IRISH GARDENING 



29 



stout, rising well over the foliage, and carrying 

 flowers of large size, the pure white segments being 

 of good substance. 



Early Saxifragas are now nearly as good out of 

 doors as in the Alpine House, notably .Sax Bur- 

 seriana Emperor, which is flowering freely in a 

 granite moraine; while elsewhere in ordinary 

 gritty soil Sa^x B^risii, with yellow flowers in 

 heads of three to four flowers is quite attractive 

 Masses of S. apicidata, S. opiculata Mdlyi, and .S'. 

 apiculata alha, are making a good show, while 

 S. L. G. (rodseff and .S. Primrose Bee are full of 

 promising buds just showing colour; a few flowers 

 are open on S. FuhlonsuJe, and others, such as S. 

 PauHnae, are progressing rapidly. 



Iris histrioides gave a beautiful " touch " of 



On the rock garden Tulipa biflora, with small 

 whitish flowers, was full open by the 20th of 

 January; this species would attract no attention 

 later in the year, but at this time was im- 

 mediately noticeable. Here, also, OmphaJodcs 

 centK attracted attention by reason of its dainty 

 bright blue flowers,> and higher up above it 

 LitJiospermum rosmarinifoJium caught the eye of 

 every visitor. In a small bog bed Adonis 

 davurica was fast opening its flowers, and per- 

 haps most charming of all was a fine plant of 

 Cyclamen courn, a mass of rosv red flowers under 

 a tree of Pinus Thunhergii at the top of the rock- 

 work, where it merges into the Pinetum. 



Of shrubs Rhododrendron nohleannm, though a 

 decrepit old plant, wag in flower from December, 



Rhododendron moupinense, Roy.\l Botanic | 



G.VRDENS, GlASNEVIN. I 



blue on the rocky margin bounding the tanks 

 outside the Victoria Regia House, and close to 

 the wall Iritt irtujuicularias in three or four 

 varieties was attractive. Iris reticulata has been 

 unusually fine in many colonies here and there, 

 and now I. pnr-sind and 7. sind-pur are taking up 

 the running, but the purplish hue of the flowers is 

 less attractive than the violet and gold of 7. reticu- 

 l<ita. I. rosenhacJiiano will be in flower early in 

 March, and the Juno Irises of the orchioides X\'ar- 

 leyensis, hucharica type are ])ushing their growths 

 strongly. The Satin Flower Sisyrinchium fjrandi- 

 florum has a few flowers open now in the last week 

 of February, and gives promise of a good show of 

 its satiny purt)le V>loGms during the next few 



,'^rilla sihirica of fine deep blue was peeping up 

 here and there in beds and borders, and the Car- 

 pathian form of the spring snowflake Leurojiim 

 verniim had its flowers well up at the same time. 



Hellebores, including many forms of Belle- 

 horus niger and numerous hybrids, of which H. 

 orievtalis seems to be one of the parents, were 

 attractive in the herbaceous l)orders, shrubl)eries, 

 and plantations. 



and in various parts of the shaded side of the 

 rock garden Ph. moupinense made an attractive 

 picture in its large white blossoms; in a bed near 

 the pond Ph. dauricum was a mass of rosy purple 

 blossoms in the last week of January. 



fortius officinalis, very similar to the Cornelian 

 Cherry, was a mass of flowers, giving a cloudy 

 yellow effect. 



Harcococca humilis is a delightful evergreen 

 plant with pointed glossy leaves on green stems 

 some 2i feet high ; the clusters of flowers borne 

 in the axis of the leaves are noticeable by reason 

 of the prominent white stamens, and they emit 

 a strong perfume which can be detected at a 

 considerable distance. Like S. ruscifolia men- 

 tioned by a writer in last month's issue, this is 

 an excellent plant for shaded places. 



Daphne hlagayana, in the borders about the 

 conservatories, was flowering freely through 

 January, and never fails to find admirers on 

 account of its clusters of creamy white, sweet- 

 scented flowers. 



Jiisminvm nndiflorum a^d the much superior 

 form, sometimes known as -7. Sieboldionum, were 

 beautiful in their mantle of yellow, though the 



