CONIFERS. 



A CORNER OF THE GARDEN, BLICKLI!\G. NORFOLK. 



requires a fairly moist soil, otherwise the foliage becomes 

 browned. 



Spruce. — W Abies. 



Taxodium distiehum (Deciduo-.s Cypress). — Remark- 

 able as one of the deciduous members ol the Coniferce ; 

 it forms a highly ornamental tree. When young it is 

 more or less of a pyramid, but as ii grows up the top 

 branches lengthen and it usually forms a spreading head. 

 The pinnate leaves are of a beautiful light green, 

 changing to a reddish hue in the autumn before they 

 drop. The deciduous Cypress needs a very moist soil ; 

 indeed, it will succeed in quite a swamp. 



TaxilS baeeata (the Common Yew). — The Yew is a 

 native of this country, and apart from its value as an 

 ornamental tree it may be cut and trimmed into almost 

 any shape, so that it is largely planted to form hedges 

 and for the formation of different figures. The varieties 

 are almost innumerable, some of them being grown in 

 many gardens. The most distinct are aurea, young 

 growth golden yellow; Dovastoni, the main branches 

 spread horizontally, and the minor ones are pendulous ; 

 elegantissima, leaves striped with yellow ; ericoides, a 

 little bush with tiny leaves; fastigiata (the Irish Yew ), a 

 well-known upright-growing kind ; fastigiata aurea, a 

 golden-leaved form of the last ; fructo-luteo, with yellow 

 berries; nigra, with peculiar blackish blue leaves. 

 Doubtless few, if any, shrubs are more frequently 

 seen in gardens than the Yew in one or other ol its 

 forms, Its wonderfully vigorous growth is responsible 

 for the indifference it displays to cutting in either to form 

 a hedge or to create figures, this constituting what is 

 known as topiary work. This is, of course, a misuse of 

 a beautiful Conifer, so deep and sombre in colour and 

 picturesque in growth. Noble trees are the chief 

 features of interest in many an English garden, trees that 

 have braved the storms of a thousand years, and some- 

 times, as at Cherkley Court, near Leatherhead, planted in 

 immense groves, an imposing picture, and the growth is 

 so dense that neither snow nor yet rain can scarce pierce 

 the thick deep green branches. And, too, in many a 

 hallowed acre the Yew is precious, touching with 

 beautiful colour the surrounding scene, and picturesque in 

 its old age. One has yet to see the Yew well placed in 



gardens. It is not a tree merely to cut into fantastic 

 shapes or to grow as a hedge, but beautiful in itself, 

 sufficiently so surely to group simplv in the pleasure 

 ground, or to form a shelter. One might write many 

 pages concerning this noble evergreen Conifer, of its 

 value to form an arbour, and so forth, but this is impos- 

 sible in the space at command. The Yew should be 

 raised from seed, and purchasers should ask for seedling 

 plants, particularly of the line golden variety, which, 

 when true to name, is very handsome, a pure golden 

 colour, which is retained. It is wrong, however, 

 to use this golden-leaved shrub too freely, and never 

 dot it about, as this simply results in a spotty effect, 

 decidedly unpleasant, but its appearance is welcome 

 when masses are formed. In the Kew hand list no 

 fewer than thirty varieties of Taxus baccata are 

 mentioned. 



Thllja gigantea. — The most beautiful of all the Thujas 

 or American Arborvities, and one that is frequently met 

 with under the name of Thuja Lobbii. Its habit is 

 generally that of a narrow cone, with densely arranged 

 frond-like branches of a rich bright green, which is 

 retained throughout the winter. 



T. dolabrata. — From its early stages to a height ol 12ft. 

 to iSlt. this Japanese tree is very beautiful, but after that 

 it frequently gets bare at the base, and much of its beauty 

 is lost. In its young state it often forms a perfect 

 pyramid, whose lowermost branches trail 011 the ground. 

 1 he branchlets are almost Fern-like, deep green above 

 and glaucous beneath, while they are coarser in texture 

 than their near allies the Thujas. There is a variety, 

 ketevirens, a little dense bush of a bright green hue ; and 

 variegata, some of whose leaves are variegated with 

 w hite. 



T. Lobbi. — This is an important garden shrub, and one of 

 the best known ol all Conifers ; its variety aurea is 

 distinct. T. gigantea is the same. 



T. OCeideiltaliS. — This, the common American Arbor- 

 vitse. is a loose-growing tree of a broadly pyramidal shape ; 

 its foliage is of a bronzy green during the growing season, 

 and becomes browner in winter. In a moist soil it forms 

 a decidedly ornamental specimen, but will not thrive 

 where dry. It is a good screen or hedge plant. The 



