20 



IRISH GARDENING. 



Itosa Lauicnciana, .Sec. Fcrtiinei, Sidiiin imhrhel- 

 lum. <S'. Eweisi, >'. spuiium, S. xarirolor, Spirwii 

 diijituta, iSisyriiicliium berm'udianum. Viohi fri- 

 color, V. Munbydna, V. olympica, V. (JecUnaitt, 

 Viburnum Curlesi, Veronica rupcstris, V. circo:- 

 oides, Vini-ds and Zausrlinerhi Cdlijfurnira. In 

 more favoured spots near the sea no doubt this 

 display will be exceeded in this wonderful season, 

 but in my comparatively cold garden in the centre 

 of Ireland, I have never before been favoured with 

 such a display so late in the year. It is certainly 

 a season to remember, and possibly my most last- 

 ing recollection will be of a bowl of flowers I saw 

 on the 4th of November on a neighbour's table. 

 It contained Anemone .Sf. Briijid. Iris stylosa. 

 Delphinium Bcv. Loscelles, Rose (rloirr dc Dijon, 

 Carnation Baby Castle, Gladiolus Brenchylensis, 

 Aster Xou-anyl, .Ameth ystinus and Winter Jas- 

 mine — specimen flowers from absolutely every 

 season of the year, all picked in the open on No- 

 vember 4th ! 



MuHR.iV Hor.NIBEOOK. 



Arbutus Menziesii. 



In " Notes and News " in your September issue 

 I was gratified to see a note on above species. 

 But it was surely worth while to draw attention 

 " to the curious, l)urnt-looking patches at the 

 forks," as the Kew Guide calls them. Tlie 

 mahogany-coloured arms of this species all have 

 blackish patches in the axillae which has always 

 struck me as a remarkable thing. Bean says it 

 produces its flowers in May, but at Achnashie 

 Rosneath. Dumbartonshire (the suliject of the 

 late Dr. Landsborough's article, " A West of Scot- 

 land Garden," Trans. Bot. Soc. of Edinburgh. Vol. 

 XXIII.), on 27th March, 1918, the flowers on the 

 upper branches of a tree there were all out. The 

 finest one I have seen is on the approach to Mac- 

 Dowall of Garthland's house at Lochwinnoch, 

 Renfrewshire. 



Bean quotes Mr. W. L. Jepson's tribute, " the 

 traveller, forester, hunter, artist, and botanist, is 

 held by tlie spell of its crown of flowers and 

 masses of red fruits, its terra-cotta bark and bur- 

 nished foliage." Mr. Jepson has omitted to in- 

 clude the poet, but it captured the imagination 

 of one at least, Bret Harte, whose delightful poem 

 on the Madrofia begins : — 



" Captain of the western wood. 

 Thou has apest Robin Hood; 

 Green above thy scarlet hose. 

 How thy velvet mantle shows ! 

 Never tree like thee arrayed. 

 Oh, thou gallant of the glade." 



To all whom it may concern in Ireland, " please 

 plant it ! " ' .J. P. 



Raphiolepis Delacourii. 



All through December and into January this 

 interesting shrub has been noticeable in a sunny 

 shrubbery by reason of its numerous racemes of 

 pink flowers; in fact, every shoot is terminated 

 by flowers, some open and others in the bud 

 stage. As yet it seems little known in gardens, 

 and may, perhaps require protection where the 

 w-inters are severe, but since being planted out 

 at Glasnevin some years ago it has flourished 

 without any protection, though hitherto it has 

 not flowered so freely. 

 The shrnh is evergreen, as in the case of the 



better known 1{. indicu and 1{. japonira, forming 

 a low, roiuidish bush of many branches. 



According to Rehder, in the Cyclopaedia of 

 American Horticulture, i?. Delacourii is a hybrid 

 between the two species mentictoed above," and 

 for genera! purposes certainly seems superior to 

 both. As a wdnter flowering subject it is well 

 worth growing on a sheltered wall where the 

 growths could enjoy the ripening influence of the 

 afternoon sun, for its present free flowering is, 

 no doubt, due in a measure to the warmth of the 

 late simnner. B. 



Rhodostachys andina. 



This interesting plant, tlmugh well known as a 

 greenhouse plant in botanic gardens, is not often 

 found in the open air in this country. It is, how- 

 ever, hardier than is generally knoten, if given 

 a warm, dry position, say at the base of a sunny 

 wall. 



A fine specimen has flourished for several years 

 in such a position just outside the Succulent ho\ise 

 at Glasnevin. It has recently flowered there, and 

 the short, thick spike of rose pink flowers pro- 

 duced from the centre of the rosette of stiff, 

 curved, spiny leaves has attraced the attention of 

 visitors. The only protection this plant has had 

 was afforded by a branch of Yew or other ever- 

 green laid over it on a hard frosty night. It is 

 a native of the Chilian Andes, and is no doubt 

 often subjected to frost in its native habitat. 

 Belonging to- the same natural order as the Pine 

 Apple — viz., DromeliaceH' Bhodostachys andina 

 is worth trying by those who like something out 

 of the common in their gardens. B. 



January Flowers at Glasnevin. 



With the advent of the New Year quite a consider- 

 able number of plants were added to the list of 

 winter-flowering subjects. Cliimonanthus friujrans, 

 the Winter Sweet, continued well into January, 

 while other shrubs coming into flower were Bhodo- 

 dcndron rioblcaniim, which really commenced in 

 December, Bhododcndron mucronulatum , a deci- 

 duous species from N. China, Manchuria and 

 Japan, and bearing much likeness to Bh. douriciim, 

 opened its rosy-purple blossoms freely. Bh. 

 dauricum also began to flower early in the month. 

 Bh. parrifolium, an evergreen from Siberia, etc., 

 also flowered freely towards the middle of the 

 month, the flowers, likewise rosy purple. Bh. 

 iHonpiiK use was fast ^swelling its flower buds, but 

 at the time of writing was not showing colour. 



A different type of shrub is represented by 

 Cornus officinalis, a close ally of the common Cor- 

 nelian Cherry, the leafless branches densely fur- 

 nished with "yellow flowers; strange to say, it is 

 so far a more satisfactory shrub here than Cornus 

 Mas. A delightful winter-flowering shrub is 

 Lonicera ^tandishi. a honeysuckle with pure white, 

 sweetly-scented flowers which are very freely pro- 

 duced, particularly if the plant be grown against 

 a wall where the shoots get well ripened during 

 summer. 



Already the orange red, crimson, pink and white 

 blossoms of Cydonia jupnnica are opening, and 

 will continue to give much lieauty for many weeks 

 to come. Incomparably finer tlian the ordinary 

 form of the Winter Jasmine is -lasminum Hieholdi- 

 annm, which, though not regarded as specifically 

 distinct by botanists, is nevertheless, as growing 

 here, a vastly better plant for gardens. 



