IRISH GARDENING 



87 



flowered ; T. persica, witli bright yellow flowers 

 and buft" exterior, flowers freely and is increasing, 

 so is T. Haageri nitens, with brilliant vermilion 

 hloonis, most telling in the sun ; T. clusiana took 

 a rest for a year, but is blooming again this year, 

 a beautiful thing with pink exterior to the petals 

 and snowy white interior enhanced by the glowing 

 red purple eye. All these are in sand/ loam and 

 chijjs in the hottest part of the garden. 



Among odds and ends Draba ciliata pleases me 

 greatly, it blooms very freely; the flowers are 

 large and well formed and ot a pure white 

 colour, it seems quite at home in a moraine of 

 chips and sand only, and is beginning to run 

 about, a sure sign of ha])piness. 



In a moraine of chips and loam, seedlings of 

 Alyssum idaeum 

 are just in bloom ; 

 the flowers are 

 of a bright pure 

 yellow on plants 

 only one inch 

 high ; when the 

 plants have grown 

 a little it will, 

 I feel sure, be 

 most attractive. 



Although my 

 garden is so 

 small, I could go 

 on talking about 

 its plants for 

 some time, but 

 even a readers, 

 let alone an 

 editor's patience 

 may be exhaust- 

 ed, and so I 

 will close with 

 a passing refer- 

 ence to Cam- 

 ])anula tridentata 

 just coming into 

 bloom. The 

 habit is very 

 dwarf, 2-3 ins., 

 flowers large, of 

 a glistening 

 brilliant ])vir])ie 

 and freely borne; 

 it grows well with 

 me in sandy loam 

 and chips on a little plateavi in full sun; its only 

 fault is tbat slugs are inordinately fond of it, and 

 will browse on it time after time, until the ])lant 

 gives up in despair. Other plants in bloom are — 

 Iberis petraea, white, 2 ins.; Onosma alba rosea in 

 a chink ; Androsace lactea, white, in moraine ; 

 Dodecatheon alpinum, rosy piu'ple, 4ins., in ])eat ; 

 and Saxifraga decipiens (*odsall, cream, distinct, 

 witn cream ])ink-tiiited buds and creamy white 

 flowers. 



Helichrysum bellidioides. 



This charming little New Zealand composite, so 

 rarely seen in gardens, is a subject ada])ted to 

 succeed in the rock garden, as. when planled in a 

 sunny position, it produces its flowers in woiuU-rful 

 profusion, almost completely submerging its foliage, 



The everlasting daisy-like flowers are produced 

 on scapes rising only from 4 to 6 inches in height ; 

 the floret rays are of a glossy white, while the disks 

 of the flowers are of a yellowish green colour. 



The tiny foliage of the plant is pretty, its under 

 surface being covered with a soft, white pub- 



escence, and when the flowers are absent from 

 tlie jjlant, there is a charm created by the foliage, 

 whicn alone is sufficient to justify its inclusion in 

 the rock garden. 



Tlie plant itself has a procumbent habit of 

 growth, and quickly covers its allotted space, as 

 will be evident by a glance at tlie illustration, 

 the plant here only being in its present position 

 for two years. 



An ideal position for the plant is one in which 

 sun is present during the greater part of the day, 

 as the flowers of H. bellidioides are not seen to 

 the best advantage unless placed in full sun, 

 failing to open to their full beauty. 



Its propagation presents no diflficulties, as 

 cuttings taken from the young shoots ])roduced 



after flowering 

 will root readily 

 if inserted in a 

 sandy compost 

 and ]) laced in a 

 cool frame. 

 H. C. E1.SDON. 



Erinacea 



Pungens 



Ix E r i n a c v a 

 l)ungens we have 

 one of the most 

 beautiful of rock 

 ]) 1 a n t s. and 

 although it is 

 over a century 

 and a half since 

 it was first in- 

 troduced into 

 this country, it 

 is still very rare. 

 A native of 

 Valencia a n d 

 Morocco, Avhere 

 it was first dis- 

 co v e r e d by 

 Clusius. and one 

 can imagine his 

 delight when he 

 first discovered 

 this charming 

 little shrub, 

 totallyunknown 

 to every other 

 botanist at that time, and what added to the 

 value of his jn-ize was the way it evaded his 

 grip with its sharj) si)in< ^. 



It forms a dense, spiny, almost leafless liltle shnih 

 with l)luish-i)ur]>le flowers, which arc arranged in 

 clusters of five to eight, during April and May. 



The seeds are itrotluced rather sparingly, even 

 in a wild state, and this undoubtedly is partly 

 the reason why this i)lant is somewhat rare. 

 Then, again, it is not recognised as a hardy plant, 

 although there are few parts of the country where 

 it could not be grown with success if planted in 

 well-drained soil and given a sunny nook in a 

 sheltered part of the rock-garden. 



Seeds should be sown as soon as ripe, this being 

 the best method of ])ro])agat ing it. although if 

 young shoots are ]ilaced in sandy soil under a 

 iiand-light. it is possible to get a few to root, but 

 lavering will be found a much better method. 



The illustration is of an exceptionally fine 

 specimen, over 1 foot high and 2S inches in 

 diameter, growing in the open in the Botanic 

 Gardens, Cambridge, where it has been growing 

 for several vears. F. G. Preston. 



Erinacea pungens at Cambridge Botanic Gardens. 



