36 



IRISH GARDENING 



free woodland soil, many species mid variitics 

 flourisli in tlic thin sliade of tall Oaks in 

 this \\\"lsh garden, more especially the winter- 

 flowering kinds, and any of the late ones whicii 

 belong to, or are akin to, the Erira <iiicrni grdiip. 

 The true E. nustnilis also does well under liiesc 

 conditions, as does liii/>inthus einiietiifni mis and 

 Diiho'citi (Menzii'siii) poUfoUa, of which last the 

 white variety is the most tellinc in *'ffect. 



Associated with the above, though in a group 

 by itself, I'olyijnlu ihomnhusus iniipuieii is an 

 ideal little i)lant— one that will produce its pretty 

 pea-shaped llowers nearly all the year round, and 

 soon make a large i)atch. rose-purple and myrtle- 

 green. A shady corner between the juiution of 



families, and spreads abundantly l>y rooting its 

 lower leaves to the .soil. Dog-tooth" Violets are, 

 of course, also much in evidence in sjjring. Most 

 of the better-known kinds are ])erfe(tly happy in 

 all kinds of jilaecs where the luitural herbage is 

 not too rank, one of the most charming of them, 

 but not the most robust, being Erythronium 

 rtilifoi itiruiii {'ji'jnnteum), in chrome-yellow and 

 orange. 



T'nfortunatcly. the presence of Alders near the 

 water renders the adjacent soil almost useless for 

 the growing of many subjects which would other- 

 wise prosjjer in such a situation, owing to the 

 dense mass of surface roots pioduced by those 

 trees. Few I'rinudas can i)nt up with such com- 



two paths is now entirely occupied by the Poly- 

 gala and the yellow-flowered type, whilst close at 

 hand the Twin Flower (lAnnre-a horefilis) is creep- 

 ing over a mossy stump as it delights to do. 

 Another plant, and a countryman of the Tw'in 

 Flower, which also enjoys an old stump close by, 

 is Cormis c(nH(<1ensis, one of the very best of 

 woodlanders. And here also that delightful 

 Fvimitory, CorydaVia cava var. (tlbiftorn, whose 

 white sprays, that look like Roman Hyacinths, 

 and are nearly as fragrant, are among the first 

 flowers of the early year. 



One of the most prosperous of the woodland 

 Lilies with us is L. pyrenaicum, a bold and hand- 

 some old species which deserves more praise than 

 it usually gets. L. tigrinum var. Fortune'} is 

 also very pleasing, propagating itself freely in a 

 bed near the water, originally made for Eremuri. 

 which latter eventually surrendered to the per- 

 sistent attack of slugs. This bed is very gay in 

 the earlier season with the lavender of Carckimine 

 pratensis, fl. pi, which, having forfeited its usual 

 method of increase by seed, produces prodigious 



pany, and many of the herbaceous Spiraeas do not 

 like it. Tlie same must be said of the choicer 

 T roll i uses, though the native species, by no means 

 to be despised, can hold its own. The commoner 

 woodland Ferns, of course, abound here, and 

 among them JiorcKjo loxiflora has become quite 

 natuialised, and is nowhere seen to better effect. 

 Also, between the said Alders, Onoclea sensihilis 

 shares a square yard or so with Vancouveria hex- 

 (indrn, whilst a little beyond is a big clump of the 

 finest of all hardy Maidenhairs, Adiantum peda- 

 turn var. Klondil-e, and that miniature of our 

 own Royal Fern Osmunda, 0. (jraciUs of Canada. 

 Several forms of the Willow Gentian (G. ascle- 

 piadea) are doing nicely in these damper regions, 

 the jjuie white being particularly fine in dense 

 shade against a dark green background, and the 

 tallest blue bearing arching wands 4 feet in 

 length. Nor can we omit to mention Orchis 

 foJiosa, which seems perfectly happy where it only 

 gets a glimpse of direct sunlight. 



One of the most delightful of the Aquilegias— 

 typical woodland plants— is the common old white 



