42 



IRISH GARDENING 



Hints to Novices 



Jiy May ('i:oshik. 



Dry days in March are always valuable. Tt is 

 the inontli wlien most of the outdoor seed sowing 

 is done. We often get a good deal of rain in 

 March, and it is best to get on with tliis work 

 whenever weather and soil permit. But if the 

 ground is too wet — that is, when the earth sticks 

 to the spade and seems cloggy and when the 

 lumps cannot readily be broken up by a rake — 

 it is better to i)ostpone the sowing till it dries. 

 For all kinds of seed see that the soil is made as 

 fine as possible. 



Of the flower seeds, if Sweet Pea has not already 

 been sown get 

 it in lirst. In 

 February 

 Irish Gar- 

 dening direc- 

 tions for its 

 tr e a t m e n t 

 will be found. 

 Seeds of it 

 sown under 

 glass ought to 

 be a few 

 inches hi gh 

 now and by 

 the middle of 

 the montli. if 

 in a frame, 

 tlie lights 

 ought to be 

 oft' altogether 

 and if in a 

 a greenhouse 

 the pots or 

 boxes of seed- 

 lings should 

 1) e s t o o d 

 o u t s i d e in 

 a sheltered 

 (■ o r n e r . so 

 that they may 

 be properly 

 hardened off 

 before plant- 

 ing out. 



All flower 

 borders and 



flowering shrubs will want to get a dressing of 

 manure. Old short manure is much better and 

 easier to dig into the borders than fresh stuff". 

 By now all bulbs, &c., will be well ab'ove the 

 ground, and with care the manure can readily 

 be dug in between the i^lants without injuring 

 their roots. If the only manure available is 



fresh stuff", it is a good ]jlan to si)read it 

 over the surface of the border and leave it so 

 for a few weeks, when it will be found much 

 easier to work in. Clum])s of herbaceous plants 

 that want moving or dividing ought to be lifted 

 before manure is dug in. When replanting, use 

 the outside i)ieces of the clum])s and throw away 

 the old worn out centres. Siich ])lants as 

 Michaelmas Daisies, that si)read quickly and ar? 

 surface rooters, require this done every second 

 year to get the best results. 



Now is the time for increasing the stock of 

 hardy Chrysanthemums. This can be done in 



Pholn /,y] 



Pentstemon Scouleri 



two ways, either ))y dividing the clumps, which 

 will have young growths an inch or so long, 

 leaving a few nice, strong shoots to each division ; 

 or by breaking off" sucli a shoot and ])utting it in 

 as a cutting. Choose nice sturdy shoots, dibble 

 them flrmly into a shady border al)out three 

 inclies ai)art : stoj) them when about four inches 

 long, and they will be nice little i)lants ready to 

 move to their flowering cpiarters in .June. 



Any vacant si)aces in borders can be lilled 

 with annuals. Make the soil fine, scatter seed 

 thinly, cover with a little flne soil. A few good 

 tall annuals for back of border are, branching 

 Larksr)urs in all colours (rosy scarlet and light 

 blue being perhaps the most i)opular shades), 

 Mallows (Lavatera rosea splendens is the best), 

 Malopes. Shirley Po])])ies, Cornflowers, Clarkia 



elegans. A 

 few of the 

 best about 

 one foot high 

 are Migella 

 Miss .lekyll. 

 Swan River 

 Daisy, Sweet 

 Sultans, Chry- 

 santhemums 

 Morning and 

 Evening Star 

 \' e n i d i u m 

 calendulaceum 

 Slugs are 

 enemies to be 

 feared, and 

 they are i)ar- 

 ticularly fond 

 of Larkspur 

 and Sweet 

 Sultans. 

 IIeai)sof bran 

 or the i)eel of 

 half an orange 

 |iut like an 

 inverted cu]) 

 nn the ground 

 make excel- 

 I ent traps. 

 When the 

 seedlings are 

 making their 

 second leaves 

 thin to about 

 an inchai)art. 

 They will require a second thinning later, leaving 

 the dwarf ones about six inches and the tall ones 

 about a foot apart. Well grown annuals are a 

 tremendovis help in making the border gay during 

 the summer and autumn. 



Before the end of the montli nil roses may be 

 pruned. When rose bushes ftn' garden decoration 

 are wanted, i)runing is a much l(>ss drastic 

 l)roceeding than that for exhibition l)looms. For 

 general garden work a well-sha])ed bush that will 

 give a good fiuantity of bloom is the object of 

 the i)i'uning. Take out all dead wood and all old 

 branches that are making i)oor growtli. When 

 shortening the good growths remember weak 

 shoots can be cut much harder back than strong 

 ones, and that the to]) bud left on the shoot will 

 grow first and in the direction iii which it 

 ]>oints. When pi'uning is linished fork over all the 

 ground and give (he beds a good mulch of 

 manure. 



[H. C. Elichm 



IN THE Rock Garden. 



