IRISH GARDENING 



185 



Hints to Novices. 



Where indoor ('hrysanthemuius are grown, when 

 out of flower they may be rut down to within a 

 few inches of the soil in the ])ot, and may be then 

 stood on a shelf in the greenhouse, or in a frame. 

 It really matters very little where these old stools 

 are ])ut, jtrovided the .structure is frost-i)roof and 

 admits ])lenty of light. Strong shoots will break 

 away from the base, and these can be taken off 

 as ciittings. With sonie varieties there is no lack 

 of cuttings*, and they shoot up freely, but others 

 are shy and produce .suitable growths very 

 S])aringiy. The plpnts should be watered just as 

 caref\illy as when in flower. If pro])erly attended 

 to in this stage, the cuttings wi'l be strong and 

 healthy and there will be no difficulty in rooting 

 them. Some 

 of the single 

 varieties are 

 well worth 

 cu 1 1 i vating. 

 They make ex- 

 cellent room 

 plants, they 

 require no dis- 

 budding, and 

 are most at- 

 tractive: — Ivy 

 Sh o ebrid ge. 

 so ft pink: 

 Felix, terra 

 cotta; Mrs. T. 

 Fox, yellow : 

 Ideal, white : 

 F. W. Forbes, 

 crimson; Earls- 

 wood Beauty, 

 ere am. A 

 batch of these 

 grown merely 

 for cuttings or 

 for the house 

 well repay a 

 little trouble. 

 They are 



among some 

 of the flowers 

 that last 



longest in water, and it is not an exaggeration to 

 say that they will last three weeks. The 

 foliage fades, but the flowers will still hold out. 



Bulbs in llbre may be brought to the light. 

 (Jreen shoots will be bursting u]> through the 

 fibre and the bowls will be m\u-h heavier than 

 when first ]>lanted, and in many cases the libre 

 will be raised u]> in the bowl. This is (abused by 

 the formation and growth of the roots. Quanti- 

 ties of roots have been niade while the bulbs were 

 in the dark, and these are forcing their way into 

 the fibre and pushing u]) the bulbs. If the bowls 

 were removed, the fibre and bvilbs would remain 

 unl)roken surrounded by a thick mass of white 

 roots, that have worked their way round the 

 inside of the bowl, and it is this mass of roots 

 that will su])])ort and keeji the bulljs firm iin<l 

 steady when they come to the stage of carrying 

 their foliage and flowers. 



Roses. — Where these are grown, and in that 

 part of the country where frosts are severe, the 

 tender varieties should be ]»rotected. Ratublers. 

 such as (Vimson HaTubler, Dorothv Perkins, Arc., 



if they have grown too thick, may be removed 

 entirely from whatever structure they are on, and 

 all old, useless wood removed, only replacing the 

 young, strong healthy shoots, on which the 

 following summer's display will come. The arch 

 or wall may look a bit bare at fir.st. but in one 

 season this bareness will hardly be noticed and 

 the trouble will be ani])ly compensated by the 

 wealth of bloom. 



Among shrubs in the flower garden there 

 may also be some plants the hardiness of which 

 is doubtful. These should be ])rotected in some 

 way from damp and frost. It is not generally 

 realised that in Ireland a far greater number of 

 ])lants are killed each winter from dam]> than 

 from frost. The damp, sodden earth clinging 

 round the base of ma.ny choice Alpines and the 

 wet lying on the leaves and getting down into 



the heart of 

 the plants soon 

 rots them away 

 In the case of 

 the.se Alpines 

 and any small 

 low growing 

 jilants, a sheet 

 of glass placed 

 in slots cut in 

 fovir strong 

 stakes about 

 twelve inches 

 high, and 

 ])laced slightly 

 slo])ing over 

 the ])lant, will 

 keep rain from 

 l)enetrati ng 

 the crown of 

 the j)lant and 

 will keej) the 

 soil from get- 

 ting heavy and 

 clogged. With 

 shrubs and 

 taller ])lants 

 the common 

 1) r a c k e n o r 

 branches of 

 evergreens 

 ]ilaced over 

 the jtlants will serve as a ))rotection from frost. 

 All borders should be forked over and left 

 clean and tidy, but where the soil is very light 

 it is useless manuring at this time of the year, 

 as by the tinie the winter is over all the good of 

 the manure will be washed out of it. It can be 

 done early in the spring. 



All leaves should be saved and all garden 

 I'ubbish. and ;»,ll carting and wheeling should 

 oiilv be done when the ground is hard frozen. 



H. M. P. 



^*' i^^ 9^^ 



Physalis Bunyardi. 



TiiK sjiecies of '* Winter Cherry " mo.st iisually 

 met with in gardens is Physalis Franchetti, and 

 less seldom P. Alkekengi. Thoiigh nmch the 

 better plant we rarely see P. Bunyardi, des]»ite 

 the fact that it is superior in many res])ects. It 

 is nmch the strongest grower, reaching in good 

 soil some three feet in height. 



TiARELLA C01U)1F01JA. 



