174 



IRISH GARDENING 



The Month's Work. 



The Flower Garden. 



By Wm. G. Wadge, Gardener to Lcady O'Neill, 

 Shane's Castle, Antrim. 



Although there may not be so naany things 

 claiming attention during November, yet, if there 

 are alterations to be made and any quantity of 

 shrubs to plant, the time will be fully oocu])ied, 

 even without the constant sweeping and raking 

 called for to keej) lawns and walks tidy. The very 

 line weather during October will have forwarded 

 the preparation of beds for Koses or sites for 

 trees and shrubs. All planting of evergreens 

 should be completed without delay. It is very 

 neces.sary this year, owing to the limited rainfall, 

 to thoroughly water any shrubs before removal 

 and again after ])lanting. Planting should be 

 done very firmly, and the efficient staking of any 

 specimens large enough to be shaken much by 

 rough winds must be carried out. The foliage 

 of many trees during the past month has been 

 very rich in colouring. If any spot has been 

 noticed in shrubberies or elsewhere that appeared 

 lacking in colour, perhaps owing to excessive use 

 of evergreens, a start may be made forthwith to 

 remedy matters by substituting some deciduous 

 kinds that take on colour at this season. 



Herbaceou.s Borders. — These may be made 

 or replanted any time when the weather is 

 favourable during the winter, but there are 

 advantages in doing the work early this month. 

 The ground is usvially in better order for working 

 than later, and the habit, height and other 

 features of the ])lants may still be seen. If 

 trenching and replanting is to be done, first see 

 all the plants are securely labelled, then lift them 

 and place thickly together in some convenient 

 corner, covering the roots with soil or ashes to 

 keep them from drying. As the borders are only 

 trenched, at oftenest. once in three or four years 

 the work should be done thoroughly, and a 

 liberal quantity of manure and leaf -mould added. 

 Allow a week or two between trenching and 

 planting for the soil to settle ; then, on a dry day, 

 tread the whole .surface, afterwards raking it fine. 

 In replanting, vise the outside pieces of the 

 clumps ; they are best divided by placing two 

 digging forks back to back through the blocks 

 and levering them ai)art. While it is a good plan 

 to plant in bold grovips, they should not be too 

 large, else big bare patches will be seen at certain 

 seasons. For instance, a very large group of 

 Delphiniums would leave a blank place in the 

 border for weeks when the season of flowering has 

 passed. The size of the border, and especially 

 the width, must to a certain extent decide the 

 size of the individual groups. In very wide 

 borders some of the choicer shrubs can be used 

 with advantage towards the back. 



Roses. — There is no better time for planting the 

 majority of Roses than November. Teas are 

 best left till late February or March. es])ecially 

 in cold districts. All the plants needed should 

 be got from the nursery now. If the order is 

 deferred, the chances are that some of the 

 popular varieties may be so much picked over 

 that only inferior plants are left. Order early, 

 and heel the plants in carefully on arrival, and 

 plant when conditions are favourable. Roses 

 need a rich, well-drained soil. If making a new 



bed or garden, choose, if ])ossib!e, a si)ot where 

 water gels away freely, or take steps to drain it. 

 Trench and manure tin; soil. If it is (piite 

 unsuitable for Roses take it out to a depth 

 eight(!en inches and liil in with new loam. A 

 good nuithod of ])laiiting is to keep a whole bed 

 to one variety, but often f)ne wishes to have nu)re 

 kinds represented than this method allows. 

 0])en the holes wide enough to sj)read the roots 

 out well, and dee]) enough, so that the i)oint of 

 union with the stock be l)uried a coui)le of 

 inches below the surface. 



Early-flowehing Chrysanthemums — Noth- 

 ing was brighter than the beds of these during 

 October, and they will probably continue flower- 

 ing well into November. Although the plants are 

 hardy and nvay be left in the o])en ground it is 

 advisable to lift them after flowering is iinished 

 and ])Iace them thickly together in a ctjld frame. 

 The best results are obtained by propagating 

 annually. The cuttings are more easily secured 

 when under cover, and, the beds being cleared, 

 they can be manured and dug. It is not neces- 

 sary to keep a large stock, as cuttings are freely 

 produced and easily rooted in spring. 



Lily of the Valley. — These thrive best in 

 partial shade. Beds that have been undisturbed 

 for many years should be lifted, pulled apart, and 

 the crowns graded. Any of them will grow and 

 will flower after a season or two, but the larger 

 ones will flower the following year, or if they are 

 really good they may be potted or boxed, and 

 forced in lieat after January. Light rich soil 

 suits Lily of the Valley. Leaf-mould should be 

 worked in when preparing the ground, and a 

 covering of it placed over the bed after planting. 



Amaryllis Belladonna. — This plant is partial 

 to a hot, dry summer. It has flowered freely 

 this October. Planted in good soil at the foot of 

 a south wall it will continue to thrive for many 

 years without attention. Its peculiarity of 

 flowering when leafless gives it a bare appearance 

 where growing. 



The Fruit Garden. 



By Peter Brock, Horticultural Instructor 

 for Co. Fermanagh. 



This is the best month in the year — subject to 

 the soil being in the right condition, i.e., neither 

 too wet nor too dry — to plant all kinds of fruit 

 trees and bushes. There still being a little of the 

 summer's warmth in the ground which assists 

 root action and the callusing or healing of root 

 wounds, the trees get i)artly established before 

 the rigours of winter set in, and make a better 

 start into growth the first year than trees ])lanted 

 during slop]»y weather in mid-winter or late in 

 spring. It is false economy to ])lant on ill-pre- 

 ]jared land, and then try to make amends in years 

 after the trees are planted. Land recently cleared 

 of ])otatoes or other root crops is generally in 

 good heart and easily brought into suitable con- 

 dition by deep ploughing, and if necessary 

 deepening the surface by grubbing the bottom 

 of each furrow as the ploughing proceeds. The 

 ridge system of breaking from lea with a crop 

 of potatoes nuikes an excellent ])re]»aration for 

 planting to fruit, the ridges being sidit after the 

 ])otatoes are dug affords a deeper tilled surface 

 than is obtainable with ordinary ])loughing. Any 

 reasonable ex])enditure on the i)rei)aration of 

 suitably situated and sheltered land of the right 



