io8 



IRISH GARDENING 



Rubus deliciosus. 



Is it because the woi'd Hubus brings to llic 

 gardener's mind ta tliorny Bniniblt' that one so 

 seldom sees this beaut if-.U slirub in gardens ? 

 No fear need be entertained on this account, i'or 

 this Rubus is absolutely without i»rickles, and 

 niakes a bush from 8 to 5 feet high with arching 

 branches, covered in May with large white, 

 sweet-scented ftowers like single Roses, and it 

 may be ranked as one of the best of our May- 

 flowering shrubs. 



Our illustration, from a ])hotograp]i kindly sent 

 by Mr. W. Winstanley, gives a very good idea of 

 the shrub and its pleasing habit. 



The flowers are from 2 to 2 1 inches across . and the 

 white ]ietals are beautifully crimped and enveloj) 

 a small boss 

 of yellow sta- 

 mens. The 

 leaves are 

 green and 

 toothed, reni- 

 f o r m i n 

 shape, 2 to 3 

 inches across, 

 somewhat re- 

 s e m b 1 i n g 

 those of the 

 red currant. 



Rubus de- 

 liciosus is a 

 native of the 

 Rocky Moun- 

 tains, and so 

 is quite hardy 

 a n d grows 

 freely in any 

 good soil. 

 The shrub 

 gets its speci- 

 tic name from 

 the fruit, 

 which is said 

 to be large, 

 of a maroon 

 brown colour, 

 soft and de- 

 licious to eat, 



but. unfortunately, it is not ]n'oduced in this 

 «-ountry. 



There are a few other members of the Bramble 

 family which are Avorth growing for their flowers. 



Rubus odoratus has purple flowers 2 inches 

 across, and flowers from .Fune to August : it grows 

 from 3 to ;■) feet higli, and sends up suckers like 

 a rasiiberry ; in fact is sonietimes called the 

 " Purple Flowering Raspberry." The leaves are 

 three to five-lobed. The shrub received its nanu- 

 on account of the fragrance of its foliage. 



Rubus nutkanus is a close relative of the lattcu-; 

 it also comes from North America, and was first 

 found along the shores of Nutka Sound l)y 

 Menzies. It has the same habit of sending up 

 suckers, and has large bandsome leaves, (5 inches 

 across, but the flowers are in clusters, and white, 

 about 1 1 inches across, produced from April to 

 June. 



Rubus spectabilis has smaller bright red flowers, 

 and i)roduces them in April and May ; the leaves 

 are trifoliate and almost smooth. 



The three last mentioned shrubs are almost 



I'lioh) h!i\ 

 RUBU.S 



DELICTOSUS AT HaRKI 



Co. 



spineless and excellent subjects for the wild 

 garden. In shrublx'rics the only <are they 

 reqiure is to kee]) them within bounds and 

 occasionally to cut out old and dead canes. 



R. ulmifolius flore i)leno is the double-flowered 

 I3ram])le and decidedly ])rickly, but the double 

 pink flowers in clusters are very welcome and 

 pretty in late autumn. At the end of July 

 flowers often appear and continue until the frost 

 comes. 



Haberlea rhodopensis. 



This pretty little rock i)lant is like a miniature 

 Gloxinia forming rosettes of evergreen leaves, 

 froni which spring flower stems from 3 to 6 inches 

 high, bearing from two to seven tubular flowers 



of a bluish 

 lilac colour. 

 One o f t e n 

 sees very poor 

 forms, for it 

 is a variable 

 plant both in 

 nature and 

 cultivation ; 

 a good form 

 should have 

 flowers 1 inch 

 across and 

 segmentswell 

 oliened out 

 fromthetube; 

 some are 

 beautifully 

 s ]) o 1 1 e d in 

 1 lie throat 

 with yellow 

 and dee]) 

 jiurple. 



Many writers 

 u]ion the Ha- 

 berlea and 

 R a m o n d i a 

 seem to cojiy 

 one f^r o|m 

 another, and 

 tell us that 

 these plants 

 naturally grow in crevices and rgr^uire to be planted 

 in vertical crevices, but this is far from the whole 

 truth. 



In nature neither of these ])lants is confined 

 to rock crevices, but more often ai'e seen on 

 sloping or flat ledges ; also in cultivation they 

 grow just as well on the flat, providing their roots 

 are not in stagnant moisture. Some of the finest 

 Ramon dias at Glasnevin are i^lanted with their 

 leaves spreading horizontally on the ground, and 

 have rosettes 10 inches to a foot across and 

 bearing twenty or uiorc flower stems. 



Near to the Shipka Pass is a i»artly shaded cliff 

 which is covered with the Haberlea, and here it 

 may be seen in tufts 2 feet ;ind more across, and 

 to see it in flower in .Fune is a wonderful sight : 

 here it grows in loam ai\d rotten leaves. Further 

 south, near to Philippopolis. the Haberlea is 

 plentifid on the Rhodo])e Mountains. On the 

 limestone, in com])any with Saxifraga poro- 

 ])hylla, it thrive.'? and seeds : late in the year, with 

 till' sun more fierce and hot than ours and often 

 very little or no shade, the leaves get burned and 



[ II'. Winstnnleil 



STOWN House, Brannockstowx. 



KiLDABE. 



