28 



IRISH GARDENING 



red anthers, and not nearly so showy. It is now- 

 very scarce in the French Pyrenees, and to get it 

 it is necessary to go on Spanish territory, where 

 it is commoner, and easier to take uji. 



On this side of the chain it lias been hunted 

 so much that it is only to be found on elevated 

 rocks, stiff slopes, or precipitous walls, always 

 facing nurtli, in .shady, or half-shady, situations. 

 H. CoRRKvoN, Floraire, Geneva. 



tloweis are borne in a terminal cluster. Individu- 

 ally, they are large, and of a clear, transparent, 

 bhie-laveiider (the shade one associates witli 

 S(<ihii)X(i iiiucd.siio), and the only complaint we 

 luive against them is that only one or two are 

 open at the same time. The wliole plant is very 

 fragrant, rather more pungent, perliaps, than that 

 of the ordinary Ijavender. 

 N. Wales. A. T. .Johnson. 



Berry Bearing Solanums. 



S(jIiiii II III pseiidii-riipsii II III, known faJiiiliarly to 

 many people as Winter Cherries, because of the 

 green and scarlet berries they produce, make 

 pleasing adjuncts to a greenhouse amongst flower- 

 ing plants during the winter, and, incidentally, 

 are bright sliowy subjects for liringing into a 

 room for window "or talUe decoration. Tlieir value 

 luis long been estimated both by growers of plants 

 for market about Christmas and by those who 

 have the ordering of laige establishments; but, 

 for some reason or other, these iSolanums cannot 

 be said to be popular with amateurs who own 

 small greenhouses. This is rather to be regretted, 

 as beriy-bearing plants are none too common i:l 

 a greenhouse, and in the Solanuni in question \ye 

 liave one of the easiest possible culture that in 

 a comparatively short time may be brought into 

 beauty from seed. As this is the season for them, 

 it may not be out of place to remind those who 

 admire, and yet who have not cultivated them, to 

 say that seed' should be sown in i)ans of light soil 

 in the greenhouse in April, seedlings pricked out 

 as soon as large enough, subsequently being 

 potted separately in a compost of mellow loam, 

 leaf mould, and" half-rotted manure. In this the 

 plants will thrive, and potting on will be neces- 

 sary until five or six-inch sized pots are attained. 

 For a time the best place for Solanums is a posi- 

 tion in the greenhouse not far removed from the 

 glass, but where their wants can be attended to 

 in regard to watering. They must never be 

 allowed to get dry, and particularly so at the 

 blooming stage. During the summer the best 

 place for them is a cold frame having a north 

 aspect where they can .be stood on a bed of ashes 

 and have plenty of room. Coolness at the roots 

 is essential, as, unless this is provided for, the 

 yoiuig berries drop off. Early in Octobei- will find 

 them ready for the greenhouse, which should be 

 ventilated and kept on the cool side. Solanums 

 nuist not be hurried, otherwise the berries often 

 drop off. In addition to raising them from seed, 

 they can be propagated by means of cuttings 

 taken from the new growths of plants cut back 

 after they have started again in spring, but I 

 liave fo\uid that seedlings mostly give the best 

 results. Briefly they are not difficult to crdtivate 

 once their wants are iniderstood. 



W. I.INDERS IjKA. 



Lavandula dentata. 



Though still on its tiial with us, since we have 

 not yet had it twd years, this new Lavender 

 promises to be a great acquisition. Here it has 

 made a compact, upright bush, about 10 inches 

 high and nearly as much through, the stems being 

 densely furnislied with rilibed and indented leaves 

 in a fresh, almost grassy, green. Towards the end 

 of summer each branch sends up an erect flower 

 stem, after the manner of the Common Lavender, 

 and about the same height as the plant. The 



For a Garden Hedge. 



As an ornamental small hedge in the garden 

 Loiiircid iiitida is capital. It is a new and beau- 

 tiful evergreen shrub from China, with very 

 graceful foliage, and can be clipped most freely, 

 the trimming brings forth the full beauty of the 

 plant. Grown as a shrub it is also very pretty if 

 hard primed each spring, and for an evergreen 

 garden hedge it i.; ideal. I have an old Box hedge 

 in my garden which I am destroying in order to 

 re|)lace with Luiiin'ta nitidii this winter, and. as 

 the latter is of speedy growth, I cannot long miss 

 the Box. ij ]^ 



Fremontia californica. 



This is one of the finest of the many good shnd>s 

 California has given us, and one that is much 

 hardier than many suppose. It attains a height 

 of 6 or 7 feet, or even more, in a congenial 

 climate, but specimens of half that stature may 

 often be seen well covered with bloom. These 

 blossoms are aliout 2 inches across, bo'wl-shaped 

 and bright yellow, with a mass of orange stamens 

 at the centre. They are produced at the leaf axils 

 along the older liranches, and a succession is not 

 infrequently maintained from .June to Septemlier. 

 The leaves are bluntly lobed, dark green, leathery 

 and hairy, and curiously small and sparse for the 

 size and ninuber of the flowers. F. culifornica 

 does best as a w-all shrnh in all but our milder 

 districts. As such it has stood 20 degrees of frost 

 here without protection. It needs a well-drained 

 soil and plenty of moisture from spring to mid- 

 smumer, and for so long as floiwering lasts. For 

 that reason it should not be ))lanted against a 

 south wall. This shrub has a reputation for 

 suddenly dying-off when it has attained maturity, 

 but a specimen, now over ten years old. in this 

 garden is still vigorous. This species is easily 

 propagated by cuttings struck in August. 

 N. Wales. A. T. Johnson. 



A Brilliant Thorn 



Crataegus Carrierei 



In the Arboretiun of the Royal Botanic Gardens 

 at Glasnevin, a fine tree of this Thorn has been 

 conspicuous foi' several months. The fruits are 

 still, in Janiuiry, as brilliant as ever, and on en- 

 tering this portion of the Arboretum catch the 

 eye at once among the many other species of 

 Thorns there giown. The fruits with which the 

 tree is literally covered are large in size and of 

 bright orange-red colour. In addition to its 

 winter value. ('riif:i'(nis ('iiiiil'vei is equally useful 

 in summer, for it grows into a shapely small tree. 

 ]ierhaps 20 feet in height, and bears abundantly 

 corymbs of large w'hite flowers in Jmie; altogether, 

 it is well worthy of notice, and among the large 

 nimiber of Thorns now in cultivation il; should 

 certainly be regarded as one of the best, B, 



