IRISH GARDENING 



3 



available to have an irregular margin of stones, 

 furnished with clumps of evergreen rock plants. 

 Here many of the early spring flowers may be left 

 to form a permanent edging, and will annually 

 make a fine display, if cut over and attended 

 to as the flowers go over. With regard to the 

 cultivation of the perennials, subsequent to 

 planting the border, much must he left to the 

 judgment of the gardener. 



Many strong-growing fibrous-rooted plant;- 

 like the tall Michaelmas Daisies, Heleniums, 

 Helianthuses, &c., may with advantage be lifted 

 and divided every autumn, others like Del- 

 phiniums^iEryngiums, Pseonias, Lupins, Irises, 



nient of their shoots, but among the dwarfer 

 things which are planted closer it is difficult 

 to apply manure, and a compost of old potting 

 soil, mixed with leaf-mould or old hotbed 

 uianure, is easier to point in, and effectively 

 maintains the soil fertility, which must be kept 

 at a high pitch. Basic slag is an excellent 

 artificial for herbaceous borders, but it should 

 be applied in autumn or very early spring. It 

 is good on all soils, but especially for those 

 deficient in lime. Superphosphate is more 

 readily soluble, and it is excellent when applied 

 in early spring to soils which have enough lime. 

 It is an acid manure, and should be very carefully 



The TIerbaceous Border at Glasnevin. 



and many others resent root disturbance, and 

 are better left alone for several years. An all 

 important operation too frequently neglected 

 is the rigorous thinning out of weak shoots in 

 spring. This is particularly desiral)le in the case 

 of Delphiniums, but is equally applicable to 

 Michaelmas Daisies and similar plants which 

 may not have been moved. Half a dozen 

 good strong shoots are infinitely more satis- 

 factory than a forest of weak ones. 



Where bulbs are largely used in the border 

 the annual digging must be left till early spring, 

 when they are pushing through the ground 

 Thoroughly rotted manure uuiy be dug in 

 l)et\veen the groups of tall plants, which are 

 planted further apart to allow for the develop- 



used on heavy retentive soils deficient in lime. 

 A final word may be said about staking, and 

 we may take it as a safe rule that the less stakes 

 we have in the l)order, compatible with safety, 

 the better it will look. Some staking, however, 

 must be done, and enough should be used to 

 each plant or groups to allow of a natural 

 appearance when the operation is com])lete. 

 One or t\\o stakes with a bundle of shoots tied 

 uj) to them present an absurd picture, entirely- 

 spoiling the whole border. In large gardens 

 this work should be entrusted to a trained 

 gardener, as it is useless to expect an unskilled 

 labourer to do it satisfactorily. In most gardens 

 there are far too few trained gardeners and much 

 too great a proportion of unskilled labour. 



