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IRISH GARDENING 



The Great Lily Pond at Greenfields, 

 Co. Tipperary. 



This poii.l. or i;.k.'. ...v. i - ,il..uii luur iirirs ;iu.i is 

 l)lant<-(l all round with ili,- U-iidiii;; viirirtics ..t 

 A'yiuplueas. as follows:— A. ,ill,t, A. (■inululn. A. 

 r„li>.i.%e(i. A . f';.( /,<■//(. A . (•'Iinlstintiiinii \ .hnm s 

 Jir>j,lun, .v. L<i!/,l,hrn. A. M,„„,i, A." Mnrliiirr,, 

 f>lhi,l„. .\. M,i,iuir(„ ,;n„,„, \. Marli.irn, rhn, ma- 

 il llii. A. Miiili<ir<(i I USUI, aiul soiiif others, 'riifsc 

 Nyiiipiuuas art- planted in lull sun and in still 



water. Tlu>ir colours endiraiH" the st vivid 



eriin.soii.s. the softest of pinks and roses, delicate 

 creams and snowy whites, wiiile others li.ivr 

 cluinning hicndings of more than one shade. In 

 many cases their i>caiity is enham-ed l.y promiiMiit 

 Kold.'ii stamens, wliile otii.Ts are Inllv d.MihIr and 

 reseml)le giant lioses. 



A sheet of water like this, i-overcd with llnse 

 lovely Water Lilies, presents a sight nut readily 

 forgotten— suggesting hriliiantly coloured .stars 

 s!»read over the water's surface, relieved hy a 

 l-ackground of handsome, rit-h green and lironze 

 foliage. 



They were planted hero about twelve v( ars ago. 

 some in baskets filled wih good fibrous "loam and 

 well-decayed leaf-mould, and sunk in about two 

 tect of water. In later years we had to divide 

 them, so we procured some good sods from a 

 pasture near by and wired them round each crown, 

 and then, with the use of a boat, sank them at 

 various depths of water from two to fifteen feet, 

 and all are doing well. ^>ome of these are now 

 c-arrying from twenty to forty blooms on each. 



.\!/niitli:va alba is seeding itself fivelv in this 

 pond. 



All along the margins of the pond are planted all 

 kinds of bog and water plants, from Kiimcr to 

 I'oiifrilrria rmilnta 



Notes and News. 



C.\N.*ui.\x Rice {Zizania (i<iunfica). 

 Thk naturalising of " Wild Rice," as it is called, 

 has become an established custom round the 

 shores of many of the great lakes in America, and 

 also about the margins of private ponds and lakes. 

 Tlie object in most cases is to encourage and 

 attract various water-fowl, particularly ducks of 

 kuids. These birds are extremely fond of the 

 ripe seeds and come in numbers in the autumn 

 to feed on it, affording good s})ort in shooting 

 them. In the spring of this year a quantity of 

 seed rice was presented to the Royal Botanic 

 Gardens. Glasnevin. and in April was sown. A 

 certain amount was sown in pots, stood in saucers 

 of water, and was then planted round the margins 

 of the pond where the water is about one foot 

 deep, merely pressing the mass of roots into the 

 mud. Much better plants have r(>sulted, however, 

 from merely sowing the seed in the water, allow- 

 ing it to sink into the mud. Many of these plants 

 are now four feet high, bearing large flower 

 panicles, which it is hoped may form seeds. 



If this rice could be established round the shores 

 of the lochs and lakes of Ireland it might result 

 in attracting some, of the rarer a,nd beautiful 

 water-fowl \vhich from time to time visit Ireland. 

 It might also be a means of increasing the food 

 supply by affording sport, as well as employment, 

 in shooting and marketing wild ducks. 



Akbutus Menziesii. 

 Among the larger growing members of the Erica 

 family Arhutu.s Menziesii is conspicuous, not only 

 as an evergreen flowering shrub but on account of 



ll"; b.aiity ..I \\u- slems ;,it.i the bark has e.\- 

 loliated 111 rally autumn. Tuwanis autumn the 

 in-\\ly exposed surface assumes a lii:ht. reddish- 

 brown colour of great heautv. 



On the |':iei(i,- coast this' Arbutus is known by 



'•"• '•'"Oil name of Modrofwi .uid is tli.-re said 



t" leaeh ;, i,ri-ht of from .ightv to one hundivd 

 te.-t. Ill an accomil of I'taufs us,, I In, huhans .-/ 

 M,n<h>< 1,1,1 Ciuiit!/. Culifiiniid, a writer in •' Coii- 

 tributioiis from the I'. S. Herbarium." Vol. VII.. 

 says : • In Keiiruary and March the Madrona is 

 thickly covered with white, globular. wa.\-like 

 flowers, which furnish an abundance of wild 

 hniiey. and late in the fidl and until the middle of 

 •lanuary the fruit is an abundant and favourite 

 Source of food for countless doves and wild |)i«_'eoiis, 

 and for barnyani ix.ultry. .■sprciallv turkeys." 



As an ornamental tree for parks and gard.'n.-. lb.- 

 Madrona is well atlapted tr) many parts of Irelan<l 

 where the e, ,1111,1011 StrawlxMry tree does .so well. 



AlKTUST.Vl'HYLOS MaNZANITA. 



This handsome shrub is allied to the Madrona but 

 does not reach the same dimensions. In Ireland 

 it is equally at home, and when furnished in s[)ring 

 with its many clusters of white iloweis it is an 

 attractive shrub. The branches have the same 

 reddish-brown colour that makes the Madrotia so 

 striking. This same writer (?'>r. dt. aupra) says 

 of tins plant : " This species of Manzanita is an 

 exceedingly common shrub throughout the region, 

 generally occupying wide area.s, on dry, barren 

 ridges, often to the entire exclusion "of other 

 vegetation, and in ma.sses .so thick that they are 

 impenetrable to man. The fruit is not mucli"niore 

 tiian a third of an inch in diameter and tire 

 (piantity produced is very large. It was wi^viS very 

 extensively by the Indians when tlie Spanisji 

 l)nests first settled in the country, and from the 

 latter it received the name ' Manzanita,' which 

 means little ap[)le, and was suggested by the 

 shape of the fruit. This name has been universally 

 adnj)ted as the common as well as the botanical 

 specific name of the shrub. The generic name is 

 derived from two Greek words meaning '.bear' 

 and ' grapes.' Bears are exceedingly fond of the . 

 fruit, and it is in Manzanita patches they are 

 hunted during the sunnner and autumn. .' . ." 



Much other interesting information is given re- 

 garding this beautiful shrub and its use among 

 the Indians. It is stated that " the crooked, 

 beautifully polished limbs are much prized by 

 white people for fancy woodwork, and a straight 

 Manzanita cane is a valuable rarity." 



As this charming shrub grows well in many 

 parts of Ireland it should cei-tainly find a ])lac'e 

 where shrubs are grown for beauty dr iiiK'icst. 



Echinacea puRrunr.A. 

 This is one of the best of autumn-flowering 

 herbaceous plants, and is an exami)le of an old 

 I)lant restored to its proper place in the garden. 

 Long known in cultivation, the type plant has for 

 many years been little used in gardens, but 

 recently nurserymen have sent out two handsome 

 varieties which will do much to bring this old 

 l)lant into favour again. E. putpinrn IhiUiunt 

 has large heads of flowers, the small central flowers 

 tubular and yellow, as in so manv plants of the 

 order composdn', but the outer florets are deep 

 reddish-purple, haimonising beautifully with other 

 autumn colouring. K. piirpiiird fnph'nr rarirfi/ is 

 slightly paler, rosy purple, but none the less desir- 

 able, forming a handsome, bushy plant of 3-4 feet 

 liigli. Both are easily propagated by division. 



