i^S 



IRISH GARDENING 



Cyclamen 



In 1731 Oyclaiuen ])er,sirum was first introduced 

 to this country, and since that date, particularly 

 during the last lifty years, rapid progress has 

 been made in the size, colour, and general habit 

 of this plant. In these days of outdoor gardening 

 our greenhouses are given over to those subjects 

 that produce a good display during the winter 

 months. To my mind, this is as it should be, 

 as flowers are always prized in the greenhouse 

 when they are scarce in the o])en ground. 



Many leading firms pay special attention to the 

 Cyclamen, and ofTer quite a series of beautiful 

 forms. A few of the most noteworthy are Giant 

 White, Scarlet, Halmon-pink, and Cherry-red, 

 while the nxixed strains from a reliable source are 

 sure to give the greatest satisfaction. Cyclamen 

 always make a table look bright and cheerful, 

 but if the flowers are pulled from the corm it will 

 be necessary to cut off the base of the stem, or 

 the blooms soon droop and die. The subject 

 under notice is propagated by nxeans of seeds, 

 which germinate somewhat slowly and irregularly, 

 but if sown directly it is ripe these little difficvilties 

 are partly overcome. As a general rule a seed- 

 ling will flower in eighteen nxonths, but this, of 

 course, de])ends vix)on the treatment given. For 

 producing a display in early spring the seed can 

 be sown in September or October, and for winter 

 work a sowing should be made in June or July. 



The seed should be .sown thinly in a compost 

 of loam, leaf-mould, and sand, tiie whole being 

 put through a sieve with a quarter inch mesh. 

 Place in a warm pit and never allow the soil to 

 beconxe dry. When the seedliags have made a 

 tiny bulb or corm they must be given a separate 

 existence, and pots known as long thvimbs will 

 suit thenx admirably. Grow on in a warm, 

 moist house, kee]>ing them close to the glass and 

 the surface soil free from all lichen growth by 

 occasionally pricking it over with a pointed label. 

 Care, however, must be exercised to prevent any 

 injury to the tiny roots. 



As growtli advances and the " thumbs " are 

 filled with roots, each plant should be moved 

 into a 48 or a 4i-inch pot, adding a little dried 

 rotten cow manure to the soil quoted above. 

 During the sumi!ier months a little shade will be 

 needed from the direct rays of the sun, and after 

 flowering a j)artial rest is allowed in a cold franae 

 or cool greenhouse. Some years ago a very de- 

 cided rest was given, but this is i-ather the excep- 

 tion than the rule in the.se ])rogressive times. 

 When the corms reach the stage of what may be 

 termed partly dormant, the sQJl should be shaken 

 from the roots and the plants repotted in new 

 inaterial. Make the compost tolerably firm, 

 and arrange them in a cold frame until the autumn, 

 when a shelf in the greenhouse can generally be 

 found for them. Here or on the stage they will 

 flower, and if the grower has done his part, a good 

 crop of bloom will be the result. Greenfly is the 

 principal insect pest, but it can easily be destroyed 

 by vaporising the house or frame with " XL 

 All " or some other fumigant. 



The chief factors in Cyclamen culture include 

 a sweet and open rooting medium, good drainage, 

 cleanliness, careful watering, and a congenial 

 temperature while in active growth. T. W. B. 



The Aftermath of the Rock 

 Garden 



By the middle of .July the heyday of the rock 

 garden is over, and one begins to wonder what 

 is going to carry on the int(;rest for the lUiXt few 

 nu)nths. August is ]»rovcrbially a bad month 

 in the rock garden, but there is no inherent 

 reason why it should be so. as a reference to the 

 li.st below of plants in flower here on August 20th 

 will show. It includes both ]»lants whi(;li natur- 

 ally flower late and those which continue flower- 

 ing for a long period, with a dis])lay perhaps not 

 so great as in the early year. ))ut welcome never- 

 theless. Among these latter are such ]>lants as 

 Erodivims, which flower for a long time, especially 

 the charming E. Keichardii, which has now been 

 in flower three months ; also Ilelianthemums, 

 which, if cut back alter the first flowering, give 

 quite a good show at the V'^esent. Again, by 

 selecting suitable ])ositions, many plants which 

 flower earlier can be induced to withhold their 

 bloom for some weeks, e.g. in my garden IJnum 

 monogynum in a hot position flowered in .June, 

 whereas plants in a partially shaded and very 

 expo.sed corner were unable to make satisfactory 

 growth till late in the season, and are only just 

 in full and acce])table bloom. 



Among autumn bloomei's the Heaths must be 

 mentioned, and the snaallest garden should 

 possess a few. 



But it is not wise to depend entirely on flowers 

 for delight and interest, and to those who iind 

 an interest in form and foliage, the present com- 

 parative lack of flower gives leisure to admire 

 such things as the Sempervivums, the silvery 

 Achilleas, that mo.st beautiful i)lant, Artemisia 

 lanata var. ijedemontana, a mass of silver 

 foliage, most exquisite in early niorning when 

 covered with dew, and many other delightful 

 l)lants which can be grown in the smallest 

 garden . 



I have included a few shrubs and sub-shrubs 

 in the list, for these are always welcome in the 

 rock garden. 



Flowers in bloom at Sandymount, Co. Dublin, 

 August 20th, 1914. 



Primula capitata, Sedum spurium. Campanula 

 carpathica, C. excisa, 0. velutina. C. acutangula, 

 Veronica corymbosa, Hy])ericum reptans, Silene 

 Schafta, Lysimachia Henryi, Antirrhinum 

 glutinosum. A. Asarina, Zauschneria californica. 

 Fuchsia ])umila, Erica tetralix, E. cinerea alba 

 nxajor, E. vulgaris Serlei, Parnassia caroliniana 

 (in bud), Houstonia caerulea, Viola Bosniaca 

 Linum monogynum, Viola Papilio, V. floi'ariensis 

 CEnothera Nuttallii, Achillea Kellereri, 



Mimulus ])rimuloides. Geranium argenteum, 

 (*am]>anula bavarica nxajor. Erodium corsicum, 

 E. Beichardii, E. macradenum. Papaver alpinum, 

 Linaria aljjina, Wahlenbei'gia vincffiflora, W. 

 albo-marginata, Asperula hirta, A. suberosa, 

 Convolvulus mauritanicus, Geranium Walli- 

 chianum, Dianthus ])olycladus. Tunica Saxifraga, 

 Potentilla Friedrichseinii, Androsace lanu- 

 ginosa, A. lanuginosa alba, Onusma albo-rosea 

 (in bud again), Viola gracilis hybrid. Cam])anula 

 is()i)hylla alba. Salvia Grahami, Plumbago Lar- 

 ])enta^ (in bud). 



Sandymount. E- B. Anderson. 



