IRISH GARDENING 



5 



iitilis shows up well in the woods. Two plants 

 should have heen included last month, Stiiinfia 

 iiii^iwdi-lphn, and Acer Xo. 10886 (Wilson), which 

 I understand has been nannd A. Kaira-Kainii ; they 

 both deserve a note on account of their very fine 

 autumn colouring 



But our attention in tlic dead season is rather 

 directed towards evergreens that still remain in 

 foliage. The " Club-Palms." as they are some- 

 times called, come from .\ew Zealand, and three 

 species with several fine varieties are hardy in 

 most parts of Ireland. i uidyUiii' ausfnilis, ('. 

 liuiiksti and C nu//r/.si(, give the landscape a 

 somewhat tropical api:)earance; they are all hand- 

 some, the last-named by far the best, with huge 

 leaves that arch over th.' >tem in a very gracefid 

 way. A few of the Brom.liads moreover are hardy 

 in this climate, among tluui I'liya cltil/'iisix. Pif- 

 rairnra curulca, 1'. sixitlmceii, Ehodostaclit/s pit- 

 c(urnia:fo}'ia, which look like giant Pine-apples, and 

 add to the interest of the wild garden. Visnia 

 iiujcancra from the Canaries has fine glistening 

 light-green foliage; on I'liiiax cnhorcum it is also 

 shining, but of a more .^ombre shade; while on 

 I'seudoponaj- cnissifuViuiii . and on 1' . fcroj- it is 

 very lotig and narrow, thick and leathery, notched 

 at the edges, the midril).< all marked with colour. 

 The leaves of Drimijs cnhiKita are yellow splashed 

 with red; of IJ. (iioniaticn green well set off by the 

 bright red branchlets. The underleaf of dista- 

 tiopsis (di rysuphijllu is golden, so also that of 

 Quercus aJniftilui, an oak indigenous in the i.?Iand 

 of Cyprus, but silvery white in Q. iiicuna from 

 the Himalayan region. The foliage of Lomatio 

 tiiirtinid is extremely handsome, but two of the 

 best appear to be L. f(rru<jincn and Gui'r'iiiu 

 oveUana, botli from Chile and both with rich- 

 brown branchlets; the last-named seems the most 

 remarkable. Some of the Southern Beeches are 

 evergreen with almost box-like leaves, such as 

 Notofoijus Iji tnliiidcs, .V. Cliff orto'idrs, .V. I'liii- 

 vingJiamii, .\ . Mriizii-tii : they are somewhat 

 larger in X. fiisra, and still larger in A'. Mooiri — 

 all of them being very interesting introductions 

 from the Southern Hemisphere. We can hardly 

 allude to evergreen trees without referring to some 

 of the species of Eucalyptus, which appear to 

 grow with remarkalile vigour, and whose foliage 

 so often sparkles brightly even iti winter's frost. 

 E. corcifcfd and E. ^Iurlh'ri were planted here in 

 the autiunn of 1894, just before a very bad frost, 

 perhaps the worst recorded for many years. The 

 first was uninjured by the winter that ensued, and 

 is now some 70 feet high, with a girth of 5 feet; 

 the second was cut to the ground by that winter, 

 but soon recovered, and is now some GO feet or 

 more in height, and 4 ft, 2 in. in girth. In 1915, 

 these girth dimensions were 4 ft. 1 in. and .'i ft. 

 1 in. respectively, all th^ise measurements having 

 been taken at 5 feet from the ground There are 

 some more species of this interesting genus grow- 

 ing here which seem to be quite hardy, E. (im- 

 rulo. E. iimyiidid'inn. E. rordato , E. ijhjhidu.s, E. 

 piilrrruhnfa, E. iiniiijiin , E. rerniroso . and others; 

 hut the most vigorous appears to be one lately re- 

 ceived luider the name of E. MacAitlixni. which 

 grows rampantly and bi'l< fair to rival E. corrifrrn 

 in its rapid development. 



Campanulas : their Great Utility. 



ViEWKi) in the light of their all-ruund capabilities, 

 •vve venture to say that it would be difficidt to point 

 to a hardy flowering plant more popular than the 

 Campanula. Undoubtedly the charm of the Bell- 



tlowers lie in tlnir great productivity, the ease 

 with which they cm be grown, and also to the fact 

 that they will thnve in almost any locality, pro- 

 vided they are given a position where the sun will 

 reach them. It is scarcely necessary to more than 

 remind readers that the taller varieties are general 

 favourites, wherever hardy plants are appre- 

 ciated, as back row border tenants, and, be the 

 season what it may, seldom fail to give a good 

 account of themselves. In a very dry season like 

 last they did as well as most' things', where they 

 were helped witli surface mulchings of old manure 

 or similar medium to conserve moisture. Whilst 

 we acknowdedge the services Campanulas are in 

 a border with tlieir bell? of white and blue in June 

 and July, we cannot shut our eyes to the truth 

 tliat the dwarf and trailing forms are equally 

 useful in their own particular sjjheres, nor w-ould 

 we exempt the luennial form, the Canterbury Bell, 

 bringing masses of colour to a garden in" early 

 summer, fleeting though their tenure is. 



Border Selections. — For gi-ouping about a 

 border we favour the sorts that have proved a 

 great success over many years, such, for example, 

 as the Chimney Campanula, pi/nniudalis, and the 

 Peach-leaved Bellfiower, pcrsicifolid, or the other 

 peach-leaved form, p. (dhti, ijivndifluid plena, with 

 inire white semi-double flowers of great size; p. 

 ciiciulrii flair ph'iiii, blue, and p. Moi'idu'imi, white 

 semi-double, amongst this section, too, are deserv- 

 ing of mention. 



(ilomeiiitii ihih II I ii II, jnnple, and its white 

 counterpart, known as the clustered Bellfiower, is 

 worthy to he associated with the afore-mentioned 

 Liiiihilifi (ijr(ind'i.<). a very beautiful tall-growing 

 Campanula, flowers of a rich Ijlue, having a simi- 

 larity to pi'isiiifoliu and pi/iuinidalia, and F(i» 

 Hmiftei, with large, drooping blue flowers, are 

 also of note amongst the taller species. 



For Rock Gardens .\nd Edgings. — Who is there 

 in the possession of a rock garden, or the more 

 modest rockery, has not at stjme time or another, 

 when the flowers are in the zenith of their beauty, 

 congratulated himself or herself on the acquisition 

 of some of the dwarf forms of Campanulas ': 

 What a wonderful family it is after all, and how 

 varied atid lovely .solne of its members are ! Dn 

 you need something to plant on a ledge of rock, 

 in the full sun, or in a half-secluded crevice where 

 moisture can be retained, or would you have the 

 edgings to a garden path, studies for weeks in 

 blue and white ? Then you need not go beyolid 

 Campanulas to meet all your requirements. Some 

 are so dainty and small in size, mere green tufts, 

 set in a glory of daintier bells in their season of 

 flowering, that it is hard to imagine that they 

 possess any relationship to the tall white spikes 

 in the borders lieyond, as they sway to and fro 

 in the summer breeze ! 



For planting on and about rockwork, then, we 

 remember these small-growing species like cur- 

 piitico, which attains a height of about si.x inches, 

 and is literally studded with bells of blue. Under 

 the same heading one has choice of a white 

 variety, and a porcelain-blue in ('. crplestimi. and 

 of Littlf Grm, with flowers of pretty white cups 

 erectly held, liircrslca, too, belongs to the same 

 section, with flatfish deep blue flowers, borne on 

 rather longer stems than the preceding, and also 

 erect in habit, (t. F. Wilsun is another Campanula 

 which lias been in much demand in recent years, 

 with bluish-purple blossoms, a very dwarf sort 

 seldom exceeding more than four or five inches 

 in height. 



Pulhi. dark purple, and pinniln, blue, and 



