9- 



IRISH GARDENING 



long ticeupit'd ;i proiiuiieiit jjhuc in liot;inic;il ;iiui 

 liortifultural literature, aiitl in it liave appcaiiil 

 from time to time many illuminating artules on 

 the botany and eultivation of orchids. The late 

 editor was an indefatigable worker, with an ex- 

 pert l)otanieal knowledge supported hy a know- 

 ledge of cultural conditions— a combination all 

 too rare among liotanists and gardeners. 



The new editor. Mr. Ciurney Wilson, l-'.L.S., is 

 well known to orchid lovers, and is rei-ognised 

 as an authority. He was formerly editor of Tlif 

 On hid WuiliL and under his aiile and enthu- 

 siastic guidance we have every faith that The 

 On hut Keiicir will continue its useful work for 

 many years to conie. Tiie current issue is ex- 

 cellent in every respect. 



They Like the Heat 



Althoigh the long spell of dijught and heat in 

 June anil July was against the full development of 

 many herbaceous and alpine plants, yet sonie 

 certainly enjoyed it and showed their appreciation 

 by an abundance of flower and a look of health 

 beyond the normal. 



Notably bright was Veihriid rh<nn;i(l lifolic . a 

 trailing rock plant not to be called altogether 

 hardy as a rule, but surviving moderate winters 

 with "some protection against winter wet. Given a 

 liot sunnner like this there results a blaze of 

 l)rilliant scarlet from the prostrate stems, which 

 draws one to it from a long way off. The plant 

 Howers late into the autumn and is easily struck 

 from rutlinc's. 



Photo bij] [M' h: I , i/.'/. 



Aster Farreri. (See page 77.) 



.Another plant which has bc.n extraordinarily 

 conspicuous during June and July, and looks like 

 c(jntinuing, is Jl uniu'intninin finiuni.ifoJid , a 

 Californian poppywort, alas, only a biennial. 

 Nevertheless, it set-ds freely and grows easily, and 

 should a seedling survive the winter out of doors it 

 is a revelation to see how it develops in such a 

 sunnner as this. High up on the roi-k garden at 

 (ilasnevin a strong seedling lived thro\igh last 

 wint.*'r and for many weeks now has been produc- 

 ing any amount of its large, clear yellow flowers 

 on leafy stems, two feet high, the st<nis and much 

 divided leaves of a glaucous grey colour; it is still 

 full of buds and long developing seed vessels. 



A Californian composite is Envplnjlluin lunntuiii 

 iiljonifuin, and it came to Glasnevin from Mr. 

 A. K. Bulley. of Ness. Cheshire. In a wet season 

 this might be a coarse plant l)ut in the heat of mid- 

 sunnner it is a plant of considerable beauty. The 

 trailing shoots are furnished with broadly lance- 

 shaped leaves, grey from the presence of a tomen- 

 tum on both surfaces, and the shoots are likewise 

 grey. The flower heads, produced in profusion, 

 are of a rich, golden yellow; a plant which 

 evidently likes poor, stony .soil and full exposure 

 to the sun. 



Jlypriirum tthjni pUum ritriiiinn has been noted 

 before in this Journal, but its merits as a free- 

 flowering subject in hot weather cannot be over- 

 estimated. It forms in a couple of years good 

 sized bushes fifteen inches or so high, and as much 

 through, the erect stems, furnished with glaucous 

 leaves and terminated by numerous clear, citron 

 yellow flowers. 



Hypr.ricuni. cmpetrifolium, with wiry shoots 

 eighteen inches high, small heath-like leaves and 

 .so freely flowered as to resemble a golden yellow 

 l)all in the distance, evidently rejoices in any 

 amount of heat and a poor soil. A plant in the 

 rock garden at Glasnevin is growing at the base of 

 a large stone, and almost in the hard path, and 

 seems in the best of health, having been there for 

 years, even surviving without protection the 

 winter of 1916-17. The fact of these plants being 

 conspicuously good in a hot season seems to suggest 

 that when planting they should be given a 

 position freely exposed to the sun and poor, gritty 

 soil. Many plants die in winter through too good 

 treatment in summer, and any that are reputedly 

 tender should be tried in chinks or by the sides of 

 hard paths, or on the top of a wall, where the most 

 astonishing variety of plants will live and flourish. 



X. 



Bulbs for Early Autumn Planting 



Although Indb planting is generally associated 

 with the clearing off of stnnmer bedding plants 

 there is a goodly niunber which can and ought to 

 be planted now. For instance, any that are 

 destined for natiiralising in grass or about the 

 margins of woodland walks .should be planted as 

 soon a.s possible in order that they may get estab- 

 lished as soon as possible. At the time of writing 

 the soil is too dry. but it is to be hoped that ere 

 this note appears in print we shall have had some 

 rain. 



Then, all autunm flowering bulbs should not be 

 longer delayed. Autumn flowering Crocuses, for 

 instance, should not be kept out of the g'xund 

 longer than necessary. The beautiful Crocnx 

 spcriosus, than which it is difficult to imagine any 

 flower more lovely in August and September, or 

 the charming C. iridiflorus. Colchicums, so often 

 wrongly called autumn Crocuses, must be planted 



