i8 



IRISH GARDENING 



puiiionifonnis, white, with awl-shaped leaves as 

 sharp as needles; AiithylVis ISaiha J oris dark green 

 foliage and bearing heads of sulphur-coloured 

 olover- Erini cainia, pink, and its white variety 

 nibu both small; the larger E. Injhnda. a cross 

 between meditcrmnfu and cornea, also pink; the 

 tree Eucalyptus conhtta, with numerous little white 

 tassels; and last but by no means least, lihodo- 

 dendron mucronulatum and Rh. parvifoUum, both 

 purple. , , , ^ , 



But there are more wmter-blooiuiing plants, and 

 one of the most welcome New Year gifts that 

 nature has to offer is Cyclamen Coum, a quickly- 

 spreading little species from Greece and Asia 

 Minor, quite hardy, which opens early in .lanuary 

 and forms a charming carpet of bright carmine, 

 very conspicuous, and contrasting well with the 

 green foliage. Crocus chrysantha and C. versicolor 

 alba are also in flower; so too Aponoycton dtsta- 

 chyon, the Cape Pond Weed, sometimes called 

 Winter Hawthorn on account of its perfume. The 

 ordinary and the plaited Snowdrop, Galanthus 

 nivalis and G. plicatus, and the Winter Aconite, 

 Eranthis hyemalis, have begun to appear some- 

 what earlier than usual, us well as E. cilicica, 

 which is now pushing up its yellow spikes; but 

 the full effect of these common and well-known 

 favourites will not be seen till a little later. 

 Tecophilcva cyanocrocus is a rare bulb from the 

 Andes of South America, difficult to grow in the 

 open, and not easy to obtain. I am trying to 

 increase it under glass, to get enough to make 

 another attempt at outdoor culture. It is now in 

 flower and very beautiful it is; the colour varies, 

 some are pure gentian hlue with a small white 

 centre, a few are purple, and others are white 

 tipped with blue. One would like to get it in 

 large quantities, even if it cannot be acclimatized 

 and has to be kept under glass; it seems to dread 

 the damp rather than the cold of our climate. 

 Another interesting species is a new Tricyrtis, T. 

 stolonifcra, introduced by Mr. Elwes from the 

 Island of Formosa, which is, I think, likely to 

 prove hardy; it has just flowered in a frame. It 

 has been outside, but had to be taken in because 

 unfortunately it was badly attacked by slugs. A 

 good deal of the fruit has already disappeared, but 

 some still remains on Cotoncaster rotundifolia and 

 C. rugosa Henryi. A plants, however, introduced 

 a few years ago as a Cotoneaster, but now re- 

 cognised to be a Pyracantha, and called P. 

 angustifolia, is now at its best with evergreen 

 foliage of a pleasing shade, and with large bunches 

 of .bright orange berries. It seems to want a wall 

 to bring out the full colour of the frnit, and it is 

 then a very handsome object which is likely to 

 last for some time, as the birds seem to leave it 

 unmolested. 



Conifers perhaps attract attention moTe at this 

 season than at other times. Pinus Ayacahvife, P. 

 Buonapartea, P. Montezvmx, P. pntvla, P. 

 pseudo-patula, P. Pseudo-Strohus, are all them 

 desirable Mexicans, which do well in Ireland; the 

 first two were at one time supposed to be identical, 

 but are now held to be distinct. P. caiwrirnsis 

 seems to be hardy, but P. longifolia from North 

 India is more difficult to acclimatize. The newly 

 imported P. yunnanensis is likely to become a 

 favourite on account of its bright-coloured branch- 

 lets and conspicuous spring buds, and if as appears, 

 it proves to be absolutely' hardy, it will lie useful 

 <>ven as a wind-screen, being of bushy and very 

 dense growth. P. sylvestris auren is somewhat of 

 a curiosity; very slow-growing, and not likely to 

 nttain to the same size as the type (Scotch Pine), 



It is a pale green in summer and golden in winter. 

 Allies religiosa is also from Mexico and develops 

 rapidly; A. bracteata from California, .1. Vcitrhii 

 from Japan, and A. Webbiana from the Himalayan 

 region, the latter with dark Ijlue cones, are well 

 known; so also are A, concolor and its variety, 

 ]Vallczi, with sulphur-coloured young shoots; .4. 

 Delavayi and A. Faxoniana are new from China 

 and promise well. Picca asperata and its varieties, 

 as well as other species of Suruces, are also new 

 introductions from China. A well-grown tree of 

 the Himalayan P. Morinda is a handsome object 

 in the woods and well worth "rowing. P. pungcns 

 glauca and Ccdrus utlantica glauca are remarkable 

 for blue-tinted foliage. The same, even more pro- 

 nounced, is to be seen in Cupressus kashmiriana, 

 one of the best of the Cypresses, but it does not 

 seem to be hardy everywhere; C. glabra is also 

 glaucous, and C. lau-sonianu Flctchcri is desirable 

 for its fine foliage; the new C. formosana bids fair 

 to become an acquisition, green-shaded brown. C. 

 scmpervircns and its variety fasiigiata are both 

 to be commended where they will grow freely; 

 there is a specimen here, no record when jjlanted, 

 now more than 70 feet in height with a girth of 

 4 feet 10 inches, measured 5 feet from the ground; 

 those who have seen these magnificent and stately 

 trees in the south of Europe can well appreciate 

 how much they add to the beauty of the land- 

 scape. Juniperus Ccdrus from the Canaries ap- 

 pears to be hardier than was at first generally 

 supposed ; planted in the position it now occupies 

 eleven years ago, a specimen here is now some 25 

 feet high. ./. pachyphlxa. is another species with 

 silvery foliage; and Tsvga diversifolia is one of 

 the best of the Hemlock Spruces, but one does not 

 often see it in cultivation. In fact there are many 

 Conifers that do not seem to be sufficiently grown 

 in the more favoured parts of the country; it is 

 not possible to name them all. but perhaps the 

 following list may be of interest ; — Dacrydiinn 

 Colensoi, JD. cupiressinum, Pliyllocladvs rhomboi- 

 dalis, P. trichoma noidcs, Pododcarpus alpina, P. 

 chilina, P. Xageia, Prumnopitys elegans, Saxe- 

 gothca conspicua, Torreya californica , T. nurifcra, 

 all of which belong to the Yew order; while the 

 rest are groujsed within the Pine order. Actinos- 

 trobus pyramidalis, Athrotaxis laxifolia, A. selagi- 

 noides, CaUitris oblonga, G. robusta, C. tasmanica, 

 Cunninghamia sinensis, Glyptostrobus hctero- 

 j}hyllus, Ketclecrin davidiana, Libocedrtis doiiiana, 

 L. macrolepis, Hciadqpitys verticillata, Taxodium 

 mucronatum. Tetraclinis articulata.. 



.1. R. OF B. 



Notes from a Small Garden. 



By R. Llovd Pi!.\egee. 



A Dwarf Veronica salicifolia. 



The queerest thing that my garden has produced 

 (in so small a patch little in the way of novelty can 

 be expected) is a shrubby Veronica which appeared 

 as a seedling, and which by its leaves (it has never 

 flowered) belongs to V. salicifolia. But this species 

 is about the largest of the genus, often attaining 

 eight or ten feet, whereas after five years' growth 

 my oddity remains a tiny, dense shrub of about 

 a foot high, with leaves only an inch long. It is 

 comparable to two other dwarfs of Irish origin — 

 a tiny Esrallonin rubra . of about the same stature, 

 which, I believe, originated as a branch upon a 

 normal shrub in the late Mr. H. C. Hart's delightful 

 garden at Carrablagh on Lough Svvilly, and a simi- 



