

 cooperation is more productive of results 

 in planting than in planting the street trees. 



STREET TREES FOR CALIFORNIA 



Montpellier maple (Acer monspessulaniim), a 25- 

 foot, round-headed tree that thrives on poor soils; 

 box elder (Acer Negundo), a 70-foot tree that grows 

 rapidly; Norway maple (Acer plaianoides) , a 

 compact grower that attains a height of 100 feet 

 and is especially adapted to the interior valleys; 

 silver or soft maple (Acer dasycarpum), a rapid 

 grower attaining 120 feet; red-flowering horse 

 chestnut (Aesculus carnea), a 75-foot tree with deep 

 red flowers May; European white birch (Betida 

 alba), an 80-foot tree with white bark; paper mul- 

 berry (Broussonetia papyrifera) grows to thirty or 

 fifty feet and thrives near factories where smoke 

 and gases kill other vegetation; Japanese locust 

 (Gleditschia Japonica), fifty or sixty feet; Texas 

 umbrella tree (Melia Azedarach, var. umbraculi- 

 formis), a very compact tree, giving a dense shade, 

 especially suited to narrow streets; pin oak (Ouer- 

 cus palustris), forty or fifty feet tall, beautiful in 

 fall when the leaves turn to a rich scarlet; American 

 linden or basswood (Tilia Americana), a 60-foot 

 rapid grower especially adapted to coast climates; 

 American white elm (Ulmus Americana), a rapid 

 grower reaching 120 feet, requires moist soil so 

 is not so suitable for interior valleys. 



These may also be used for grouping 

 at the rear of the grounds, to form a setting 

 for the whole picture. Tall trees will be 

 used in the rear, of course, and the lower 

 growing sorts in front. If the group is a 

 large one, shrubs are used to blend the 

 whole into the picture in front. 



Now is the planting time in California. Above all things strive to make garden pictures by 

 keeping the lawn open in the centre. Don't make your garden a sort of museum 



Ornamental Lawn Trees 



Where there is room for a few ornamen- 

 tal trees, or where there is space for only 

 one or two trees along the boundary line 

 or in the back corner of the lot, some of 

 the following might be selected. They are 

 all valuable for their ornamental qualities: 



Reitenbach's purple maple (Acer Reitenbacki) , 

 a 50-foot tree with foliage greenish-red in spring, 

 purple in summer, and bright red in fall; red flower- 

 ing horse chestnut (Aesculus carnea), a 75-foot tree 

 with red flowers in May; European or common alder 

 (Alnus glutinosa), a 70-foot tree preferring damp 

 situations; pink-flowered almond (Amygdalus David- 

 iana, var, rubra), flowers early and attains a height 

 of twenty-five feet; common catalpa (Catalpabignon- 

 ioides), forty feet, rapid grower, flowering in spring; 

 English hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna), forty 

 feet, showy red fruit in autumn, fits into groups well; 

 purple beech (Fagus sylvatica, var. purpurea), deep 



purple foliage in spring turning to crimson in fall 

 grows eighty feet tall; varnish tree (Koelreuteria 

 paniculata), brilliant golden blossoms appear on 

 this 20-foot tree late in the season; cucumber tree 

 (Magnolia acuminata), ninety feet, with a profusion 

 of yellowish white flowers, not adapted to hot, dry 

 climates unless protected while young; flowering 

 peach (Persica vulgaris, var. alba plena), a 15-foot 

 tree bearing large double, pure white flowers in April; 

 purple leaved plum (Prunus Pissardi), a 20-foot 

 tree with purple leaves and red- fleshed fruit; Ameri- 

 can mountain ash (Sorbus aucuparia), a 30-foot 

 tree with foliage that turns orange red in fall and 

 with red berries that hang on nearly all winter; 

 Wier's cut-leaved maple (Acer dasycarpum, var. 

 Wieri laciniatum), a silver-leaved, rapid growing 

 weeping tree; Japan weeping rose-flowered cherry 

 (Cerarsus japonica rosea pendula); European weep- 

 ing ash (Fraxinus excelsior, var. pendula) , suitable for 

 training over an arbor; weeping Russian mulberry 

 (Morus alba, var. Tatarica pendula), a vigorous 

 grower; Babylonian or weeping willow (Salix 

 babylonica), a rapid grower preferring moist 

 locations. 



SOME GOOD SHRUBS 



The spring-flowering Thunberg's barberry (Ber- 

 ber is Thunbergii), has orange yellow blossoms which 

 give place to bright berries in the fall. The foliage 

 is coppery red in autumn. This variety is suitable 

 for a hedge. 



The sweet shrub (Calycanthus floridus) has frag- 

 rant chocolate-colored flowers. The wood is also 

 fragrant, and the foliage is a rich green. It blends 

 well in clumps of shrubs. 



Siebold's double-flowered cherry (Cerasus Sie- 

 boldii, var. plena) grows to be ten feet high. In 

 early spring semi-double flowers appear in great pro- 

 fusion. At first they are white, but later become 

 tinged with red. Suitable for use as a single 

 specimen. 



One of the best April-blooming shrubbery plants 

 is the Japanese rose (Corchorus 

 Japonica) . It grows to be eight 

 feet tall and bears deep yellow, 

 rose-like flowers an inch across. 

 In earliest spring appears the 

 scarlet Japan quince (Cydonia 

 Japonica). The fruit is worth- 

 less, but the shrub is a good one 

 for hedges. 



The rose-colored weigela 

 (Diervilla florida) has an 

 abundance of rose-colored 

 flowers in late spring. It grows 

 six feet tall and enlivens bor- 

 ders or serves well when scat- 

 tered among groups of trees. 



An all-season bloomer is the 

 coral tree (Erythrina crista- 

 galli). The flowers resemble 

 peas, but are much larger. 

 Their brilliant crimson color is 

 so striking that only one or two 

 of these 10-foot shrubs should 

 be used on one place, and this 

 should be among other shrubs, or in a more or less 

 open space. 



One of the earliest spring bloomers is the golden 

 bell (Forsythia suspensa), a drooping shrub with 

 golden, bell-shaped flowers. It produces a pleasing 

 result when a number of the 6-foot plants are used 

 along the margin of a group of foliage. 



Therose of Sharon (HibiscusSyriacus, var. bicolor) 

 produces its single white blossoms in summer. 

 It grows to a height of six feet. 



For a profusion of large blooms, nothing can 

 quite compare with the Japanese hydrangea 

 (Hydrangea hortensis), which flowers freely 11: 

 summer. The blossoms are rose-colored. It does 

 best in the cool coast climate. In the interior 

 valleys it requires shade until it becomes estab- 

 lished. The flowers of Hydrangea Otaksa, var. mon- 

 strosa are twelve to fifteen inches across. Al- 

 though only about four feet tall, this plant pro- 

 duces a profusion of pink blossoms all summer. 



One of the best hedges is the California privet 

 (Ligustrum ovalifolium). It grows to be twelve or 



(Continued on page 196) 



