South France Immobilier Property & Luxury French Real Estate by RHF International

No tree excites more affection in me than the graceful native birch. In winter sculptural in white beauty, in spring touched with the pale green charm of breaking bud, then in autumn all golden glory in the October sunshine.

First Betula platyphylla japonica, the ghostly Japanese White Birch, a fine specimen tree up to 40 ft. high. I trim away the lower branches so that the white stem can be seen to full advantage. I saw the Western Chinese form, B. platyphylla szechuanica for the first time over a 3-acre expanse of lawn, the wide sweeping branches a graceful crown to the white column of the bole.

In spite of this deficiency it is a superb shrub of compact habit. The yellow flowers in spring followed by the bright red berries, and deep scarlet of autumn colour make this species one of the choicest barberries. Where garden space is limited I would choose the variety atropurpurea. Used as a centrepiece in a blue and white ground planting, or as a contrast with deep orange annuals, it is charmingly effective.

Betula papyrifera is the Canoe Birch and it brings much the same effect to the garden as our own native birch. The varietal form from Alaska, kenaica, has a bark which glows a warm orange and this together with a rather upright habit makes it suitable for planting in a restricted space.

Betula pendula, silver birch, the graceful lady of the woods has aiven rise to several varietal forms, none more elegant than the type plant. Every day of the year my work takes me at least once amongst groves of indigenous birch and always, at all seasons, they are lovely. Some have thrown up four or five stems, as a result of being damaged in youth, instead of just one, and these are without doubt the most picturesque.

Now I plant seedlings in the nursery, head them back the ground level, thin the shoots to 3 or 5 as they break and have miniature groves all ready as needed. The variety youngii or Youngs’ Weeping Birch is far better in small plots especially town gardens than the often planted Salix alba :ristis.