IRISH GARDENING 



43 



the "star" type. Sweet Peas and so on, may occupy 

 positions from the middle to the back of the 

 border, while t->wards the front a great variety of 

 Clarkias, Godetias, Lininiis, Mignonette, Phacelia, 

 Escholtzia, Love-in-a-Misi, Shirley Poppies. Lin- 

 arias, Coreopsis, and many others may lie sown. 

 These are all hai-dy annuals and can lie sown in 

 the open ground, in genial weather, in early April. 

 Open spaces in shrubberies may be utilised, and 

 manj^ a suburban front garden might be gay all 

 through the summer by using hardy annuals only. 



Many packets of seed are bought every spring 

 and more or less carefully sown, but the results 

 are not always satisfactory. The reason is not tar 

 to seek. Too often, just after a refresliing April 

 shower, the surface .soil looks in fine order for 

 sowing, and the seeds are " hastily put in." The 

 true condition of the soil is not properly consi- 

 dered; the fact is that hardy annuals, like most 

 other things, require good. dfcply-worVcd soil if 

 they are to show their true .beauty and be worth 

 the trouble. They have to do much in a short time, 

 and they cannot "do it satisfactorily from a garden 

 point of view in two or three inches of poor siu'- 

 face soil. Break up the soil, therefore, at least a 

 foot deep, and enrich it with decayed manure. Sow 

 the seeds thinly and watcli them carefully as they 

 grow, and dust with soot if slugs are troublesome. 

 Thin out immediately the seedlings begin to crowd 

 each other. This is an operation far too often 

 neglected. It .should be done at at least two opera- 

 tions. Tall growing kinds should stand at least a 

 foot a part at the last operation, and dwarfer kinds 

 from six to nine inches. There is no comparison 

 between plants grown at a reasonable distance 

 apart and those feft to fight with each other the 

 whole summer through. In fact the latter will 

 succumb long before the well thinned-out plants 

 are half finished flowering. 



It is often difficult for owners of small gardens 

 to obtain small quantities of manure. In this case 

 let the soil be well broken as deeply as possible, 

 and when the seedlings are finally thinned out 

 water with nitrate of soda, -1- oz. to two gallons of 

 water, preferably just after a shower; but if the 

 soil is dry, water first with prn'e water and then 

 with the nitrate, and this may be d.ine several 

 times at intervals of a fortnight or so until the 

 plants show signs of flowering. 



B. 



The Earliest Daffodil. 



In- the early spring w'hen flowers are scarce, and 

 the weather often uninviting, a Daffodil in flower 

 is very welcome — so welcome that one is not in- 

 clined to be too critical as to its qualities as a 

 florist's flower. 



The earliest true Daffodil, or trumpet Narcissus, 

 that I know is the " Eev. Frederick Tymons." 

 W'hich was open in this garden on the 2nd Feb- 

 ruary. From the photograph it can be seen that 

 i* is evidejitly a form of Xaichsus Piinccps. It 

 was raised at Baskin Hill. Co. Dublin, by the Rev. 

 Frederick Tymons, who was a noted and'successful 

 gardener, and was well known for the skill with 

 which he grew Tulips. Auriculas, and. indoors, 

 that most capricious plant — Visa yrandi flora. This 

 charming Daffodil varies in height, some years 

 being much longer in the stalk, but there is no 

 variation in the welcome it receives, nor in the 

 pleasin-e it gives. 



WlLLBROOK. 



Greenhouse Creepers. 



GBEENHOtrsES and conservatories contaiuin" 

 flowering and foliage plants, particularly orna° 

 mental-leaved plants like Coleuses, for e.x-ample, 

 need a partial shade during the summer months 

 from the fierce rays of the sun. if the subjects 

 growing therein are to attain anything like a 

 degree of perfection. Apart from this, the house 

 is rendered more temperate, and the labour of 

 watering is reduced. There are several ways of 

 affording a screen, either by the use of canvab 

 or latli blinds, tiffany, or by applying on the 

 glass from within some of the various prepara- 

 tions sold at mo.st horticultural establishments; a 

 cheaper way still is to give the glass a coat of 

 whiting. Blinds are a source of expense, and 

 want renewing after a time, ;uid the great objec- 

 tion to almost any kind of " wash " is that it is 

 a " fixture," insomuch that during a spell of dull 

 weather too much light is excluded. Another 

 arrangement, and one which is more in keeping 

 with a greenhouse, is to encourage the growth 

 of creepers over the roof, which not only gives the 

 necessary sliade to the plants on the stages below, 

 but contribute beauty to the house by the 

 blossoms they furnish. The great objection, of 

 course, to creepers being allowed to ramble over 

 a roof is that they, too, are liable to make a house 

 very gloomy at times, but this is largely a matter 

 for the grower, who should take care that the 

 foliage does not become too thick by permitting 

 all and sundry shoots to ramble at will. A 

 judicious use of the knife is the remedy for super- 

 fluous growth of creeping plants, and nothing that 

 will tend to darken a place .should be allowed to 

 remain. For the purpose of natural shading, not 

 a few plants are suitable, amongst them being 

 Cleinaiises. Ind'ivisa lohata is a rapid grower, 

 useful for indoor work, and produces many white 



Photo hy Mi^^ '^ T- -V'"c'-- 



D.tFFODiL Rev. Frederick Tymoxs. 



