100 



IRISH GARDENING, 



Some of the more tender species are planted in 

 clearings in the wood, where they get shelter from 

 strong winds. 



Rhododendron arboreum and its hybrids line 

 the sides of a drive, and in April they form a 

 bank of scarlet flowers 20 to 30 feet high. 



R. Campbelliffi is an extremely rare sj)ecies, 

 and is 25 feet high. 



R. Falconeri is a marvellous bush, 20 feet high, 

 and as much through, and this year has borne 

 about 500 heads of flowers. 



R. triflorum and campylocarpum measure 

 10 to 12 feet. 



R. grande or argenteum is 18 feet, and R. 

 eximium is making a strong bush. Rhododen- 

 dron Kingianum is still small, but doing well ; 

 while R. Keysii and the rare Chinese R. lacteum 

 are over 10 feet. R. barbatum is 20 feet high. 



In early April an extremely fine form of 

 R, barbatum is a picture, so dazzling and brilliant 

 are the crimson flowers; this form is known as the 

 Menabilly variety ; the trusses are larger and the 

 flowers open just as those of the type fade. 

 A hybrid from R. arboreum crossed with R. 

 campanulatum, raised at Glasnevin, and named 

 Thomas Acton, also flowers in early April ; the 

 leaves are intermediate between the two parents, 

 and the flowers are white- spotted with crimson. 



Other rare species of Rhododeiidrons at 

 Kilmacurragh are R. Roylei, Fordii, lepidotum 

 and lanatum. 



Himalayan Cojiifers are represented by fine 

 specimens of Abies Pindrow andWebl>iana nearly 

 50 feet high, while Tsuga Brunoniana is nearly 

 40 feet high, and is the rarest of the hemlock 

 spruces, with beautiful glaucous branches sweep- 

 ing the ground ; unfortunately it is scarcely 

 hardy in County Dublin. Pieris (Andromeda) 

 formosa is also tender in most localities, but 

 here is 15 feet high, andj)ears freely its drooping 

 white flowers like sprays of Lily of the Valley. 

 ^ Magnolia Campbellii was planted in 1876 on a 

 wall, which it has long since overtopped, and is 

 now a tree 35 feet high. It is the finest of all 

 Magnolias, rather tender, and takes many years 

 before flowering, but it is well worth the waiting, 

 for the flowers are a lovely shade of pink, 10 

 inches across, and sweetly scented ; a tree 

 bearmg a number of flowers in April was a 

 really beautiful sight. Our illustration does 

 not do justice to this ))eautiful flower, for its 

 distinctive beauty lies in the soft colour. 



Chilian Trees and Shrubs. — Irish gardens 

 m favoured localities are j)articularly suited to 

 these, and Kilmacurragh possesses two which 

 are probably the finest specimens in the United 

 Kingdom. Mr. Watson, the Curator of Kew, 

 when first visiting this garden m June, 1905, 

 seeing a specimen of Tricusi)idaria lanceolata 



18 feet high and 10 feet through, with branches 

 weighed down by the red flowers, exclaimed : " I 

 never before saw such a plant." Again in June 

 it is well worth going all the way to see 

 Embothrium coccineum covered by brilliant 

 scarlet flowers, 40 feet high, and with a trunk 

 18 inches thick, and sending up suckers or 7 

 yards away. 



Another extremely rare tree is Libocedrus 

 tetragona represented by a fine specimen of 

 fastigiate habit 20 feet high, while Libocedrus 

 chilensis is 30 feet high. 



Other interesting Conifers from Chili are 

 Podocarpus nubigenus, 25 feet high ; P. chilina, 

 25 feet ; Fitzroya patagonica, 25 feet and the 

 same in diameter ; and Prunniopitys elegaiis, 

 30 feet. 



A specimen of Diimys Winteri, 35 feet high, 

 was in flower in April ; while Azara microphylla, 

 30 feet, scents the air around with vr.nilla 

 perfume from tiny yellow flowers, produced 

 early in February. 



Eugenia apiculata (Myrtus Luma). 25 feet 

 high, produces its myrtle- like flowers in late 

 summer. Laurelia serrata, 25 feet high, is 

 another scarce and rather tender evergreen tree. 

 In the southern parts of Chili it is known as the 

 Huanhuan tree, and is prized for its timber. In 

 April it bears a multitude of small yellowish 

 flowers, which are very fragrant. 



Two evergreen climbers belonging to the Bar- 

 berry family are rambling on a wall ; these are 

 the showy red-flowered Berbeiidopsis corallina, 

 and the handsome f oliaged Lardizabala biternata. 



New" Zealand Plants. — In April one of the 

 most remarkable p'ants A\as a bush of Fuchsia 

 excorticata, 16 feet high, with the bark peeling 

 off in long strips from the older stems, the quaint 

 flowers— a mixture of blue and red — spring in 

 clusters from both old and yovuig stems. There 

 is a bush of Senecio Grayi — and such a bush ! 

 15 feet through and 5 feet higli^ — which is just 

 covered by a mass of yellow flowers in June. 



Griselinia littoralis, a useful evergreen for the 

 seaside, here grows 20 feet high. 



Pittosporum Buchanani is a fine bush of 

 15 feet, while other kinds, like the small-leaved 

 P. Mayi, are making pretty evergreens. 



Olearia macrodonta makes a fine bush, and 

 more of this family might be planted ^ith 

 advantage. 



Tasmania is represented by many beautiful 

 specimens of the Arthrotaxis, mem))ers of the 

 Conifer tribe not often grown because they are 

 not generally hardy, but here they form perfect 

 erect pyramids uninjured by frost. Arthrotaxis 

 cupressoides is 20 feet ; A. laxifolia is 36 feet, 

 with a trunk 15^ inches in diameter, and A. 

 selaeinoides is also 25 feet high. 



