1(^ 



IRISH GARDENING. 



Shrubs for Siinnv Slopes ami 

 I)rv Banks. 



I^y J. \V. HlWM, Koval I^ot;iiiii- I'.-it dens, 



i;i.iMu-\iii. 



Till-: nuHlcni plan of buildin- at a tairly 

 hii^li Icvol is ..■\colk-nt tVoin a sanitary 

 point of \ie\v, but j^ardonini^ in llic 

 circumstances is olton soniowliat tlitVKult. As 

 a rule in such positions the soil is shallow and 

 often stony, but in nature how often do we hnd 

 such places furnished with vii,^orous bushes o\ 

 j;-orse, flowering: profusely the summer throu^^h ? 

 Thus we may learn how to deal with different 

 soils and situations, especially when extensive 

 preparations in tlie %vay ^A pro\ idingf additional 

 i,'-ood soil are somewhat ditlicult as well as 

 expensive. 



It is not advisable to attempt to establish 

 lari,'-e plants where the soil is scanty, as there is 

 seldom sufficient moisture to support them until 

 their roots become active. It is far better to 

 beijin with quite small plants, as they more 

 readily adapt themselves to the situation, and 

 if i^-iven a soaking- when planted will i^enerally 

 succeed. 



In places where it is desired to clothe a rocky 

 slope with veg-etation it is not an uncommon 

 practice to sow seeds of g-orse, which soon 

 g-row into good bushes. 



Many shrubs of the pea family are suitable 

 for our purpose, notably the dwarf gorse Utex 

 nanus, which flowers in late summer ; also the 

 common broom Cytisus scoparius, while the 

 variety Andreanus and the beautiful named 

 forms, Mayfly, Dragonfly, and Butterfly, with 

 charming yellow, red, or bronzy-red flowers, 

 make a brilliant display in May. Other cys- 

 tisuses as C. purgans, C. albus, and C. praecox 

 will also be found useful, while the quite dwarf 

 or prostrate kinds, C. arduini and C. Kewensis, 

 often succeed far better in a sunny situation in 

 a sandy soil than in a richer medium. The 

 genistas, too, afford variety. G. hispanica 

 flowers freely most seasons, and forms a com- 

 pact spiny bush, bearing yellow flowers ; ti. 

 germanica, G. horrida, and Ci. radiata, all 

 growing about three feet high, more or less 

 spiny, and bearing yellow flowers, are equally 

 suitable, while quite prostrate forms, such as 

 G. pillosa and G. tinctoria, fl.pl., are admirable 



lor positions near to walks ov borders about the 



.\ great deal can be \\o\w in the way K.s'i 

 eflectiNe planting bv the use ol masses <:>{ 

 helianthemums, belter known as rock roses. 

 They piesent great \ariet\ in flower and foliage, 

 and tlourish in sunny, dry places. Some of the 

 iiest are Rose Oueen and Lemon Queen, bril- 

 liant with "grey" lea\es and terra-cotta 

 flowers, Snowdiitt, X'ulgare coccineum, ll. pi., 

 tlouble scarlet flowers, and many others in 

 \ arious shades. 



Other dwarf plants are the shrubby thymes, 

 such as Thymus vulgaris, quite effective when 

 covered with flowers ; also T. strictus, an erect 

 g-rowing species, and the lemon scented thyme, 

 T. atriodorus. 



.\n old-fashioned shrub suitable for sunny, 

 dry places is the Jerusalem sage, Phlomis fru- 

 ticosa, with grey leaves and whorls oi yellow 

 flowers, while the cotton lavender, Santolina 

 chamaccyparissus, with tiny silvery leaves, will 

 flourish in the poorest soil. Several of the 

 barberries will succeed wonderfully in soil of 

 very indifferent quality, B. Darwinii often suc- 

 ceeding wonderfully in a poor, stony medium, 

 w^hile in a like position B. thunbergi will colour 

 brilliantly in autumn. 



Spartium junceum, the yellow Spanish broom, 

 also flourishes in poor soil, and bears abundance 

 of clear yellow flowers. This species attains a 

 height oi six or seven feet, but should be cut 

 down for a year or two after planting to keep 

 it bushy, otherwise it is liable to get broken by 

 wind. 



When purchasing brooins, g'enistas and other 

 shrubs of the pea family they should be obtained 

 in pots if possible, as they all resent root dis- 

 turbance and seldoin succeed when lifted from 

 the ground. 



The Development of British 

 Forestry.* 



{Continued from page 60.) 



O.NE of the most striking^ features of this book, and 

 one that is most heartily to be commended, is 

 that the author, lhouf;;-h palpably at home in the 

 most intricate parts oi his many-sided subject, avoids 

 tin; error, almost universally made by British forestry 

 writers, of advertising- their erudition by clothing: what 

 they want to say in language of such a particularly 



° " 'I'he Development of IJriiish Forestry." London : Arnold. 

 I'rice us. 6d. net. 



