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THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



1513 



greens in front of houses, at entrances, and 

 in the parks. Here again the favorites 

 are retinisporas and fancy kinds of arbor- 

 vitae. Nothing could be more symmetrical 

 or brilliant while these plants are young, 

 but do you and your heirs wish to renew 

 them every five or ten years? They will 

 till your garden with color the moment 

 they are planted, and color is appropriate 

 in a young garden. Also they last longer 

 than many Bowers. But the older you grow 

 the less stress you lay on color and the more 

 you value dignity, permanence, ease of 

 maintenance. Then you will come to love 

 the long-lived set, e. g. 



Trailing yew, or ground hemlock (Taxus Cana- 

 densis). 



Japanese yew ( Taxus cuspidata and var. brcvifolia). 



Canadian juniper (Jaiiipcrus communis, var. 

 Canadensis). 



Procumbent Chinese juniper (J. Cliincnsis, var. 

 procumbens). 



Mugho pine (Pinus montana, var. Mughus). 



The list is small but I cannot conscien- 

 tiously increase it. Perhaps the nursery- 

 men will some day add a dwarf fir, spruce, 

 and hemlock, and arborvitae that are long- 

 lived under ordinary conditions. 



EVERGREENS FOR DECORATIVE EFFECT 



By "decorative" we mean symmetrical, 

 formal, architectural. The larger a garden, 



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The hemlock is the best native counterpart of the 

 yew hedge of the Old World 



the greater the need for evergreens in re- 

 ceptacles of the same material and color 

 as the house, so as to connect house and 

 gardens. Also, the greater the need for 

 evergreens trimmed in geometrical shapes, 

 e. g. dome, pyramid, cube, pillar, globe, etc. 

 To select such material it is necessary to 

 visit a large nursery, but amid its distrac- 

 tions it is well to keep firmly in mind the 

 following principles. 



The less trimming there is to do every 

 year the better. It is more artistic and 

 economical to select plants that naturally 



approximate a dome or pillar, and trim 

 them little or not at all. Thus you get 

 rich modelling and the appearance of age, 

 instead of stiffness. 



Choose only simple forms. Fantastic 

 forms, e. g. birds, fish, men, etc., suggest 

 the grotesque, ludicrous, extravagant. The 

 Hunnewell Italian garden is the oldest 

 example of topiary work in America. 

 Nothing more elaborate than that is needed 

 in America. 



People of wealth let their enthusiasm 

 for such things run away with them. A 

 garden filled with pairs and quartets of 

 plants in tubs suggests extravagance and 

 makes what is called a "checkerboard" or 

 "chessboard garden." 



And, do not forget the picturesque, little 

 Japanese evergreens in jars and vases. 

 Possibly you need something of the sort 

 on the garden wall, steps, verandah or 

 terrace. 



Finally there is another class of ever- 

 greens, viz., the broad-leaved kinds, such 

 as box, rhododendrons, laurel, and holly. 

 These plants are even more sumptuous and 

 costly, as a rule, than conifers, because many 

 of them produce gorgeous flowers or bril- 

 liant fruit. But they generally require 

 special soil and other conditions. There- 

 fore we have left these to be treated at 

 some other time. 



Hunnewell place at Wellesley. Mass.. showing at the left the short-leaved variety of Japanese yew (Taxus cuspidata. var. brcvifolia). The English yew is not 

 hardy in New England gardens, and the Japanese yew promises to be the longest lived and most valuable evergreen 



