// Finally Lose Weight

People fortunate enough to inherit a garden which includes mature specimens of this genus should be thankful at being so singularly blessed, for the yew is an ornamental evergreen of great worth. In the woodland near my home they seed themselves under oak and birch, seeming to like the shade which few trees do. in the open they make a dark background for the gaily flowered deciduous shrubs. As a hedge its value has already been noted in the chapter on hedges.

I use trellis or plastic-covered netting fitted to wooden bobbins 2 in. long, made by cutting up a broom shaft. This holds the plants out from the wall so that the air can circulate freely reducing the incidence of mildew and red spider mite. If wood is used anywhere as a support it should be treated with a good preservative first.

The Irish Yew, T. b. fa.stigiata, is an erect-growing variety, tailor made for lining a formal walk. Fastigiata aurea, the golden form is even slower growing but equally attractive. Horizontalis is a good ground cover in heavy shade, showing no ambition to grow up, always out. I grow two plants, one under Acer campestre, the other hangs down masking a large stone in the stream garden. T. media hicksii is rather more angular in branch arrangement than the type, ess dense with lighter green foliage. It makes an elegant specimen of unusual appearance.

A good mixture consists of 5 parts of garden soil to 2 parts of peat plus a 6-in. pot of bonemeal to every barrowload of the mixture. Only a narrow border need be made, 2 ft. wide by 15 in. deep, for given a good start healthy roots will penetrate less profitable fields.

There are two species of Actinidia especially suitable for wall culture, butoboth need different treatment. Actinidia chinensis will riot over an acre of wall in an undignified scramble. The large leaves, 6 to 8 in. across, and fragrant flowers are recompense enough if space can be provided, but really only a castle offers sufficient wall space and even then, should the drawbridge be left down, it could prove a liability for once inside it would take over the uppermost turret.

A. kolomikta is a shrub of feminine complexity. It is incapable of deciding on a suitable leaf colour, the lower half remaining green while the upper half turns white and pink. I avoid hard pruning for the stems being hollow tend to die back along the whole branch. A thinning of the twigs is a permitted indulgence. A warm south or west-facing wall suits actinidia best.