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Larger Trees: In a rustic garden the trees should be fruit trees wherever possible, or at least blossom trees of some kind. Apples, pears, plums, and cherries will all help to create the right atmosphere, as will nut trees such as hazel or almond. If there is space for a large tree, a Walnut might do.
The redwood requires little of the soil except that it be moist, and those trees in a gully or along a creek are larger trees than their neighbors on the ridges. It is, however, so dependent on moisture of the air that this factor mainly or wholly determines its distribution, and the eastern limits of the forests are determined by the distance inland to which the sea fogs may drift.
The enemies of the redwood are few, and it suffers from them less than other trees. The wind can scarcely uproot it, insects do it little harm, and fungi seldom affect it. Even fire, though it may occasionally kill whole stands of young redwood growth, is unable to penetrate the fireproof sheathing of shaggy bark with which the old trees protect themselves. A large area of redwood forest in Santa Cruz County has been reserved as a national forest-park.
On the other hand there is no point in becoming so sentimental that-decrepit, dangerous or otherwise unsuitable examples are kept even though they interfere with amenities and perhaps with the growth of sturdy young trees. Think long before you remove a tree. Consider well before you plant one. Poor choice or poor location becomes more difficult to remedy with every passing year.
When we speak of shade trees we refer to larger trees types that either .naturally or through careful pruning may have their lower branches sufficiently high to walk or sit under. They may be evergreen or deciduous. Of the former we usually include only broad-leaved kinds, such as evergreen oaks and magnolias, omitting conifers (needle-leaved kinds) such as pines, spruces, firs and hemlocks. Evergreen shade trees are adaptable for planting in mild climates only. |
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