98 



IRISH UARUENING 



Kvfiiagli; tla- steiiis and l)ianL'hos closily i-ovi-ryd 

 witli Kt't:i (bristU's). tlio l<'avos iduiuI. qiiilc 

 siiiootli nil till' imclt'isidi', pink llowi-rs. 



NMrti- singU- Huscj an- pi-.si-nt in a frardtii a 

 i-DseK'Ss Jinu- will lun liappi-ii, I'vcu \u tlu- worst 

 ot seasons. Tlu-y aro iiw tiom tlif jn-sts tliat 

 infi'st till' douItU- losi'. Many plants have siifffii-d 

 liom this nnusually dry, siuuiy siiiiiiMtr ; singU- 

 nist's liavo rovflU-d in it. 



Co. Down lu'dgt's in early .liiiir wrrr irsinciitd 

 with spravs oi tnc Dun liosc, wliitf and i)ink. 

 Mnch euu'ld .he dune to heauliiy uur gardens, lor 

 tile single Koses of niaiiv lands are at onr dis- 

 l.osal. 



The following is u list of a few of them : — 



I{usa ruhiijiiiosii (sweet briar), 1{. intitroph i/llti 

 (.China), U. IHiniihiirusis, giaueous foliage, pink 

 tlowor. distinetive aroiuatie seent. 



1{. siiirrn ptritiriintlni. — A lierei'ly thorned 

 Chine.ses l\o.-:e; the blood-red thorns on the young 

 growiiis ln'iiig not the least deeorative part, pink 

 Uowers foUoweil by golden orange frnits. 



1{. tuiniost.ssiiiKi' tittiiicd. — One ot the Burnet 

 family ; large, whitisli-yellow flowers; 1\ inelies 

 HI diameter. Flowers in May. 



it*, riilifoniicd no nil. — From N. W. Auicrii-i; 

 dwarf hahit; ehielly noted lor its dark iiiahogaiiy 

 coloured fruits. 



B. ;•«/*;•('/(>/(((.— Foliage very grey in sunuuer; 

 colours brightly in the autninn. The steins are 

 dark red; very useful for cut foliage. 



Rosa inusclKita ftdiihunilu. — One of the most 

 beautiful of the series; sweeljing branches with 

 dense masses of flowers; white, with a very sweet 

 perfume. 



The Austrian Copper Briar Koses must be in- 

 cluded; their sweet perfume and distinctive co])per- 

 orange liowers are beautiful for a sunny spot. 

 They are garden varieties of Rosa I idea. 



I do not maintain that the above-named are 

 tiie brightest or best oi the single Koses — but 

 ihey are those that impress themselves pleasantly 

 on the mind of the writer. 



Longevity in Rock Plants. 



By K. J.LOVU PlIAEGEH. 



\ RE.\D Willi much interest Mr. Scaifes remarks 

 in the May number of Irish Gardening, and in 

 tlie July issue Mr. Anderson, while pointing out 

 the interest of this subject, invites ine to offer a 

 contribution. His reference to my garden, which 

 lie appears to make with some hesitation, 1 regard 

 as a compliment. It is all a matter of what one 

 sets out to achieve when one makes a garden, and 

 I shall hope to put forward my own point of 

 view in a subsequent number. Meanwhile, the 

 contribution I can make on the question of 

 longevity is, I fear, slight; 



In the first place, we must narrow the subject 

 if notes upon longevity are to have any meaning. 

 There is no necessary limit of life at all for any 

 plant which roots as it runs. Fresh stems and 

 roots are being formed continually, and though 

 it remains the same individual, all parts are re- 

 newed indefinitely, and fresh soil continually in- 

 vaded. Thus, the Bracken on a hillside may all 

 have originated from a single spore sown n 

 thousand or ten thousand years ago. Creeijiny 

 plants may, therefore, be all eliminated from our 

 survey, which should be confined to species which 

 form a single stem or at least a single root-stock 

 or clump. 



The next point 1 would make is that rock plants 

 in general are plants either of the higher inoun- 

 tains (/.(., true ali»ini-B) or of dry or semi-desert 

 plai'cs (.such as most succulents and grey-leaved 

 idants). These are accustomed to poor fare and 

 e.vposure. Lu.vury usually does not suit them, 

 and if we want them to be long-lived rather than 

 overgrown, we nnisl imitate natural eoiiditions. 

 In rich soil, or damp soil, most of them outgrow 

 iliijr strength, bei'ome straggly and llabby. and 

 (lie in a few years of over-feeding— mostly by means 

 ol tiainping-off suicide during the winter. 1 find 

 longevity is in many cases greatly increased by 

 planting such things on the top of a stone and 

 mortar wall, where they have but a trace of hnimis 

 and iinncral food. Again and again the indivichial 

 so i)laced has survived when all its brethren on 

 the ground liav-' perished. Some plants whicii 

 are annual or liieniiial in the ground become 

 perennial on the wall. 



Since my garden is only Hi years old, the 

 following notes do not represent the full possible 

 age of the plants. Most of them show no sign of 

 old age, and one cannot say what their limit of 

 lile might be; but 1 give a brief list for what it is 

 worth. To take some shrubby things first. 

 Mali Lid iii'fi;ia, nine years old; two good bushes, 

 1.', feel high. 5 feet round. 11 !/p( ricunt ciiiis, 15 

 years ol<l. Jl. jnujUr, 10 years old. fine liushes, a 

 ioot high and 'J feet round. [Llidnflnnnim liiini- 

 Idtiiin, lU years old. G'feet roinid. Jl. ulinsiie, 12 

 years old, forming a flat mat, 5 feet round. 

 (rfiiistd .sd(jitialis, IG years old; often cut ,back. 

 Cijti'ius Anldint, IG years old, forming a mat 

 covering 10 square feet. iJianfltus pinifolius — the 

 most slu-ubby and last to flower of the Pinks, 11 

 years old, forming a bush 1^ feet high and I'J 

 feet round. Dnjas octopctdla, 16 years old. a 

 mat covering a square yard, .iiifh ijHi.s iddnUind, 

 15 years old, stems as thick as one's thiniib; area 

 about 8 square feet. It is these sub-shrubby things 

 which perhaps give the best test of age. and I 

 should be curious to see my plants twenty years 

 hence. Regarding smaller things I have not much 

 to say. Sfuifrnga sanctd, S. Elizdhcf]i;r, ,S. 

 apiculdtd, ./S. opiculatd alba and .S'. juiiiperifulia 

 are the strongest of the Kabschias, and after 

 10 to 1() years iiave formed mats up to nearly 

 a yard across. Some other Kabschias are ex- 

 cessively slow-growing, and after 10 years are 

 only a few inches across. Among those wliich aftiM- 

 10 yi^ars are still perfectly healthy are N. mdifiindfa, 

 cnsid, ll(dt(jii, corioplif/lld, ti/rolevsis. Among 

 ('ampamdas the best plant T have of those which 

 do not spread is C Tdiu uuisiu'td im . VI years old, 

 fi<niiing annually a l)eautiful iii.jiiikI :I ft. high and 

 six feet round. This is one of the l)est of the Bell 

 flowers. Didntlnis suaris, at 15 years old. is a 

 yard across; it is cut back every year and comes 

 again stronger than ever. 



Among other one-rooted plants which after ten 

 to twelve years are going as strong as ever aic 

 1>iaiitliu.s neiilccfus, Silcne schafta, EpiJoUiuin 

 ])tjddn;i'i, (ri'itiniinn onicirtcunt, several Ero- 

 diums, several species of Astragalus and other 

 leguminossD. and uiany grey-leaved composites, 

 such as Pyrethi inn, Tanacetum, Achillea and 

 Artemisia. 



Notes from Rostrevor. 



Aethough the drought is now well over, and a 

 plentiful amount of rain has fallen during the 

 past few weeks, yet the flower has generally been 



