70 



IRISH GARDENING. 



sary, of course, in tlii.s case to have large ])ots 

 as in the case of indoor ]ilants, and the labour 

 in watering is increased, but generally the 

 results justify the extra labour. Of field culti- 

 vation it is unnecessary to say much. In very 

 A\arni luild districts good results are often 

 got, but for the greater part of the country 

 it is not suitable. 



The object of this note is not so much to 

 advocate extensive outdoor cultivation of 

 Tomatoes as to urge the necessity of utilising 

 every spare sunny corner in producing some- 

 thing useful, and if a few extra Tomatoes can 

 be produced they will this year undoubtedly 

 do good to someone. Avhether given away or 

 sent to market. 



CJardener. 



Notes. 



Purple Sprouting Broccoli 



This Jate spring vegetable is invaluable for 

 cutting at the j^resent time, when there is a 

 scarcity of seasonable vegetables. It is easily 

 grown, quite hardy and gives an abundance of 

 sprouts frc m March till May inclusive. The 

 sprouts should be cut "when the flower heads 

 apjiear. These, when cooked, are tender, of 

 excellent quality, and only need a trial to be 

 appreciated. >Seed shoiild be sown early in 

 May, and the young plants transplanted when 

 fit to their permanent quarters. It does equally 

 Weil in a diversity of soils and situations. I 

 notice in a well-known seedsman's list ± oz. 

 packets of seed offered at 3d. each. 



G. D. 



The Mimosa 

 Acacia dealbata. 



I RECENTLY had the pleasure of seeing at Ash- 

 grove, the residence of I.,udlow Beamish, Esq.. 

 a fine yo\mg tree of the al)ove in full flower, and. 

 seeing the subject as I did for the first time in 

 flower, at least out of doors, made it the more 

 impressive. A more beautiful sight than this 

 presented it is scarcely possible to imagine, and 

 after such weather as We have experienced this 

 winter seems to me the more remarkable, as I 

 was always given to underttand that this tree 

 is especially liable to injury to the blooms or 

 buds by frcst. 



Here at Fota we have quite a large piece, Init 

 I have never seen it blo< m, with the exception of 

 an odd triiss, and the only conclusion that I 

 can draA\- is that the tree at Ashgrove, groAving 



beside the carriage drive and on a shaip pitch, 

 stands in better drained and wamier soil than 

 ours, or is due to other soil ccmditions. The 

 tree that has prompted me to make these few 

 notes is approximately ten to twelve feet high, 

 and has. to my knowledge, been in practically 

 full bloc m for the ])ast month and ])ossibly 

 longer. 



E. B. 



Edgeworthia Papyrifera 



Another shrub new to me and this t'me growing 

 in the noted collections at Ashbourne was most 

 interesting when in bloim in March, with its 

 trusses of primrose yellow tubular flowers borne 

 on the otherwise naked growths. The ])lants 

 which I am told were suckers from an old 

 original that was lost, made an imposing bed 

 at a time Avhen flowering shrubs are scarce and 

 more than ever a])preeiated. 



Herbaceous and Alpine Plants 



After a long spell of wintry Aveather man}' of 

 oiu" loA'ely spring floAvers are again making a 

 Avelcome ajipearance. Some of them are almost 

 summer floAvers this year, since they are only 

 noAv, in the latter half of April, beginning to 

 move. The early Saxifragas of the Kabschia 

 rection floAvered extremely well in March and 

 April, those at any rate which had not suffered 

 from damp in autumn and A\inter, and noAv 

 Primulas and Anemones are coming on in turn. 

 The Basque FloAver Anemone Pulsatilla was out 

 in ]i!aces l)y Easter, but in shady positions is 

 on'y o]iening noA\ . It is a good plan AA'ith 

 favourite floAvers to plant in A'arious aspects, 

 and so prolong the season of flowering. The 

 Avhite A^ariety of Anemone Pulsatilla is quite 

 A\orth a place, though not, I think, so fine a 

 l^lant as the tyjie. It seems to do better in sun 

 than shade and likes a fairly rich soil. There is 

 also said to be a red A^ariety Avhich I haA^e not 

 seen. Aubretias and the red mossy Saxifragas 

 ai-e just beginning to shoA\' colour, and the 

 shoots and young leaA^es of the deciduous 

 ('ampanulas are at last becoming e\'ident. It 

 is too soon yet, however, to guess 

 at Avliat such l)eauties as C excisa and 

 C Raineri may do — their time comes later. 

 It is also too soon to talk of the effect of Avinter 

 in the rock garden — another month Avill shoAv 

 more clearly what damage has been done, but 

 already some surpriijes have occurred. Veronica 

 cinerea, so often hard to kee]>, has apparenth' 

 surAaA'ed, and also the Persian Rubia Aucheri, 

 Avhich one might haA'e thought Avould be tender, 

 A^et commoner things haA'e A-anished. 



