What trees will you choose for your lawn? Where will you plant them? Before ordering trees, consider how much space you have and how much they will grow. Once set out, they are hard to move, and a handsome tree should have room to develop with minimum pruning.
Summer shade may be your primary purpose, but the beautiful trees created with their wide variety of forms, foliage, and flowers are just as important.
Give equal attention to old, proven varieties and new ones when selecting. Introducing a new tree is so rare that you will want to experiment with it.
Fine-Looking Native Honey Locust Tree
The native honey locust (Gleditsia triacanthos) is a fine-looking old timer, but its large size (140 feet) coupled with formidable thorns and littery seed pods limit its use to parks and the like. The variety inermis, smaller and almost unarmed, is an improvement, but still has drawbacks.
When, a few years ago, the Moraine locust was introduced, retaining all the good qualities of its relatives and none of their faults (it is both thornless and podless), it became popular almost overnight. It is fast-growing yet sturdy, graceful, and spreading in form.
Fine compound leaves give a lacy shade and remain a rich green until yellowed by sharp fall frosts. The Moraine locust is not particular to the soil and is drought-resistant.
Still more recent is Sunburst, its bright yellow branch tips contrasting sharply with deep green inner foliage. Trees with variegated leaves are somewhat of a novelty here. Properly placed in the landscape, this newest honey locust will be striking.
Norway Maple
Norway maples (Acer platanoides) with leaves deep red in spring and dark green in summer have long been popular.
From them have come several variations in form and leaf coloring. The latest and most spectacular is a seedling of the Schwedleri variety called Crimson King.
Unlike its parent, this tree retains its even dark crimson color throughout the growing season. As with all colored-leaved plants, place it where its colors will be harmonious.
Try it as a background for white flowers. Having the dense foliage of its kind, it can be immensely useful to shade a terrace.
When you plan your terrace, where space is limited, remember that a small tree like our native dogwood (Cornus florida) can be ideal.
It has year-round charmóshowy white bracts in spring, bright fruit and colorful leaves in autumn, and plump gray buds all winter, a promise of next spring’s bloom.
Two Other Flowering Trees
Desirable for moderate size and beauty are the Sargent cherry (Prunus sargenti) and Washington hawthorn ( Crataegus phaenopyrum).
Flowering cherries are usually showy for only a brief period in spring, but the Sargent follows up its profusion of single pink flowers with brilliant foliage.
It is very hardy and reaches a height of about 40′ feet. The Washington hawthorn, one of the best of this large family of small trees, grows into a shapely, erect tree about 30′ feet tall.
In the late spring, clusters of white flowers powder its branches; in winter, its lustrous scarlet fruit shines against the snow. Before falling, its leaves turn orange and scarlet.
Attractive Yellow-Wood Tree
The Yellow-wood is an attractive tree native to the southeastern states and hardy in New England (Cladrastis lutea). Thriving in relatively dry soil, it reaches a height of about 40 feet. Its clean appearance is due partly to its smooth, gray bark.
Foot-long pendulous clusters of fragrant white flowers appear in June; in autumn, its pinnate leaves turn yellow.
Any tree that flowers in summer are bound to draw attention, and one that deserves notice is the Goldenrain (Koelreuteria paniculata). A rounded tree of medium height, its bright-green pinnate leaves, a foot or more long, turn yellow in the fall.
Papery seed capsules follow erect loose panicles of yellow flowers.
Sorrel Tree
Another that blooms late is the sorrel (Oxydendrum arboreum), a North American native and very ornamental. It likes moist and acidic soil and may not grow taller than 30′ feet in northern gardens.
In midsummer, drooping loose panicles of small white flowers open and remain decorative for some time after drying. The bright green glossy leaves of the sorrel display some of the most brilliant fall coloring.
Whether you are looking for shade, beauty, or both, there is a tree to suit your wants.
44659 by Henry E. Downer