The Golden State: Where & How to Live, Secure, Visit, Enjoy and Thrive in California
Shrubs And Trees
Planting And What Goes With It
People who go to the expense of buying this book and to the trouble of reading it are not those who want to know primarily: How cheaply can I get by this business of "shrubbing" my place ? How much will it set me back ?
What they have in mind, we take it, is no such notion of bare landscape respectability but rather, an idea of a pleasantly planted place, and a sense, quickened by the exigency of the times, that in this sort of thing there is a measure of mental and spiritual benefit, of relaxation and of peace. What they want to know is how to go about achieving that result in the surest way, without waste of money and without stint.
We leave the bargain hunter, therefore, to his short-cuts and go about our business with the eye on maximum results.
Soil preparation
When you set out to prepare an area for the planting of shrubs, first investigate the matter of sub-soil drainage. This has been discussed on p. 267. Do not skip it. It is of primary importance.
The deeper you are willing to prepare the soil, the better results you may expect in the long run. You will be able to get by with an average depth of 10 to 12 inches for the run of the ordinary small shrubs (not for the larger specimens),but if you are willing to go to twice that depth you may expect superior results; the shrubs will root more deeply and so develop a greater resistance to droughts. It will not be necessary to double-dig the area to that depth in the painstaking manner employed for a vegetable garden. It makes no difference in what way you loosen the soil, as long as it is loosened 20 to 24 inches deep. A deep tooth-plow dragged through the area repeatedly will do it. At least the upper 10 to 12 inches should be of a good, friable texture and a nutritious quality. If the soil is a heavy clay, mix enough fine-screened cinders with it to make an impression on it, to break up its solid texture; and add a dose of lime. But, heavy or light, this upper layer, unless it is of a rich quality and high in humus-content, should be enriched with humus-forming ingredients and a balanced ration of plant-foods. The ideal material is old cow-manure. But that is usually hard to obtain in suburban districts. The next best thing is weathered horse-manure. And if that is not to be had, leafmold. The latter need not be as completely decomposed as one would use it for potting plants. In fact, half-gone leaves, that have been stacked for a year and are still in a flaky condition, are preferable. When leafmold is used, one had better supplement it with a balanced commercial fertilizer.
