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Growing Trees: Unless you have enough ground to form a small arboretum, trees must of necessity be regarded as background or framework plants. Because trees are so important, they should be chosen carefully and positioned strategically. For a small garden, choose smaller trees, with the emphasis on those that are relatively slow growing trees. If there are established trees in the garden, try to make use of them, as nothing gives a greater sense of maturity.
Not only do these provide interesting contrasts of foliage texture and color throughout the year, they also act as a foil for many deciduous shrubs.
Trees. The climate is highly favorable to the growth of trees; originally most of the land below 1,000 feet (300 meters) must have been covered with forest, but now the area of useful timber is only a small fraction of the whole. Birch and pine were the first trees to creep back after the end of the ice age, followed by the more characteristic deciduous trees. The hard but slow-growing trees oak is found over most of the islands, while the beech favors the chalky lands of the south. The elm and the ash will grow in most parts; they flourish, self-sown, in the hedges that surround most English fields and are perhaps the most characteristic feature of the countryside.
Grass, growing trees in the shade of trees and shrubs, has to compete with them for food as well as moisture. Relieve the pressure of this competition by providing for the needs of the trees and shrubs as •well as the grass. Fertilize the lawn regularly and also the trees and shrubs. So far as possible, place the fertilizer intended especially for the trees and shrubs deep in the soil so that their roots are encouraged to strike downward. This may be done by using the method described below. Fertilizer intended primarily for the grass is applied at the surface. |
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