IRISH GARDENING 



leaves aiiotluT lieaiity witli her iiiagie waml. liy- 

 aiKl-.l)y .-^he will paint the coiuitrysitlc in nunc 

 enehantin-; eulunis still, that each nip of frost 

 will lint intensify, nntil then' eonies a night, 

 collier than the rest, when leaves will llntter to 

 the yronnil, and tlun there will he seen 



'• The wonder of the falling tongnes of llanie." 



But that is yet to ho, as autunni may be genial, 

 kind and good for a time; still it has to he 

 said we stand at the season's gateway, and pause 

 amid the flowers that keej) us eomi)any. For re- 

 splendent dress, there is none to surpass the rieh- 

 ness of Tritomas. What a time we have grown 

 them, as we look hack aeross the years, and how 

 seldom, if ever, they have disappointed us ! 

 Their culture, too, how simple; how few their 

 requirements, and how rarely they have entailed 

 removal ! The Dahlia is but a Heeting. tender 

 visitor in eoinparison. though appearing in won- 

 drous forms and tints. Michaelmas Daisies. all)eit 

 prodigal, with their blossoms, cannot compete 

 in brilliancy with the fiaming spikes of Tritomas, 

 that li";hten the sombrest corner, and then, like i 

 tired child, go to rest. 



It is, we think, because they are easy to grow, 

 and so accoiumodating, that many folk look to 

 them year by year, and regard them as true 

 " partners in the glory of the garden " in these 

 later days. 



Conditions of Success. — And to have Tritomas 

 in all their beauty, one is not bound down by 

 exacting conditions; in fact, their culture is so 

 simple that all may grow them, if they are pre- 

 pared to give them a good s1;art and a sunny 

 position, with a thought to drainage. More than 

 this they do not ask of \is, as they will go for 

 years without the necessity for taking up and 

 dividing. They are amongst the few plants about 

 which one is correct in saying that " they im- 

 prove with keep," as the chief thing one need 

 trouble about is to afford them some protection 

 in winter by covering the crowns with leaves or 

 ashes or strawy manure, giving them in the 

 spring a dressing of rotted dung. Spring is the 

 best time also to plant them. A good sandy loam 

 suits them to perfection. 



Varieties. — There are many sorts amongst 

 Tritomas that are so vivid in colouring that to 

 appreciate them fully needs an intervening s])aco, 

 and if planted not far away from a shrub or wall 

 over which climbing plants run, the spikes show 

 to the best advantage. Such is T. Uraria, one of 

 the oldest and best, met with frequently in 

 country gardens in flaming colour. U. n(>J>ilis, with 

 orange red spikes, is tall and imposing, often 6 to 8 

 feet in height. Xehoni is comparatively dwarf, 

 with reddish crimson spikes. Efjypt, tall, of a rich 

 amber colour. Leda, blooms early, of a compact 

 habit, spikes of coral red with orange .shading, a 

 very attractive sort; hie riff ora is a late flowering 

 sort, of slender growth, with pure yellow spikes. 

 Lachesis, of a rich apricot colour, distinct and 

 handsome. 



This is only a short list of some of the members 

 of this very charming family of hardy plants, 

 and though most of thorn are just now in the 

 prime of their beauty, very often one may have 

 glimpses of them far on into October in a inild 

 autvunn, when many other plants have ceased to 

 bloom. If you possess Tritomas, you may go into 

 the garden some dull October day and find a few- 

 belated spikes amid others showing points of 

 vermilion and yellow, standing almost alone, and 

 if yon do not express it in so many words, you 



tlunk they share tlu- honours with the few late 

 lingering looses on the wall, or the leaves of the 

 \'irginia ('reei>er, here brown and amber, there 

 deepening into crimson carmine ere they fall— a 



lichness that is carried to the last. 



Mkucaston. 



Notes from Roslrevor. 



On the last occasion when wc suffered from 



drought, in the su ler of IDlil, I (observed that 



some plants (for instance, Ihui i/iliii ni Fniiik-lini) 

 which ri-mained green and fresh during it,s con- 

 tinuance, very soon turned brown directly the rain 

 came down. If we may judge from this, I think it 

 is not unlikely that the full effects of the present 

 drought will only become ai)i)arent when it is 

 over, and we may be troubled with more losses 

 than we now anticipate; though we must hoi)e 

 that at least .some of the tilings that look moribund 

 will soon recover when wo get back again into 

 iKirnial weather conditions. Yet, the immediate 

 consccjuence of a very hot sim, combined with the 

 absence of moisture, is very noticeable on some of 

 the flowers, which perished as soon as they opened 

 and before we could even see them. This happened 

 with three fiomatias growing here, viz. : — with 

 L. ferniiiincd and L. tiiictoriti, and, to a les.ser 

 extent, with L. longifoVm ; while the large majority 

 of plants show their bloom for a far shorter time 

 than is usually the case — notably iUtnnichuelia 

 odoratii, Xotospartium ('<nmiclitirli:r, some of the 

 Olearias, Jasminum primuliuum, Kolkiritzia 

 amabilis, Hohinia dectiisneaua (a pink variety of 

 li. Pseudaracia) and a fine .bush of rio.stdvtficia 

 Insianthos some 16 feet high. Oharia in.sinuis, 

 however, a beautiful species well suited to rock 

 work has not suffered much in this respect; nor 

 have its allies, l^eni'cio Budianavi, S. Ilectoii, S. 

 lcurostoc]n/s and S. lobatus — the last-named, from 

 Madiera, is half-hardy, and forms a brilliant com- 

 bination of green and yellow. <S'. rotiindifidiiis, 

 which grows in shelter without wall protection, 

 has flowered here for the first time; it is a 

 liandsome foliage plant, and is now .some ten feet 

 high, and as much through. 



('(dlistcmon 1((nccohi1 us, of the Myrtle Order, was 

 an interesting object as long as its pale crimson 

 bottle brushes lasted; but the white <'. Siahcri, 

 and the dark red C. rioidus, having displayed 

 bloom last year were not equally agreeable this 

 .season. I think the genus is probably more hardy 

 than is sometimes supposed, and might be tried 

 in mild districts more often than appears to be 

 the case. Feijoa selloiriana, of the same order, is 

 now exhibiting its bright carmine stamens set 

 like stiff paint brushes \ipon white horizontal 

 petals; it is a very desirable evergreen, coming 

 from Brazil, and is here growing against a wall. 

 Mdijnfilid pdrrifiora bloomed sparsely, il/. hypo- 

 Icucd rather better, and the evergreen M. Deldrai/i, 

 from Yunnan, is now developing its thick, flesliy 

 and heavily scented flowers. .Alxdia fiorihundd, .1. 

 huHjituhd, Cfjurolvulus Vncorum, C. maiiritdiiicus, 

 ('. fu(jurioiuin (a handsome trailing shrub with 

 small leaves that rambles over rocks, white), Gayu 

 LydUii, tho various species of Ci.stus, and of 7/ir/y- 

 (jofcid, are nearly as good as ever, and do not seem 

 to mind the drought very much; so also the follow- 

 ing which are suited to a small rock garden : — 

 Mdlrdstrum lateritium (oiauf/e, from Uruguay), 

 Kieremhcrrjia frutescens (white, centre mauve, 

 from Chile), Odontospermum mnritimnm (bright 

 gold, from South Europe). rentstemon hetero- 



