Trees and Shrubs for English Gardens Part 29

_E. maweana._--This appears to be a fine variety of _E. ciliaris_, with larger leaves and flowers, even richer in colour and of st.u.r.dier growth.

It was discovered in Portugal some thirty years or so ago by Mr. George Maw, but has not become popular notwithstanding its beauty. It was obtained for the Kew collection from Messrs. Cunningham and Fraser, of Edinburgh, three or four years ago, and certainly promises to be a better grower there than _E. ciliaris_. The flowers are rich crimson and in large racemes.

_E. Watsoni._--This is a supposed natural hybrid between _E. ciliaris_ and _E. Tetralix_, and was first discovered near Truro by Mr. H. C.

Watson. It has rosy-crimson flowers produced in a flatter raceme than that of _E. ciliaris_. In this character and in other ways it is intermediate between the parents.

_E. Tetralix_ (the Cross-leaved Heath or Bell Heather).--This beautiful Heath grows on most of the moors and mountain-sides throughout the British Isles, being perhaps the most widely spread of all the true Ericas in this country. It is called the "Cross-leaved Heath" because of the arrangement of the leaves, which are in whorls of four. It is not very distinct in general appearance from _E. ciliaris_, being downy and hairy on its young slender leaves, &c. It differs, however, in the arrangement of the flowers, which are in a terminal umbel. The leaves of _E. ciliaris_ are usually in threes at each node, and, of course, its distribution in Britain is much more restricted than that of _E.

Tetralix_. There are other minor points of difference that need not be referred to here. The "Cross-leaved Heath" grows 1 to 1 feet high, and has bright rose-coloured flowers. There is a white-flowered variety (_alba_), and a very p.u.b.escent one named _mollis_.

_E. Mackaii._--This is so closely allied to _E. Tetralix_ that it is regarded merely as a variety by some authorities. It was first found in Galway in Ireland, between Roundstone Bay and Clifden. It has since proved to be a native also of Spain. It is a charming garden plant flowering from July to September. The leaves have the same right-angled arrangement as those of _E. Tetralix_, but the flower is shorter, broader, and of a paler rose.

_E. vagans_ (Cornish Heath).--This Heath is one of the most useful of dwarf evergreens, growing vigorously, especially when planted in good soil. I think, however, it flowers better and has more of the typical Heath character when in somewhat poor, sandy soil. In England it is almost or quite confined to Cornwall, but occurs also in Ireland and South-West Europe. It is especially valuable in the garden because it flowers late, beginning in July and keeping on until October. Its flowers are crowded in racemes 4 to 6 inches long, and they are pinkish purple in colour. The plants may be kept neater and more compact by removing the flowering portion of the shoots before growth recommences in the following spring. Left to themselves, especially in soil that is at all rich, the plants are apt to get straggling and unkempt.

_E. multiflora._--This belongs to the same type of Heath as _E. vagans_, the Cornish Heath, but differs in its more compact growth and shorter racemes of flowers. Although not so vigorous and showy, it may still be preferred for some situations. It is a neater plant, and its lower branches have not the same tendency to get sprawling and ungainly as _E.

vagans_. In other respects it is much like that species, the leaves being of similar shape and arrangement, and the flowers of a paler purple; the raceme, however, is only 2 inches or so long. _E.

multiflora_ is not found in Britain, but is a native of the country to the north of the Mediterranean Sea from France to Greece.

_Calluna vulgaris._--This has been named Erica (Heath), and may be appropriately included in this chapter on Heaths. It is the Common Heath of mountain and moor, is very closely allied to the true Heaths, and has given rise to many varieties. It likes a peaty or sandy soil, and is longer-lived and more profuse flowering under cultivation in poor rather than rich soil. It is very charming when grown in natural ma.s.ses in the wilder parts of the garden, and its value is all the greater because it flowers when almost all other shrubs are out of bloom, viz., from July to October. Numerous varieties are offered by the trade, amongst which the following are the most noteworthy, either for their beauty or for their distinctness: _Alba_ (white), _Alporti_ (crimson), _aurea_ (golden leaved), _tenuis_ (red), _pygmaea_, and _hypnoides_ (both dwarf).

_Daboecia polifolia_ (St. Dabeoc's Heath) is a lovely little shrub, a close relative of the Heaths, and found wild in the west of Ireland. It grows a little over 1 foot high, and bears bell-shaped flowers rather abundantly on erect terminal spikes. They are purple or white, and sometimes have both colours in one flower, and the plants continue to produce them from July or August till the frosts come. It is quite as plentiful as the dwarf Heaths. _Alba_ is a white variety. _Menziesia polifolia_ is its former name, and is still found under that t.i.tle in books.

The three most suitable Heaths for limestone are _Erica carnea_, _vagans_, and _mediterranea_.

CHAPTER XXIX

NATIVE AND OTHER HARDY EVERGREENS

Rambling about the country in winter, one becomes more and more impressed with the beauty of our native evergreen trees and shrubs.

Seven names comprise them all--Yew, Holly, Scotch Fir, Spruce, Juniper, Box, and Ivy. Even of these the Scotch and Spruce Firs (commonly so-called, though the Scotch is a Pine) are doubtful natives, though so long acclimatised that they may be cla.s.sed with our own. Those who are laying out new grounds on a large scale would do well to plant these grand things in plenty; indeed, in the case of any new planting that is taken in hand, unless the owner has a good knowledge of shrubs and some taste in their choice and disposition, a planting of these alone would save him from many a regrettable mistake, and from the prospect of the usual senseless jumble of mixed shrubbery that has hopelessly spoilt thousands of gardens.

No foreign shrubs can compare with or take the place of our Yews and Hollies. However large a collection of exotics may be in a well-stocked arboretum, a winter walk among them only shows that there is nothing more cheerfully handsome than our Hollies, or more solemnly dignified than our Yews. On dry, sandy soils no Conifer is better for England than the Scotch Fir; or for moist, loamy regions and valley bottoms none is better than the Spruce. Exception is sometimes taken to the Spruce; and when planted in other than the place it likes it is, indeed, a wretched object, as on dry and hilly grounds. But a ma.s.s of Common Spruce in a cool, alluvial bottom is a picture of well-being, and no one can deny their majesty on alpine hillsides. The Douglas Fir is sometimes recommended in its stead, but this beautiful and quick-growing tree must still be regarded as an experiment. There is not as yet a single old Douglas Fir, and there are some among our botanical experts who are yet in doubt whether, for all its young vigour, it will be a lasting tree for our country. For dry uplands in light soil there is the lovely Juniper, best of all its kind (though often in nurseries foreign ones only are offered to its exclusion), and for chalky soils and loams the Box luxuriates, and can be used as a small tree, as well as in its usual bush form.

The use of Common Ivy should not be forgotten. Tree or bush ivies are amongst the most beautiful and effective of winter plants, all flowering from October to January. A n.o.ble evergreen is the tree form of _Ivy amurensis_.

In Ireland we have the Arbutus _Unedo_, and _A. Andrachne_ is a tree once seen will always be remembered; its coloured bark is very beautiful.

IMPORTANCE OF A SUITABLE CLIMATE.--Evergreen shrubs luxuriate generally in the climate of the British Isles, especially in the southern and western counties, and const.i.tute one of the great glories of the English garden, delighting in these sea-bound islands, with their cool and moist atmosphere.

It has been established, therefore, that the evergreen seeks an equable climate, free from extremes of cold and heat, and with an even supply of moisture to both leaf and root, favouring in a marked degree the sea-coast with its salt-laden winds. As we travel south, so opportunities for growing an increasing variety of evergreen trees and shrubs become more apparent, until, in the south of Cornwall and the south-west of Ireland, things may be planted out with safety which towards the midlands and north would scarcely exist. But lat.i.tude is not everything, and easily proved so by the rude vigour of plants from New Zealand and the Himalayas that are happy in the north of Scotland, but failures in the midlands and further south of England, requiring the protection of gla.s.s to develop their characteristic beauty.

The place for the tender evergreens must be protected from dry north and east winds. Mr. Bean writes me: "One of the most striking examples I have met with of the importance of having a situation such as is described is the d.u.c.h.ess' garden at Belvoir Castle. Belvoir is in the eastern midlands, a district where the average temperature is certainly not high, and where, during my stay there, the thermometer fell on more than one occasion to zero (Fahr.). Yet in this particular spot (known as the d.u.c.h.ess' garden) there were fine specimens of Himalayan Rhododendrons--one of _R. Falconeri_ being especially noteworthy for the way it grew and flowered--an _Azara microphylla_, 16 feet high, and other similar examples. The explanation of these successes, I believe, is entirely in the situation and exposure of the garden. It was formed on the slope of a rather steep hill, and is in the shape of an amphitheatre opening freely to the south. The bitter 'north-easter'

loses much of its sting before it reaches the plants in this garden. In most gardens it is, of course, impossible to obtain sites so favourable as this. One has to make the best of what exists. But at the same time it shows the desirability, often the necessity, of choosing positions for the tenderer evergreens in which this need of shelter is satisfactorily met. Bamboos, Camellias, many Rhododendrons, Elaeagnus, all afford striking examples of the value of a shelter belt on the north and east sides." A cool, moist soil is generally necessary for evergreen shrubs, and we know this to be true from the distress shown by many kinds during a dry and parching summer.

THE TIME TO TRANSPLANT.--Early autumn, but much depends upon the previous weather. It often happens that evergreens cannot be lifted through a dry soil. The same trees after winter rains may be moved with ease and safety in April or May. An evergreen should be disturbed whilst the roots are active, and by doing this in September the shrub can establish itself before winter--hence the object of waiting until late spring, when autumn has been missed, as root growth has again begun.

Autumn is a season generally of much atmospheric moisture, grateful dews, and welcome rains. It is the season for planting in general, and seldom is the work seriously disturbed until Christmas is past. We have shifted many evergreens without one failure in April and quite late in May, but our anxieties are great when the life-giving rains refuse to refresh the earth. The spring of 1901 will never be forgotten as a season of dry winds and brilliant sunshine, without rain to temper the unfortunate conditions, and the result was a great loss amongst newly planted evergreens. Mr. Bean says: "Some evergreens can with reasonable care be moved with perfect safety at any time, except perhaps from July to September. Rhododendrons are an example. During the last ten years I have transplanted them in every month of the year, except July and August. Indeed, in the case of Rhododendrons and most evergreen ericaceous plants, the problems of transplanting scarcely arise, simply because the fine fibres hold the soil so completely that the root system can, with due care, be removed practically intact. For the same reasons, very careful transplanting, such as is practised with a transplanting machine, may also be done at almost any season.

"When the roots of large evergreen shrubs have been unavoidably damaged, it is often a good plan to remove a portion of the leafy branches. This helps to restore, in some measure, the balance between root and top. The shrub will frequently do this itself. Hollies, for instance, often lose a large proportion of their leaves after transplanting in spring; it is one of the surest signs of success, just as the _shrivelling_ of the leaves on the branches is the worst. Evergreen oaks also furnish other examples." A difference of opinion exists as to removing any of the leafy branches. A great authority writes me: "Keep on all the foliage you can. I have seen this succeed with large deciduous trees."

Remember that Evergreen oaks planted in late spring or in summer should receive a thorough soaking of water once, then no more until new growth begins. _Syringe freely three times a day in hot weather._ I once saw a yew hedge that had been planted in mid-winter, the wrong time; it was looking rather brown through exposure to March winds. The time I refer to (April) a man was pouring water into the roots and the result was that nearly all these fine plants died. Had he damped the foliage twice or thrice a day instead they would have all lived. It is important in the case of newly planted yew and holly hedges to protect by screens of spruce boughs secured to a hurdle or any other material suitable at hand to a.s.sist the plants until they have started into growth.

PRUNING.--This is a great advantage to all Evergreens in moderation; the majority, if left to their own will, become straggling in growth and unsightly.

Evergreens differ from deciduous plants in regard to time of pruning.

Most deciduous things may be pruned at any time between the fall of the leaf and the recommencement of growth in spring. But evergreens should never be pruned in late autumn or winter. For plants that are grown merely for foliage sake and not for the flowers, pruning should be done just as new growth is commencing. In the case of flowering shrubs like Rhododendron or Berberis it should be done as soon as the flowering season is past.

Rhododendrons are improved by pruning, but the pruner must know something of the varieties and their growth. _Berberis stenophylla_ gains in beauty by severe pruning, thinning out and cutting back after flowering is over. It helps the plant to make those long, drooping growths which are so beautiful in spring.

CLIMBING EVERGREENS.--One of the peculiarities of the evergreen cla.s.s of plants is the marked absence of climbing species in cool temperate countries--that is, true climbers, not, the numerous things that are made to do duty as such on walls. If one takes up a tree and shrub catalogue of even the best nurserymen, one is struck by the few evergreen climbers offered. In spite of the fact that the cool, temperate regions of the earth have been so thoroughly ransacked during the last century, no plant has ever been found that equals or even approaches in value the Common Ivy and its varieties for the special purposes for which they are adapted. The best that are available are the Jasmine, _Ercilla volubilis_ (_Bridgesia spicata_), Smilax, _Clematis calycina_, and tenderer things like Lardizabala and _Pa.s.siflora caerulea_.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _WEEPING HOLLY ON LAWN._]

Evergreens as a whole are much neglected in ordinary gardens. Instead of drawing upon the great wealth of shrubs available, so many go on using the same old things over and over again, generally Aucuba, Portugal and Cherry Laurels, _Rhododendron pontic.u.m_, and such like.

THE HOLLY is one of the most beautiful of all evergreen shrubs, and many varieties are not known, _Ilex Wilsoni_, for example, and _Laurifolia nova_ (_Camelliaefolia_) which is very distinct from the former. The best of the Hollies, _Hodginsii_ (syn. _Shepherdii_), _Marnockii_, _Hendersonii_, _platyphylla_, _fructu-luteo_ (yellow-berried), _Handsworthensis_, _Laurifolia_, _Maderensis atrovirens_, which are all green-leaved varieties. Of variegated varieties, very beautiful are Golden Queen and Silver Queen, Handsworth Silver, _Argentea marginata_, and Mme. Briot. _Watereriana_ (Waterer's dwarf golden) makes an excellent little bush, with smooth leaves blotched and edged with yellow.

THE BEST EVERGREENS.--The following is a representative list of the hardier species of evergreens which are considered most deserving of attention, and I have roughly grouped them according to their size.

Conifers are not included. There is, of course, considerable difference in the sizes to which evergreens attain, according to the climate in which they are growing. The grouping here is merely intended to give an approximate idea of their habit. Those marked with an asterisk (*) are the more tender ones, and although valuable in the southern and warmer parts of the country, have not been grown in the colder localities, or if so, against a wall.

(i.) TREES

Common Box and varieties, especially Handsworthensis, which is exceptionally hardy. The variety pendula is very handsome in the shrubbery and j.a.ponica aurea is one of the finest shrubs ever introduced for giving colour to the garden in winter. This plant should be pruned in spring to get the full rich colouring.

Common Holly and varieties, especially such superb varieties as, of the large-leaved varieties, Wilsoni, Mundyi, Shepherdi, Camelliaefolia (syn. latifolia) nova, Marnocki, Madeirensis, and Hendersoni. The best small-leaved sorts are Handsworthensis, tortuosa, ovata, crenata, crenata latifolia and Doningtonensis. Of variegated sorts choose Golden Queen, Compacta aurea, Marginata, Handsworth Silver, Argentea marginata and grandis.

*Magnolia grandiflora.

Quercus Ilex (Holm Oak), laurifolia and Fordi. The Fulham Oak, not quite evergreen, but a beautiful tree.

Yews (Taxus), Dovastoni, Dovastoni variegata, hibernica, hibernica aurea variegata, grandis, ericoides, cuspidata, elegantissima, laevigata, adpressa, and adpressa aurea variegata.

(ii.) TALL SHRUBS (say 8 feet or more high)

Arbutus hybrida and varieties.

,, Menziesii.

,, Unedo.

,, Andrachne, very fine.

*Azara microphylla.

Camellia j.a.ponica varieties.

Cotoneaster buxifolia, horizontalis (Davidii), microphylla, and angustifolia.

Crataegus Pyracantha, and the variety Laelandi.

*Laurus n.o.bilis (Sweet Bay), L. latifolius.

Ligustrum lucidum, j.a.ponic.u.m.

Prunus lusitanica (Portugal Laurel).

Prunus Laurocerasus (Common or Cherry Laurel).

Quercus acuta.