The Golden State: Where & How to Live, Secure, Visit, Enjoy and Thrive in California
Landscape Gardening
And yet there are serious objections to the elm as a street tree, besides the fact that it is often defoliated by caterpillars of various species, as, indeed, are many other trees. The elm varies greatly in size and form, and it is almost impossible to find a long street of old elms which does not suffer from the sad lack of uniformity which this variability introduces. The elm is, also, one of the least formal of our trees, and so detracts from the unity of the geometrical idea in street planting. It would be silly to advise planters to discard the elm altogether; but it will not be too much to suggest that some other species should always be duly considered.
The maples are excellent street trees, especially the sugar maple, and many admirable examples of their effectiveness are to be found in the northern states. The sugar maple is a strong, healthy grower, with a regular, clear-cut outline, and has the advantage of a very tidy appearance through the winter months. In southwestern states the soft maple, or silver maple, takes the place of the sugar maple, but is not so good a tree, by far. The Norway maple is suitable for planting in narrow streets, and as it withstands the rigors of city life rather sturdily, it is a favorite with city foresters and real estate developers.
The oaks are better adapted to street planting than is popularly understood. The pin oak is especially at home in decent streets, even well into the city. It makes fairly rapid growth, it has a fine form, its foliage is distinctive and beautiful, its autumn coloring is superb, so that altogether it deserves the vogue which it has of late achieved. Other oaks, as the red and the scarlet oak, are sometimes planted with good effect; and no one who has seen the grand live oaks of New Orleans or Charleston can ever forget their beauty.
The sycamore is a good street tree, the Oriental species being better than the American. The former is sturdy, dean and pretty, with a rather dignified formal quality which suits it well to average street conditions. The American species is a larger and less formal tree, but makes a good showing in broad village streets.
Other species which are sometimes used with happy results are honey locust, Kentucky coffee tree, pines and spruces. There is a most striking and beautiful avenue of ginkgo trees in Washington leading to the Department of Agriculture; and there are some pretty rows of ailanthus about the Temple square in Salt Lake City. Poplars, like the cottonwood and the Carolina poplar are used in the trans-Mississippi states, but they are usually a makeshift. It is always very gratifying to find a good street of trees of an unusual species, and this is a thing which the street makers might well hold in remembrance.
