HICKS NURSERIES. WESTBURY, L. I. 



PLANTS FOR FORMAL GARDENS 



Dome Privet at Town Hall, Manhasset, Long Island. These 

 have much the same effect as Boxwood. Close and frequent 

 pruning results in a dense growth of small leaves, com- 

 pactly arranged. 



DOMES 



Under this term we list plants trained more or less in 

 the shape of a hemisphere. 



Boxwood, Bush Form. These naturally make a 

 dome with little or no pruning. For description of Bush 

 Form Boxwood see page 52. 



Ibota Priveto This is the Privet that never winter- 

 kills. It has dark green compact foliage and is very satis- 

 factory for topiary work. It is hardy as far north as 

 Canada. Our plants have been repeatedly cut back so 

 that they are very broad and thick. Of course, they can 

 be allowed to grow up without trimming and make 

 natural-form bushes which will be very broad and hand- 

 some. 



California Privet. Near the seashore, from Long 

 Island southward, California Privet has been more satis- 

 factorily planted than anything else. Its texture is so 

 rich and glossy that other plants suffer in comparison. 

 Only a few have become tired of the monotonous land- 

 scapes produced by its almost exclusive use. In irregular 

 shrubberies it has been customary to trim it to a dome to 

 prevent it from getting beyond bounds and to prevent 

 its blooming and thus avoid the disagreeable odor of the 

 flowers. For formal use the domes are appropriate. They 

 quickly reach mature size and soon repair any defects in 

 their outline. 



Cedar. As a result of pruning, the foliage is dense and 

 dark green. We advise those having fields of small Cedars 

 to trim them to this form and move them into their 

 gardens. The supply in nurseries is small. 



Dwarf Arborvitse. See also page 24. The Booth's, 

 Globosa and other varieties make compact little domes, 

 I to 3 feet high, suitable for planting as single specimens 

 as well as in beds of evergreens. They will keep the 

 best appearance if clipped annually and well fed. 



Mugho Pine. See also page 31. This naturally makes 

 a dome of from 4 to 8 feet high and 6 to 12 feet broad 

 It can be kept to an exact and dense outline by pruning 

 in May; the new shoots then make numerous buds, re- 

 sulting in a dense growth the next year. If cut back in 

 the late summer, these new buds do not form and the 

 growth is not as dense. The time of the year for clipping 



Spruce, Arborvitae and other evergreens is not as import- 

 ant as with the Pines, because they do not produce extra 

 buds when cut. 



Retinispora. See also page 32. The Retinispora 

 plumosa, R. phimosa aurea, and R. squarrosa are usually 

 trained to ovate outline about equal in height and spread. 

 They can be used at intervals for formal planting, but they 

 do not like to stand alone, unless in a sheltered place. 

 There is a refinement about the Retinisporas not possessed 

 by other evergreens of like nature, and the brilliancy of 

 the foliage of the Retinispora squarrosa makes it particu- 

 larly desirable for use in the adornment of the home 

 grounds. 



Dwarf Norway Spruce. See also page 34. The Max- 

 well's and Gregory's varieties make very dense, flattened 

 domes about 1^2 feet high and 4 feet wide in about ten 

 years if planted when 10 inches high. 



Other Spruces, such as the White Spruce, may be trained 

 to a dome shape, as they successfully withstand any 

 amount of pruning or shearing. 



Dwarf Japanese Yew. See also page 36. The Taxus 

 cuspidata, variety brevifolia, naturally makes an irregular, 

 spreading plant about i}4 feet high and 4 feet wide. By 

 repeated clipping, it can be kept to a dome shape. This 

 species is very variable, and there will undoubtedly be 

 varieties on the market later that will keep a symmetrical 

 dome shape. 



Spreading Yew. See also page 36. Taxus repandens 

 naturally makes a dome about i }4 feet high and twice as 

 broad. As it gets older, it spreads more widely and 

 becomes a tumbling mass of foliage. 



Golden English Yew. We have about twenty-five 

 plants twenty years old, having much the form and tex- 

 ture of old Boxwood. In June the new foliage has a golden 

 variegation. In winter the plants are dark green. These 

 should decorate some old-fashioned garden or be used to 

 mass against a wall. An offer of rare opportunity to get 

 plants of mature appearance. 



These arches are placed six feet apart, but they are trained 

 so that they can cover a walk twelve feet wide 



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