JKISH GAKDENING 



Saxifraga longifolia. 



At its best tliis is uiidoiil)tedly the finest of all 

 the iiicrusted Saxifragas. The rosettes of long 

 silvery leaves may measure up to 6 inches across 

 before the flowers are produced, and at that 

 stage are as beautiful as at any in the plant's 

 existence. The flowers are produced in long 

 pyramidal masses of great beauty, and well 

 worth waiting for. The time of flowering is un- 

 certain — plants may live and increase in size 

 for a number of years before flowering, a,nd the 

 larger they become ere doing so the finer the 

 inflorescence is likely to be. Side shoots are 

 not usually produced, though sometimes they 

 are when the centre of a rosette is injured prior 

 to flowering. Seeds form the best means of 



Nerine flexuosa alba* 



All the Nerines are useful subjects for decorating 

 the cool greenhouse, but few are more attractive 

 than the white Zigzag Nerine (Nerine flexuosa 

 alba), with its snowy -white flowers, the x^etals 

 of which are elegantly undulated and recurved. 

 A batch of this choice free-flowering plant, inter- 

 mixed with other Nerines or similar plants, will 

 a.dd great beauty to the greenhouse. Like all 

 other of this genus, it must be well ripened in 

 the summer by placmg the plants in a dry place 

 in full sun, withholding water from the time 

 the leaves die until the flower scapes appear, 

 when they may be repotted or top 

 dressed . 



F. P. G. 



Primula capitata. 



propagation, and to ensure the resulting seed- 

 lino-s bemg true it is necessary to enclose the 

 inflorescence in a bag made of gauze or similar 

 material to prevent cross -fertilization. The 

 seeds should be sown in light sandy soil and 

 covered very finely with silver sand ; cover the 

 pot with a piece of glass and shade from bright 

 light. Care is necessary in watering as with all 

 small seeds, and is best carried out by standing 

 the pot in water up to the rim and allowing the 

 water to soak up. Wiien large enough the 

 seedUngs may be pricked out into pans or pots 

 of gritty soil' and grown on till large enough for 

 planting out on the rockery. A vertical position 

 is best, "and by planting before the rosettes get 

 too large it is much easier to get the roots firmly 

 packed into chinks and fissures. Although in 

 the Pyrenees S. longifolia is said to frequent 

 shady cliffs, in our cHmate it appears to thrive 

 quite well in the sun. 



Our illustration shows a group of plants in 

 the gardens of Mr. E. H. Walpole at Mount 

 Usher, Co. Wicklow. B. 



The Cross Vine. 



BiGONIA CAPREOLATA. 



This is a very pretty and interesting climber 

 for a sunny wall in well drained soil. At first 

 it is sometimes difficult to establish where 

 much frost is experienced in winter, but when 

 it has attained some height, more satisfactory 

 progress is made. It is practically evergreen 

 in mild localities, but here sheds most of its 

 leaves in winter. The leaves are made up of 

 two leaflets, varying from three to four inches 

 long and an inch or more wide, their size de- 

 pending on the vigour and health of the plant. 

 Tlie flowers are tubular, up to two inches long, 

 and of a fine rich orange-red colour. A sunny 

 wall is essential in most districts, but in the 

 milder parts of the south and west it should 

 be possible to get fine specimens established 

 on old trees, much in the way that Rambler 

 Roses are often grown. A variety, atrosan- 

 guinea, is in cultivation, with reddish purple 

 flowers. B., Dublin. 



