IRISH GARDENING 



15 



climbing plants, was blown doAvn one Avild 

 February day — every jDillar. It was built 

 without any due thought as to the j)iUars being 

 properly braced and other mistakes, which 

 would be impossible in the hands of a good 

 architect. The essential thing as to j^ergolas is 

 that they should meet a want as dividing hnes, 

 shelter, shade, and that they shoidd be of lastirg 

 materials and have stout legs. 



Stone Paths are a great aid on heavy laud 

 where soppy j^aths occur iu winter, as they do in 

 much of the wealden land in the home counties. 

 Where we step out of living 

 rooms direct into a flower 

 garden it is pleasant to 

 have, in all weathers, dry 

 paths. Thousands of tons 

 of Avorn OTit York stone 

 have been used in this way ; 

 at one time their only value 

 was as a bottom to roads. 

 Where work gees on all 

 winter and spring the stone 

 path is far before any other, 

 as the movement of soil, 

 sand or manure makes no 

 impression. The practice is 

 only meant for the choice 

 flower garden, and shoidd 

 not be used where horse 

 work of any kind may be 

 in use. I enjoy beds in turf 

 as well as any, but they 

 cannot be in every garden, 

 and the labour in my own 

 garden in winter and spring 

 is much reduced by the use 

 of stone paths, edgings of 

 the same material doing 

 away wholly with box 

 and its various draAvbacks. 



A Mixed Border Want.— There Avas a 

 reference to this to the effect that there is no 

 need of such a border considering the quantities 

 of hardy herbaceous plants in the garden. A 

 really beautiful mixed border is a rare thing to 

 see. Only once liaA^e I seen it at St. Anne's in, 

 Ireland, once in the late Frank Miles' garden 

 at Bingham, often at Miss Jekyll's garden in 

 Surrey. It is a mistake to suppose it is merely 

 massing a number of coarse perennials, that 

 floAver at the same time, in a border. It should 

 represent every class of plants of beauty in the 

 oj)en air, chmbers included, and have a good back- 

 ground of open oak trelhs or an old AA-all. It is 

 a far rarer thing to find than a good rock garden, 

 yet it may be made in ahnost any soil and adorn 

 any sort of garden. I haA-e ncA^er seen a good one 



Pfwto 6y] 



LiGUSTICUM 



in any botanic garden at home or abroad, partly, 

 no doubt, because, it may be, it is not the busi- 

 ness of botanic gardens as at present organised, 

 and yet no part of a garden could have a 

 better effect on the visitor. W. R. 



[W. R. would confer a great favour on 

 gardeners generally if he Avould state Avhich 

 A'-arieties cf Water Lihes he finds succeeding 

 in 10-12 feet of Avater. Do varieties like 

 chroniatella, atropurpurea, James Brydon, W. 

 Falconer, Laydekeri rosea, Elhsiana, and 

 many others flourish in such a de^ith ? Our ex- 

 perience is that Avater 

 of that depth is too cold, 

 but in the south of England 

 it may be different. — Ed.] 



N. chroniatella spreads 

 from rather shallow into 

 deep water ; nearly all the 

 kinds thrive in 3 or 4 feet 

 of water ; the plant that 

 soAved itself in deep water 

 12 feet is very like N. 

 marliacea alba, AA'hich Avitli 

 me is too vigorous in A^ari- 

 ous depths of water. — W. R. 



The Carpathian Spring 

 Snowflake. 



Leucojum vernum carpathicum_ 



This is one of the love- 

 liest of spring floAvering 

 bulbs, and is so accommo- 

 (Ui-ting that it rarely fails 

 to giA'c a fine display of 

 its beautiful snow'drop-like 

 blossoms. The flowers ap- 

 pear slightly in advance of 

 the leaves, an,d begin to 

 open, when the stems are a couple of 

 inches or so above the ground. The 

 stems rapidly lengthen, hoAVever, and are 

 ultimately 6-8 inches higli when the 

 flowers are full out ; by that time the leaA^es 

 have also made some progress. A cool, 

 moist soil suits admirably, and it Avill 

 adorn the herbaceous border as Avell as 

 the rock garden. There is a fine form 

 knoAvn as L. carjjaticxim Vagneri also flower- 

 ing now% being rather more robust than 

 carpaticum, AAdth taller floAver stems. It 

 is worth Avhile planting both where they 

 will have some protection from rough 

 Avinds and a carpet of some creeiping plant 

 to prevent the floAvers from being soiled 

 by heaA'y rains. B. 



[I!. M. I'dluck 

 AROMATICUJI 



