i6 



IRISH GARDENING 



niav 1)1' plaiiti'il in Manli in the opiii t.'i..iiii(l. 

 any iiRKlorati'ly gouil soil will siillitf. Imt lli«y 

 should be located lu the " sunshine line " and \u>\ 

 near the shade of trees. 



The ainuials ran i)e sown either in a trreenliouse 

 or cold frame, and sul>se(iuently planted out or 

 sown out of doors at the end of April or i-arly in 

 May. 



.■l(/yino7.s— Sprays of lavender, of hraeken nr 

 heather.' with a few held yrJisses will add variety 

 and in deft finders make a most interesting 

 arrangement for orightening a room in the dull 

 peason. W. LixoKits J,i;.v 



Rock Plants. 



Last month, in discussing the construction ol 

 the rock yur^l^'"- mention was made of the ad- 

 vantage of having various aspects and positions 

 formed in the course of building up the rock 

 garden. Thus nvnnerous Hat pockets occur, and 

 likewise vertical fissures formed hy two adjoining 

 stones or cracks, made hy the use of several stones 

 arranged in the form of a boulder. All these 

 positions and aspects have tlieir uses in the culti- 

 vation of the choicer aipines. Some gardeners, 

 keen on the proper placing of stones, c-laini that 

 all should have a slope inwards towards the soil 

 with a view to conducting rain to the soil, but an 

 occasional overhanging stone, that is, one which 

 partly overliangs the pot^ket below^, has its uses. 

 By keeping moisture from falling on that part of 

 the pocket overhun<i. it provides a first-rate 

 position for some choice plants, which like dry 

 conditions and hate overhead moisture. Two such 

 gems are the Chinese Fumitories Coii/daUa ]Vil!<(,iii 

 and C. to)ui'ntosa beautiful grey-leaved dwarf 

 aipines, both with yellow flowers and wiiicli wc 

 owe to the energy of Mr. E. II. Wilson. CarydaWx 

 thdJirfi'ifolia also introduced by the same collector 

 is equally beautiful, with green leaves and yellow 

 fiowers, but, though growing freely in the open 

 all summer generally succumbs in winter iniless 

 in a position sheltered from excessive wet and 

 protected from above from frost. 



Among aipines Audrosaces are rightly first 

 favourites. The genus is a large one mostly of 

 rare beauty and in some cases not difficult, yet the 

 majority are impatient of our wet winters. To 

 overcome this difficulty recourse is had to covering 

 with sheets of glass from late autumn until early 

 .spring. In this way many fine '-olonies of 

 Androance lanxujinosit. A. sarmeufosn and its 

 varieties or hybrids Chundiyi and Brilliant arc 

 kept safe through winter wet and produce a])und- 

 antly their pretty flowers in spring and through 

 the summer. It may be, lioweverT that planted 

 under the shelter of 'an overhanging stone and in 

 a sunny position the glass covering could be dis- 

 pensed with. The vertical position has nmch to 

 recommend it in the culture of such plants and 

 good specimens have been grown on properly con- 

 structed retaining walls, the roots finding suffi- 

 cient moisture between the stones and in the soil 

 behind while the shoots and rosettes of leaves liang 

 dry and airy down the face of the wall. 



For the very small tufty growers such as 

 Andromce njpvna, A. tiVifda, A cylindrira, A. 

 helvetica, A. imhricnta, A. jnihescriia and sucli 

 like a vertical fissure would seem to offer the best 

 chance of success, or alternatively the moiaine 

 with a covering of glass in winter. It must ])e 

 confessed that several of these are not often foimd 

 in collections for any length of time, but further 



I xpcrimciits m.iy cvolv*- a means of growing and 

 keeping tiiciii. 



Another giii us occasionally diflicult to establish 

 is that of Aciiiifliutiinun, the so-called Prickly 

 Thrifts. One or two are well known and are frc- 

 (juently seen in good condition, notably A. ciliii- 

 iiun, A. tiliniiiireuiii, and .1. rvniisfuni. yet often 

 >oung plants fail to establish. A bright suiuiy 

 po.siiion in deep gritty .soil is necessary, and the 

 tufty growths slioidd be kept from contact with the 

 damp surface of the soil either by placing stones 

 close aromid the plants or prcf»Mably by planting 

 suuill j)lants in cracks between stones so Unit the. 

 shoots will sj)read out and lie on the stones; in 

 this case the cracks need not be vertical. 



. I'!t h inn e inns rightly enjoy great popularity 

 auiong lovers of rock plants, and in their season 

 llicy contribute much beauty to the rock garden. 

 They all enjoy full sunshine, the most perfect 

 drainage and ])o()r stony soil. In vertical fissures 

 and ol(i walls they flourish, sjjecies like .4. (jnindi- 

 fldtunt. forming thick hard woody branches from 

 which arise slender shoots in spring terminating 

 in corymbs or racemes of pink, rose or pale yellow 

 flowers. Of the sj)ecies fairly general in culti- 

 vation in ad'lition to (//rna/f/fon/?/?, there is .4. 

 nnnenum dwarf and compact with heads of pink 

 flowers, .4. rotilafiim with yellow flowers, a scraggy 

 l)lant which should be cut back periodically to 

 keep it in shape, A. rordifidium often sold as 

 Iberia jiirundti, with heads of fine pink flowers. 

 .1. ihnidevm a dwarf twiggy plant soon spreading 

 into a good sized clump and bearing white flowers 

 .1. ^nJr //<>//((;)) in liie way of .4. (jrandifloium but 

 more glaucous and with flowers of paler pink. 

 .4. ama-nxim is somewhat intermediate between 

 {inindifioruin and pulclielhnn, glaucous like the 

 latter l)ut with larger finer flowers. Several others 

 are to be met with occasionally, all loving the sun, 

 a gritty soil and sharp slope. 



Ahjs.sHm.i are many, mostly with yellow flowers. 

 some white and all tolerably easy^ A. spinosinn 

 with hoary leaves and spiny branches, has white 

 flowers, and a variety .4. s})inosuni roseuia has 

 ]>ale pink blossoms; both love a sunny position in 

 gritty -soil wedged in between stones. 



Anemones are numerous and in many cases 

 l)eautiful, though some from a purely ornamental 

 view are of little value. With few exi-ej)tions 

 they are easy to grow\ All the beautiful forms of 

 the Wood Anemone respond freely to cultivation 

 in well-drained soil, and the Pulsatilla section is 

 equally acconmiodating. A. npenninn and .4. 

 Iihnula, are frequently almost too aggressive, while 

 the Wood Ginger, .4. ranunridoides and its 

 varieties, grow and spread freely in any moist 

 l)osition. The Jlepaticas, too. though slow at first 

 eventually grow into stout tufts, in good stiff soil, 

 and flower ainiually with great freedom. .4. nni- 

 rissiflora is a beauty when well grown, but does 

 not always succeed apparently rather resenting 

 too damp conditions in winter, since spring not 

 seldom finds it missing. A friable soil damp in 

 summer but w^hich does not become sodden in 

 winter seems to l)e what it wants. It is wise to 

 sow seeds frequently, as young plants are most 

 vigorous and satisfactory. When growing and 

 flowering freely it is a beautiful plant, v.ith its 

 umbels of wliite flowers over fern-like foliage. 

 Atienxone rvpifoln, a beautiful plant from the 

 Himalayas, sometimes disappears. It is said that 

 two forms of this exist, one tufted and non-spre-id- 

 ing, the other throwing out runners which may 

 easily be destroyed if too much forking be in- 

 dulged in its vicinity. The leaves are lobed into 

 three, the lobes further incised while the flow'ers of 



