36 
HO USE & GARDEN 
evergreens which you find pleasing on the 
places you visit, or pass by the roadside. 
If you can, visit a nursery, and make your¬ 
self familiar with the coloring, the habit 
of growth, and the general effect of the 
different things available for your locality. 
Above all, in planning your evergreen 
planting, keep in your mind's eye con¬ 
stantly the place as a whole. If you do 
visit a nursery—and that is by far the best 
way to pick out your plants—do not permit 
yourself to be carried away by the beauty 
of individual specimens, reserving “this,” 
and “that,” and “the one over there,” re¬ 
gardless of where you may have to put 
them when they are delivered. If at all 
possible, reserve your buying until a sec¬ 
ond visit, after you have had a chance to 
fit the things you think you like into the 
frame which you have at home in your 
place. Another mistake to be avoided is 
that of selecting at least one specimen of 
about everything there is to be had. Use 
a few varieties in generous numbers. 
When it comes to the placing of ever¬ 
greens there always seems to be much 
more of a temptation to the planter to vio¬ 
late that safe old rule to “keep an open 
center” than is the case with shrubs and 
trees. Very frequently one sees a place 
otherwise well planned on which ever¬ 
greens, dwarf or half grown specimens of 
large kinds, have been scattered about as 
though they had been located by the 
method, sometimes advocated in naturaliz¬ 
ing bulbs, of throwing stones from a pail 
and planting where they fall! In general, 
evergreens should be kept to the boundary 
lines, the taller of course being at the back. 
Planting Arrangement 
But the greatest caution should be used 
to avoid a stiff, ungrateful effect. Do not 
plant in straight rows, at uniform distances, 
or in a continuous “border” unless you wish 
a semi-formal screen or windbreak, or a 
formal hedge. Let there be projections or 
groups running out into the lawn. If the 
As a general rule, evergreens should he kept to 
the boundary lines, the taller sorts at the back 
grounds are extensive, use occasional 
isolated groups, so placed that they 
will “frame” instead of cutting off 
the view from porch or living-room, 
or other points of observation. The 
dwarfer sorts are especially valuable 
for massing about the bases of houses, 
against stone or brickwork particu¬ 
larly. But here again resist the temp¬ 
tation to plant a little of everything. 
The dwarf thuyas (or arborvitae), 
junipers and retinosporas are most 
suitable for such conditions. As 
such planting is frequently to be done 
on the sheltered side of the house, 
varieties which are not perfectly 
hardy for lawns can be used thus. 
Hedges and Single Specimens 
The evergreens are not used for 
tall hedges nearly so much as they de¬ 
serve to be. This is due partly to 
the fact that there are other things 
which are less expensive in first cost. 
Another reason is that many persons 
do not seem to realize that most of 
the evergreens lend themselves to 
pruning into a uniform hedge as well 
as the things which are commonly 
so used, and also that the pruning 
results in a much more dense growth 
than the tree would ordinarily form, 
making a dense, effective hedge, as 
well as a very hardy one. If you have been 
looking for something which would make 
a tall, dense and beautiful hedge and wind¬ 
break for the windy exposure of your 
vegetable garden, advancing it a week or 
so in season in the spring; or if you want 
something that will make an effective wind 
protection to the north or northwest of 
the place, or a hedge high enough to secure 
privacy along a driveway or screen off 
completely some part of the place, try one 
of the taller evergreens, such as spruce or 
arborvitae, planted close and kept pruned 
to the desired form and size. 
Where single specimens which will grow 
to a dignified and imposing appear¬ 
ance are desired, one of the standard 
varieties of pine, fir, spruce or hem¬ 
lock, is most likely to prove satisfac¬ 
tory. The various blue and silver 
spruces are beautiful in the extreme. 
The hemlocks as a class are more 
graceful, and really deserve more 
recognition than they get. The pines 
are very rapid growers. For some 
classes of work they have two dis¬ 
tinct advantages: they are less regu¬ 
lar in growth, and lend themselves 
more harmoniously to the “pictur¬ 
esque’’ type of landscape; and as they 
are, after reaching early maturity, 
still beautiful without the lower 
branches, they are especially valuable 
where evergreens may be wanted 
which will not shade the ground at 
their base. A small grove of pines 
planted irregularly and rather close 
will in a few years have shot up to a 
considerable height, the lower 
branches dying off as they begin to 
crowd, and the ground gradually be¬ 
coming matted with the fallen nee¬ 
dles, which will prove the most popu¬ 
lar spot on the whole place during 
summer weather. Such a haven of 
shade and comfort and fragrance is 
well worth planning and waiting a 
few years to achieve and enjoy. 
There are places where a certain formality 
of line is permissible in evergreen planting 
In buying your evergreens, as I have 
already said, the best plan is to visit a 
nursery in person. While trees may be 
reliably listed as to size and height, there 
is great variation in the shapeliness and 
symmetry of the individual specimens, and 
these qualities are really much more im¬ 
portant than the former. A season’s 
growth may make up a few inches in 
height; but a tree which is not shapely at 
planting time is likely never to become so 
to the end of its days. The best formed 
specimens cost more; but a tree of this 
sort is usually a life-long investment, and 
the difference of a dollar or two in the 
purchase price should not be allowed to 
mar your permanent satisfaction. 
Planting Time 
In the Middle and Northern states very 
early fall is usually the best time for trans¬ 
planting. While evergreens from the wild 
need exceedingly careful handling, those 
from any good nursery will have a more 
fibrous mass of roots, securely wrapped 
and packed, and with ordinarily intelligent 
treatment the losses should be practically 
nothing. If you have occasion to take up 
any trees yourself, secure as much soil as 
possible, and wrap the roots and soil in 
burlap, preferably wet, as the tree is lifted. 
In preparing for the setting out, have all 
holes ready in advance of receiving the 
stock, so that it may be set immediately on 
arrival. The holes should be much larger 
than would be necessary merely to take 
the roots, and the soil at the sides and the 
bottom loosened with a pick. In hard soil 
a light charge of dynamite—one-fourth to 
one-half a stick—should be used to loosen 
up the subsoil. Use a few shovelfuls of 
thoroughly rotted manure to mix with the 
soil in each hole, and a few handfuls of 
coarse bone. Plant firmly, ramming the 
soil about the roots; use plenty of water if 
the soil is dry. It is best to protect each 
tree for a season or so with a low band of 
stiff wire netting. 
