TREES AND SHRUBS IN GARDEN AND WOODLAND, 



377 



then; Indeed, it is the big deciduous trees that should predominate in the garden landscape, 

 and not, as occasionally happens, the sombre hues of Spruce and Fir. One admires the 

 tender, delicate grace of the Birch and Willow, the gaunt, rugged strength of the Oak, and 

 the wonderfully fretted outline of the Elm, standing out in every detail against the sky. The 

 one element of beauty we miss then is that of colour ; but there are trees and shrubs even in 

 November to brighten the garden with their bark- and fruits. These are not used so 

 extensively as they might be, though the beauty of the silvery trunks of the Birch has 

 not been overlooked by planters. But there are several trees and shrubs equally telling 

 in the colour effects they produce in the short winter days. The Canoe Birch (Betula 

 papyrifera) exceeds even our native species in the clear whiteness of its bark'. Other 

 trees that have warmer colours are the red and yellow harked varieties of Salix vitellina. A 

 striking Willow, too, is Salix daphnoides, its bark- in winter becoming a blue-white colour. 

 These Willows when grown for colour effects should be planted in masses and pruned 

 hud every year, early in March. The white-stemmed Brambles are particularly striking 

 from October onwards. There are several of them, but by far the best is Rubus bitlorus, 

 o ten to be had from dealers under the erroneous name of R. leucodermis. Then there 

 are the Cornus with red and yellow stems, and the Kerrias with their bright green bark'. 

 It is scarcely necessary to repeat how essential it is that all these shrubs should be 

 planted in bold informal groups. The Willows mentioned ate especially charming near the 

 water's edge. 



Trees and Shrubs with Fine Fruits. — Turning to the trees and shrubs with 

 ornamental fruits, it is unfor- 

 tunate that many of the finest 

 (like most of the Thorns) 

 lose their fruits before winter. 

 Birds, too, play havoc with 

 many of them, especially in 

 hard weather. Still, the 

 following are worthy of men- 

 tion in this connection : Sea- 

 Buckthorn (Hippoplue rham 

 noides), with orange berries 

 crowding the branches — to 

 obtain fruits plants of both 

 sexes have to be grown ; 

 Cotoneaster t o m en t o s a , 

 scarlet, the best of the genus 

 remaining in tine condition 

 till March ; Hollies, especially 

 the yellow-berried one ; the 

 Snowberry (Symphoricarpus 

 racemosus), white; Crataegus 

 Pyracantha and Laelandi, 

 whose scarlet fruits must be 

 protect e d fro m b i r d s ; 

 Crataegus Crus-Galli and its 

 several varieties retain their 

 scarlet haws for a long time. 

 Against a sunny wall, with 

 restricted root space, Vitis 



heterophylla and the Hop- silver fir, abies nobilis. 



