The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1921-12-21

1t is impossible to exhaust the
planting possibilities and the usual
fault III street garden. and park
planting is in the selection of too
trees planted by private property
owners are unsuited for the pur-
pose both from the standpoint of
beauty and sanitation. China
berries. mulberries, hackberries.
ailanthus. poplars, both Carolina
and Lombardy. all the naples, and
lecusts. are good in their places
but arc never good on the avenues
where water or sewer pipes are
laid or where artistic effects arc de-
sired.
The most beautiful streets and
avenues in the world are those on
which all the trees arc Of one Va
riety. In (, recent survey and cen
suS of forty-eiSht miles Of trees.
about $500 in all Ctherc should
have been $1,000, there were thirty
five kinds listed Of which only eight
species were desirable for the pur-
pose and this list will cover the
most satisfactory street shade trees
for the southern states-perhaps Il
few more for the Florida and low
er Gulf Coast regions.
Of these. the oaks are first for
strength, endurance and beauty.
The pin oak, Quercus palustris.
the willow oak, Qucrcus phelIos.
and the red oak, Qucrcus rubra.
are more symmetrical, satisfac-
tory and longer-lived than the wa
ter and white oaks. The water oak
is very susceptible to decay. Wounds
Of the same character made by
hnemen on willow and pin oaks
without undue damage have caused
overwhelming decay in tho water
oaks. Restriction of the planting
of street trees to the above named
oaks, and to the elm, Clmus Amer
icana; the maidenhair fern tree.
Ginkgo 5iloba, Or Salisburia adam
tifolia: the sycamore, Platanus occi-
dentalis; pecan. Hicoria pecan; and
the baswood, the American linden.
Tilia Americana. with all the trees
of the same variety on each street.
Will in time to come give to our
cities. avenues of unsurpassed lux
uriance and beauty.
The evergreen oaks, Darlington:
Quercus laurifolia, and Quercus
Virginiana, the live oak, with oth-
cr evergreen trees are much favor
ed for street planting in t. iower
sections of the south. The heavy
snow and sleet Of last winter was.
very disastrous in its effects on
large trees were utter
ly ruined by the breaking of the
branches. They She Id not be
planted for shade trees unless the
streets are very, very wide. They
are most attractive in their Win
ter dress Of green but arc sombcr';
and winter sunshine is better than
shade. and the evergreen trees
should be reserved for the parks
and to frame buildings and wher-
ever screens are needed to shut out
uusightlT views.
All buildings should have foun-
dation paintings in which ever
greens, prefer& oily theb road-leaved
c S, predominate. There
should be an intermingiing Of de-
cidouous shrubs to give color and
blossom through the year. Ligus
trums: iucidum, pepalcnsc, qui-
hioi, japonicum; pittosporum to-
bira: abelia -grandiflora: with
spireas: Thunbergii, Van Houttei,
Callosa, Billardi. Bu-
nadia, altheas: forsythias: cy-
donias; exochordas; deutzias: make
up range Of paintings that prac-
ticaHy fills all the needs for the
beds around buildings
and for foundation lines.
The coniterous evergrcens nee
essary for accent and height and
for specimen trees on tie lawns are
so varied as to make our choice en-
barrassing. Biotas. Thuyas. jt,li-
pers, cedars, expresses, retinisporas,
reckoned as material governed only
by the purse and the taste Of the
planter.
A park is beautiful if there are
only stately trees. set in smooth
shaven lawns and every open
space in a city should be so planted
in grass and trees, and kept clean
and we1l-cared for. One park. at
feast, should be more than we'll
shaded lawns with graveled codrts
on which the children can play.
There should be shrubbcry beds
with many varieties Of native and
foreign shrubs. There should be
many and different kinds OF trees.
evergreen, coniferous
and deciduous.
There should be many broad and
colorful masses Of flowers to please
the eye. distract the mind and rest
the soul. Not necessarily eXpen-
sive paintings need be made. II
they can be afforded hish-priced
bulbs and bedding plants make
wonderful display The winter
blooming bulbs are particularly
lovely in their season, but charm
ing effects can be secured with very
little expense. The glowing sun
shine Of the California poppies that
seed themselves and rccur season
after season arc like sheets OF
clear gold in the foreground Of the
beds. The azure Of the
daisies. the snowy white
ness Of the Shasta daisies, with
golden corcopSis. rich scarletS and