The book of topiary

by Charles H. Curtis; W. Gibson

If the land that has been selected for the garden is composed of loam of a rich, mellow nature, all that is necessary will be to trench the ground two or three “spits” deep. If the soil is of a limestone composition it will be to the advantage of the yew trees, as these seem to grow well and vigorously in a soil of this kind. But if, on the other hand, the soil be of a poor, hungry nature, it will be advisable to remove it altogether, to the depth of two or three feet, replacing it with good loam of a more suitable character.

COTTAGE AT DITCHEAT, SOMERSET

Nothing will answer this purpose better than the top “spit” off old pasture or meadow land. The top “spit” only should be used, and this should not be removed to a greater depth than five or six inches. Turf taken off at this depth will generally contain all that is best in the soil of either pasture or meadow land.

Although not absolutely necessary, it will be found advantageous if the loam be obtained six or eight months previous to the time when it will be required for use. It should be removed from the fields, and carefully stacked, in order to kill the grass and partially decay the turf. Partially decayed loam is in all respects better than that which has just been procured from the fields. The trees make better roots in it, and it is also easier to chop with the spade—a thing which will be found necessary to do before it can be put on the beds. The grass has also to be considered; and unless this is covered by a good depth of ordinary garden soil, it will prove exceedingly troublesome during at least the first year after planting. Of course, if the garden be a large one, and operations can be carried out on a large scale, the removal of the old soil and replacement by other and more suitable loam will entail a considerable amount both of labour and expense. But, as I have before observed, nothing should be left undone at this period of the work that will help to ensure its future success.

There is, however, another and more simple method of replacing the soil, and one which may answer the purpose equally well. After the beds have been made, the places may be marked out where it is intended to plant the trees. The soil may then be removed and a hole made of from four to five feet in diameter and from two to three feet in depth, according to the size of the tree it is proposed to plant. By following this method the labour and cost of removing the entire soil from the beds and replacing it with new loam will be to a great extent reduced, and results obtained which should be almost, if not quite as satisfactory. The remaining soil left in the beds, no matter how poor it may be, can soon be made rich enough for either herbaceous or bedding plants by a liberal use of manure.

When the beds have been prepared for the reception of the trees, planting should be at once proceeded with, provided, of course, that the planting season be at hand. Like all other forms of tree-planting, it should be done as soon as possible after the proper time arrives; or, to be more explicit, from the middle of October to the middle of November.

Although the work of lifting and transplanting yew trees and box can be carried on with perfect safety up to the end of the year or even up to the end of January, the earlier season is undoubtedly the better. The soil has then more chance to get settled about the roots before the advent of hard weather. I have seen yew trees lifted and transplanted even in June, but do not consider it to be by any means a suitable time for the work, and it is not a practice to be recommended. If left so late in the year as June, constant attention must be paid to watering, else the result will be disastrous.

If the trees have been growing for a few years in a reserve nursery-garden close at hand, they can be lifted and replanted without undue exposure to the open air or drying winds; but if they have to be brought from afar, and have had to undergo a long railway journey, they are almost certain to be found on arrival to be dry at the roots. In this case, they should be at once unpacked and submerged in a tank of water for a few hours, and then heeled into the ground as near as possible to the place where planting is to be carried on, and afterwards lifted and replanted as required.

No rank manure of any kind should be used either mixed with the soil, or applied to the roots of the trees, or the result will be injurious. If manure of any kind be employed, nothing is better for the purpose than coarse bones used in moderate quantities—about one barrow load of bones to twenty or twenty-five barrows of loam.