Part 6

As a street-tree the Maple is unexcelled. It is of rapid growth, entirely hardy anywhere at the north, requires very little attention in the way of pruning, is never troubled by insects, and has the merit of great cleanliness. It is equally valuable for the lawn. In fall, it changes its summer-green for purest gold, and is a thing of beauty until it loses its last leaf.

The Laurel-Leaved Willow is very desirable where quick results are wanted. Its branches frequently make a growth of five and six feet in a season. Its leaves are shaped like those of the European Laurel,--hence its specific name,--with a glossy, dark-green surface. It is probably the most rapid grower of all desirable lawn trees. Planted along the roadside it will be found far more satisfactory than the Lombardy Poplar which is grown so extensively, but which is never pleasing after the first few years of its life, because of its habit of dying off at the top.

The Box Elder (Ash-Leaved Maple) is another tree of very rapid growth. It has handsome light-green foliage, and a head of spreading and irregular shape when left to its own devices, but it can be made into quite a dignified tree with a little attention in the way of pruning. I like it best, however, when allowed to train itself, though this would not be satisfactory where the tree is planted along the street. It will grow anywhere, is hardy enough to stand the severest climate, and is of such rapid development that the first thing you know the little sapling you set out is large enough to bear seed.

I like the idea of giving each home a background of evergreens. This for two reasons--to bring out the distinctive features of the place more effectively than it is possible to without such a background, and to serve as a wind-break. If planted at the rear of the house, they answer an excellent purpose in shutting away the view of buildings that are seldom sightly. The best variety for home-use, all things considered, is the Norway Spruce. This grows to be a stately tree of pyramidal habit, perfect in form, with heavy, slightly pendulous branches from the ground up. Never touch it with the pruning-shears unless you want to spoil it. The Colorado Blue Spruce is another excellent variety for general planting, with rich, blue-green foliage. It is a free-grower, and perfectly hardy. The Douglas Spruce has foliage somewhat resembling that of the Hemlock. Its habit of growth is that of a cone, with light and graceful spreading branches that give it a much more open and airy effect than is found in other Spruces. The Hemlock Spruce is a most desirable variety for lawn use where a single specimen is wanted. Give it plenty of room in which to stretch out its slender, graceful branches and I think it will please you more than any other evergreen you can select.

It must not be inferred that the list of trees of which mention has been made includes all that are desirable for planting about the home. There are others of great merit, and many might prefer them to the kinds I have spoken of. I have made special mention of these because I know they will prove satisfactory under such conditions as ordinarily prevail about the home, therefore they are the kinds I would advise the amateur gardener to select in order to attain the highest degree of success. Give them good soil to grow in, and they will ask very little from you in the way of attention. They are trees that anybody can grow, therefore trees for everybody.

In planting a tree care must be taken to get it as deep in the ground as it was before it was taken from the nursery. If a little deeper no harm will be done.

Make the hole in which it is to be planted so large that all its roots can be spread out evenly and naturally.

Before putting it in place, go over its roots and cut off the ends of all that were severed in taking it up. Use a sharp knife in doing this, and make a clean, smooth cut. A callus will form readily if this is done, but not if the ends of the large roots are left in a ragged, mutilated condition.

When the trees are received from the nursery they will be wrapped in moss and straw, with burlap about the roots. Do not unpack them until you are ready to plant them. If you cannot do this as soon as they are received, put them in the cellar or some other cool, shady place, and pour a pailful of water over the wrapping about the roots. Never unpack them and leave their roots exposed to the air for any length of time. If they must be unpacked before planting, cover their roots with damp moss, wet burlap, old carpet, or blankets,--anything that will protect them from the air and from drying out. But--get them into the ground as soon as possible.

When the tree is in the hole made for it, cover the roots with fine soil, and then settle this down among the roots by jarring the trunk, or by churning the tree up and down carefully. After doing this, and securing a covering for all the roots, apply a pailful or two of water to firm the soil well. I find this more effective than firming the soil with the foot, as it prevents the possibility of loose planting.

Then fill the hole with soil, and apply three or four inches of coarse manure from the barnyard to serve as a mulch. This keeps the soil moist, which is an important item, especially if the season happens to be a dry one. If barnyard manure is not obtainable, use leaves, or grass-clippings--anything that will shade the soil and retain moisture well.

Where shall we plant our trees?

This question is one that we often find it difficult to answer, because we are not familiar enough with them to know much about the effect they will give after a few years' development. Before deciding on a location for them I would advise the home-maker to look about him until he finds places where the kinds he proposes to use are growing. Then study the effect that is given by them under conditions similar to those which prevail on your own grounds. Make a mental transfer of them to the place in which you intend to use them. This you can do with the exercise of a little imagination. When you see them growing on your own grounds, as you can with the mind's eye, you can tell pretty nearly where they ought to be planted. You will get more benefit from object-lessons of this kind than from books.

On small grounds I would advise keeping them well to the sides of the house. If any are planted in front of the house they will be more satisfactory if placed nearer the street than the house. They should never be near enough to the dwelling to shade it. Sunshine about the house is necessary to health as well as cheerfulness.

Trees back of the dwelling are always pleasing. Under no circumstances plant them in prim rows, or just so many feet apart. This applies to all grounds, large or small, immediately about the house. But if the place is large enough to admit of a driveway, a row of evergreens on each side of it can be made an attractive feature.

The reader will understand from what I have said that no hard-and-fast rules as to where to plant one's trees can be laid down, because of the wide difference of conditions under which the planting must be made. Each home-owner must decide this matter for himself, but I would urge that no decision be made without first familiarizing yourself with the effect of whatever trees you select as you can see them growing on the grounds of your neighbors.

Do not make the mistake of planting so thickly that a jungle will result after a few years. In order to do itself justice, each tree must have space enough about it, on all sides, to enable it to display its charms fully. This no tree can do when crowded in among others. One or two fine large trees with plenty of elbow-room about them will afford vastly more satisfaction than a dozen trees that dispute the space with each other. Here again is proof of what I have said many times in this book, that quality is what pleases rather than quantity.

If any trees are planted in front of the house, choose kinds having a high head, so that there will be no obstruction of the outlook from the dwelling.

SHRUBS

Every yard ought to have its quota of shrubs. They give to it a charm which nothing else in the plant-line can supply, because they have a greater dignity than the perennial and the annual plant, on account of size, and the fact that they are good for many years, with very little care, recommends them to the home-maker who cannot give a great deal of attention to the garden and the home-grounds. It hardly seems necessary to say anything about their beauty. That is one of the things that "goes without saying," among those who see, each spring, the glory of the Lilacs and the Spireas, and other shrubs which find a place in "everybody's garden." On very small ground the larger-growing shrubs take the place of trees quite satisfactorily. Indeed, they are preferable there, because they are not likely to outgrow the limits assigned them, as trees will in time, and they do not make shade enough to bring about the unsanitary conditions which are almost always found to exist in small places where trees, planted too thickly at first, have made a strong development. Shade is a pleasing feature of a place in summer, but there is such a thing as having too much of it. We frequently see places in which the dwelling is almost entirely hidden by a thicket of trees, and examination will be pretty sure to show that the house is damp, and the occupants of it unhealthy. Look at the roof and you will be quite sure to find the shingles covered with green moss. The only remedy for such a condition of things is the thinning out or removal of some of the trees, and the admission of sunlight. Shrubs can never be charged with producing such a state of things, hence my preference for them on lots where there is not much room. Vines can be used upon the walls of the dwelling and about the verandas and porches in such a way as to give all the shade that is needed, and, with a few really fine specimens of shrubs scattered about the grounds, trees will not be likely to be missed much.

I would not be understood as discouraging the planting of trees on grounds where there is ample space for their development. A fine tree is one of the most beautiful things in the world, but it must be given a good deal of room, and that is just what cannot be done on the small city or village lot. Another argument in favor of shrubs is--they will be in their prime a few years after planting, while a tree must have years to grow in. And a shrub generally affords considerable pleasure from the start, as it will bloom when very small. Many of them bloom the first season.

In locating shrubs do not make the mistake of putting them between the house and the street, unless for the express purpose of shutting out something unsightly either of buildings or thoroughfare. A small lawn loses its dignity when broken up by trees, shrubs, or flower-beds. Left to itself it imparts a sense of breadth and distance which will make it seem larger than it really is. Plant things all over it and this effect is destroyed. I have said this same thing in other chapters of this book, and I repeat it with a desire to so impress the fact upon the mind of the home-maker that he cannot forget it, and make the common mistake of locating his shrubbery or his flower-gardens in the front yard.

The best location for shrubs on small lots is that which I have advised for hardy plants--along the sides of the lot, or at the rear of it, far enough away from the dwelling, if space will permit, to serve as a background for it. Of course no hard-and-fast rule can be laid down, because lots differ so widely in size and shape, and the houses we build on them are seldom found twice in the same place. I am simply advising in a general way, and the advice will have to be modified to suit the conditions which exist about each home.

Do not set your shrubs out after any formal fashion--just so far apart, and in straight rows--as so many do. Formality should be avoided whenever possible.

I think you will find the majority of them most satisfactory when grouped. That is, several of a kind--or at least of kinds that harmonize in general effect--planted so close together that, when well developed, they form one large mass of branches and foliage. I do not mean, by this, that they should be crowded. Give each one ample space to develop in, but let them be near enough to touch, after a little.

If it is proposed to use different kinds in groups, one must make sure that he understand the habit of each, or results will be likely to be most unsatisfactory. The larger-growing kinds must be given the centre or the rear of the group, with smaller kinds at the sides, or in front. The season of flowering and the peculiarities of branch and foliage should also be given due consideration. If we were to plant a Lilac with its stiff and rather formal habit among a lot of Spireas, all slender grace and delicate foliage, the effect would be far from pleasing. The two shrubs have nothing in common, except beauty, and that is so dissimilar that it cannot be made to harmonize. There must be a general harmony. This does not mean that there may not be plenty of contrast. Contrast and harmony are not contradictory terms, as some may think.

Therefore read up in the catalogues about the shrubs you propose to make use of before you give them a permanent place in the yard.

Also, take a look ahead.