i68 



IRISH GARDENING 



Plants for the Moraine. 



By Murray Uornibkook, Knai)ton, Abbeyloix. 



In Irish (Jakdeninc; of .lune, 1914, 1 de.stiibcd 

 some moraines, with s])ecial reference to tlieir 

 com"|)osition and texture. In the present article 

 I would refer more particularly to plants suitable 

 for the moraine. 



It is assumed tiiat the moraine is now made, 

 and is comx)osed of a mixture and texture suit- 

 able to the climatic conditions of the moraine- 

 maker's locality. His next ditTiculty will be 

 selecting liis i)lants, and he will find that fully 

 95 ])er cent, of his Ali)ines will do as well in the 

 stone chi]»s as they do in the soil. A few do not 

 like the moraine very much, and a larger pro- 

 ])ortion do not like the soil at all. He must, 

 therefore, give the latter the first consideration 

 for situation and s])ace, and, having ])rovided 

 for their requirements, then fill u]) tlie moraine 

 with those selected from the large number of 

 moraine lovers whose habit or constitution 

 renders them nxost suitable for moraine treat- 

 ment. To my mind the ideal moraine plant is 

 one that hugs the surface of the stones like a 

 lichen or a moss. Of course, in a large moraine 

 one can welcome every size and shape, bvit for the 

 snxall moraine, such as one sees in most rock 

 gardens, the surface-clingers are far more effec- 

 tive, and big, floppy plants should be avoided; 

 avoid also ram]>ant s])readers — I s])ent three 

 weary days in following the ramifications of a 

 small root of Linaria ])allida planted in ignor- 

 ance of its habit of sitreading about a hundred 

 times as fast underground as it does u]) above. 

 If the moraine be of limestone, choose for pre- 

 ference plants having .silver or grey in their 

 foliage, which is likely to be accentuated by the 

 lime. It will be found, as a rule, that moraine 

 treatment dwarfs the habit of a plant, makes 

 it com])act in growth, and increases the brilliancy 

 of the tone of its flowers. One word as to |;lant- 

 ing. Be careful to shake most of the soil from 

 the roots, and kee]) a sup])ly of very line crushed 

 material to put round them before the ordinary 

 moraine material is re])laced in the ])lanting hole, 

 otherwise the plants are liable to die from drought 

 arising from the air getting in between the larger 

 moraine stones. Water at once round the roots 

 after ]danting, and, if the weather be at all windy 

 and dry, water carefully once or twice a day 

 until established- Watering is not so necessary 

 in autumn ]»lanting, but very necessary when 

 planting in A])ril or May. Planting may be done 

 in si)ring, summer, or autumn. I find it more 

 satisfactory to plant decidiu)us plants in spring ; 

 the others I plant at any time when there is not 

 a frost. 



The following ]dants are all quite dwarf or 

 creeping, unless otherwise described : — 



Of Aly.s.sunis the gem is A. ser})yllifolium, with 

 white foliage and yellow flowers. Close to it and 

 very choice are A. ovirense and A. idaeum. A. 

 Bornmulleri, A. olympicum, green foliage, and 

 A. podolicum. green foliage and white flowers, 

 are also good, and the rosea form of A. .spinosum, 

 with its hard .s])iny silver branches--, is a gem, but 

 stronger in giowth than the others. All grow 

 freely in limestone. A. I.;agasc8e, with silvery 

 foliage and rosy-pink flowers, is very rare, and 

 with me prefers sand in full sun, but' it prosjjers 

 in moraine as Glasnevin. 



Armeria ca's])itosa is a delightful miniature 

 form of sea i)ink for a .situation not too dry. 



Arenaria tetracpietra only flowers with me 

 when planted in moraine. It is the choicest and 

 most distinct Arenaria I know. I also find A. 

 ledebouriana very attra«;tive, with foliage not 

 unlike a cree])ing aspai'agus ; both have white 

 flowers. A laricifolia is distinct. 



Andro.sace villosa makes a nice tuft, and is pro- 

 digal in its display of white flowers. This and 

 A. sempervivoides, with its dull green rosettes and 

 crimson flowers, are the only And rosaces I can 

 grow without winter glassing, and are both in 

 moraine. A. sarmentosa (see illustration) has 

 swanx])ed another moraine and taken it all for 

 itself, but it needs a glass. 



As])erula athoa looks ])articularly happy in 

 limestone, with its grey stems and their ])endant 

 pink flowers. 



Bellium bellidioides, a lichen-like white Daisy; 

 Bellis alpina, taller flowers, with i-ed reverse 

 (sometimes all red), and B. ccerulescens. with its 

 pale violet blossouis (not very hardy), are all 

 useful. 



Of Arabis I would recommend but few. A. 

 Andrt)sace, most distinct foliage, covered with 

 line silky hairs : A. Kellereri, dwarf and coui])act, 

 with greyish foliage and white flowers ; and simi- 

 lar in habit are A. Sundennanni and A. Ferdi- 

 nandi-Coburgi. There is also a tiny A. dacia, 

 with ])ale pink flowers, which is usually an annual, 

 but sows itself not too freely. 



Canapanula alpestris (Allioni) and C cenisia 

 are moraine plants ]»ure and sim])le. The 

 former has enornxous flowers for the size of its 

 foliage, and is almost stemless : so also is C 

 Kaineri vera. Another gem is C Morrettiana 

 (if you can get it i)roperly rooted) for a tight 

 crevice between moraine stones in half shade. 

 O. alpina, like a small C. barbata, with a si)ike of 

 blue blossoms at the side of its rosette ; (J. bellidi- 

 folia is good, and other indispensables are C 

 Waldsteiniana and C. Tommasiniana. C steno- 

 codon, a tiny hairbell, and C acutangula. a mimite 



C. garganica, should also be included, and all 

 grow freely in limestone, but C. alpestris prefers 

 granite or sandstone. 



Convolvulus incanus, with loose silvery foliage, 

 is good, but nitidus is compacter and better, with 

 foliage of the brightest burnished silver and white 

 or ]»ale pink flowers. At a distance it appears 

 not unlike Potentilla nitida, which, however 

 indi.spensable, is not, to my mind, st> line as the 

 ('onvolvulus. Other suitable Potentillas are 

 P. minima, P. Saxifraga, and P. calabrica, the 

 latter with beautiful grey foliage. 



Draba imbricata, compact in habit and a 

 hillock of brilliant yellow in s})ring, is easily lirst. 

 Other good Drabas are D. dicranoides, D. ariuata, 



D. Bertoloni, D. rigida, D. bruniaefolia, all with 

 yellow flowers, and D. ciliata with white flowers. 



I would confine the Dianthi for the moraine t« 

 the compact, non-straggling forms, of which the 

 following are good examples : — Dianthus aren- 

 arius, I). Freynii, I). Lereschei, U. gelidus, D. 

 subacaulis, 1). corsicus, D. brevicaulis, I), vir- 

 gineus, I), hirtus, D. al})ina. D. neglectus is a 

 gem, but ])refers light, o])en soil. 



Douglasia vitaliana has delightful grey-green 

 foliage, and may in the moraine be occasionally 

 induced to give a few of its bright yellow flowers. 

 D. laevigata is quite new, with crimson flowers, 

 but seems to prefer light vegetable soil. 



