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Quinces make a nice ornamental tree in any garden. They bear 4 large white flowers in May or June, and the leaves, with their silvery down underneath, are most attractive.

There is no doubt at all that the best time to plant is November, and the earlier the better.Bush-shaped trees are best bought as two-year-olds but fan trees may be three years old.

Bush trees can be grown in two different ways: (a) in grass which must be kept constantly mown with the grass clippings allowed to remain each time as a mulch, thus helping to build up the necessary potash content of the soil; (b) on the straw mulching system by applying the straw all round the trees to the depth of a foot or so, and then using dried blood at 3 oz. to the sq. yard as a top dressing each February.

Like all the flowering plants, trees reproduce and spread naturally by seeds. Some species and garden varieties also produce suckers or shoots directly from the roots, e.g. aspen and some of the elms. Seeds are the sexual means of propagation, formed by the fusion of pollen grains (male cells.) and ovules (egg or female cells).

The grey alder is primarily a tree of northern Europe. In central and southern Europe it grows in the mountains, mainly in the region of the Alps and Carpathians. It attains a height of only 15 to 20 metres and has smooth grey bark even in old age, its life span being a maximum of 60 to 100 years. The flowers appear in spring about fourteen days before those of the black poplar, the cones and seeds maturing in late September. The seed is light brown with a broad, encircling wing. The grey alder has a shallow root system, and is marked not only by vigorous production of stump suckers, but also by root suckers, especially in the northern parts of its range.

The silver lime is a native of south-eastern Europe, where it occurs in the Balkan Peninsula and as far cast as the southern Ukraine. It is found in oak forests, and frequently on limestone hills. It has moderate requirements of soil properties and moisture, and has done very well in the parks and streets of western and central European cities; it has also proved to be far more tolerant of the dry and smoky atmosphere of the cities than the local species of lime.

The Douglas fir is a native of North America growing from California up to British Columbia. It was introduced in Europe in 1828 and is widely cultivated today in the woods and parks of western and central, Europe because of its rapid growth and high quality wood.

Woody plants absorb more water than they can use to obtain the necessary amount of mineral substances contained in it; the excess is eliminated by the process known as transpiration. This takes place in the leaves and consists of the evaporation of water, regulated to a certain degree by a system of pores that can be opened or closed.

The mountain ash grows in western and central Europe from lowland to high mountain elevations up to the tree line, and, in northern Europe, even beyond the Arctic Circle. It is resistant to frost, thrives on poorer soils and is important as a pioneer tree which, because it is distributed by birds, quickly covers burned and logged areas. It reaches a height of only 15 to 20 metres. The bark is smooth and grey-brown, the buds are elongate, dark brown with greyish hairs.

It is generally agreed that vines need an absolute minimum of feeding and they have done well in quite light soil where the roots can get hold of moisture at the right time. In fact, it is generally agreed that it pays to plant vines fairly close because the root competition helps to ensure sufficient starvation.