Yews are one of the most satisfactory groups of needled evergreens for landscape use. Since there are 100 or more named varieties and goodness knows how many unnamed seedlings, we should select with caution the varieties we use.
Many spreading forms get far too big for the average home unless we continually cut them back. And a few, such as capitata, are really trees and have no place around the building itself. Use this form for windbreaks.
Japanese Varieties of Yews
Japanese varieties are hardier in most instances than the many lovely hybrids between the Japanese and the English.
In most seasons we cannot tell the difference but after a severe winter such as the past two, a number were damaged. They usually recover but it takes a year or so for them to outgrow the damage.
Occasionally we use an English variety such as Taxus baccala repandens. It is one of the nicest of the low-spreading ones. But in general, the trend seems to be toward the Anglojap hybrids.
Slow-Growing Types
For slow-growing types try Ward or Flcmer Anglo-jap yew. There is a dwarf Japanese yew also available.
For upright forms try Hatfield, Hicks, Stoveken, Cole, Kelsey, or Andorra. For spreading types Thayer and spreading Japanese are the fastest growers for filling large spaces in a hurry.
Slower growing but also spreading are Sebian, compact Japanese Berryhill, and Natorp. Never say “give me a yew,” but specify the variety that fits the place you are planting it.
If the man selling them does not know, go to someone who does. Good nurserymen will know the difference.
Plant Yews Before The Ground Freezes
Yews can be planted any time before the ground freezes. In windy locations, it may pay to protect them from winds until growth gets started next spring.
The better the soil the faster it will become established and grow. They will grow in sun or shade and have that luscious rich green color the year around.
If they do get too big they can be cut back unmercifully and still recover.
Lily Planting Time
Last fall I bought 100 mixed lily bulbs from a Pacific coast grower. What a show we had! In white, pink, yellow, orange, and all combinations and variations, they grew from 2 ft to 7 ft tall.
They bloomed from late June through mid-August. Many were so fragrant they scented the entire garden.
Warm Summer Nights
On warm summer nights, it was heavenly to have the aroma waft into every room. You may want to try some this fall. The better the soil you plant them in, the bigger the plants next year.
For the first 25 years we lived in our home we tried to get ground covers established all over the place. And we did. They served their purpose while I was away 3 to 5 days a week. They covered the bare spots and gave year-around green.
Primroses and Summer Blooming Plants
Now that I have more time to give to the garden they are coming out to make way for primroses and summer blooming plants that can take the shade as well as the ground covers could.
Pachysandra, wintercreeper, periwinkle, and English ivy have been ripped out by the square yards at a time. Peat moss and fertilizer were worked into the beds and their successors were planted.
Planning and Growing for Replacements
Getting all these replacements took a lot of planning and more growing. As soon as one lot of plants went out of the cold frames another was put in its place.
Seedlings were salvaged from beds and cracks in the brick walks. The liquid fertilization they got every 10 to 14 days paid off.
Regular application of chlordane kept down the sow bugs and slugs.
44659 by Victor H. Ries