JUNE 



IRISH GARDENING 



93 



The Month's Work. 



Flower Garden and Pleasure Grounds. 



By W. Usher, The Gardens. Breiianstown, Cabinteely, 

 Co. Dublin. 



SUMMER has now fairly thrown open 

 her doors of green, the whole land- 

 scape is clothed in foliag-e of dif- 

 ferent shades ; the fields are covered with 

 g'ay-coloured flowers, and the gardener 

 fyf|] l^/v'i begins to reap some of the pleasures 

 IVMw9M which he has been working- and planning 

 ]hII/j^H for so long. 



I'^BI^^M Where summer bedding is extensively 



practised, the beginning of the month 

 will find us hard at work " bedding-out." 

 Until the individual plants are sufficiently 

 grown to meet and intermingle, the beds 

 cannot be expected to harmonise per- 

 fectly ; but this period of their growth is 

 fast approaching, and some judgment 

 may now be formed of the taste with 

 which their arrangement has been car- 

 ried out. Plants which may have been 

 planted out during warm, bright weather 

 will well repay careful watering and some 

 shading during the hottest portion of the 

 day. Water towards the evening, and 

 frequently stir the surface of the beds and 

 borders to prevent rapid evaporation and 

 cracking of the surface. Any failures 

 should be made good from our reserve 

 stock. Carefully stake and tie any plants 

 which are likely to get broken by wind or heavy rain. 

 W'liere an early display of flowers is not required, the 

 buds should be picked off; this will enable the plants 

 lo grow stronger. Remove any seed-pods forming 

 on plants required to continue blooming. 



The most pressing work during June will be to keep 

 walks, lawns, flower-beds and borders in good order ; 

 .ill lawns will require mowing at least once a week. 

 Now is a good time to apply daisy sand to weed)- 

 lawns, as it is most effective during warm, bright 

 weather. If tulips are left to ripen off in the borders, 

 it is necessary to have the seed-pods removed ; by so 

 doing we greatly assist our bulbs to enlarge, and pre- 

 pare for next year's flowering. If hollyhocks, delphin- 

 iums, phloxes, asters, &c., seem to have too many 

 shoots or present the appearance of being overcrowded, 

 thin out the shoots. What are left will flower much 

 better. 



During the early part of the month tree-poeonies 

 {PcBonia motttan] \\\\\ be giving a fine display ; those 

 plants always look best growing on a lawn or front of 

 a large shrubbery. They can be increased by layering 

 the shoots. 



Roses will require a great deal of attention, standards 

 and pillar roses should be carefully tied in. All forms 

 will require to be kept free from the rose-maggot 

 and greenfly. The maggot must be looked for and 

 destroyed ; we shall find him in the curled leaf at the 



end of the young shoot. If not picked oft they will 

 destroy a lot of bloom by eating out the point of the 

 shoots. It will be necessary to use a good insecticide 

 at least once a week to keep greenfly in check. A 

 knapsack sprayer is the quickest and most economical 

 method of applying the wash. We must also fight the 

 mildew, and I believe if spraying is commenced early 

 and regularly, and systematically carried out, it will be 

 easier to prevent it than what it is to cure it if we get 

 our plants bodily infected. Liquid manure applied now 

 will greatly assist the blooms and encourage the plants 

 to send up strong shoots for second flowering ; towards 

 the end of the month some sorts will be firm enough for 

 budding, and some sorts work best on the flowering 

 shoots, but, generally speaking, July and August are 

 the best months to bud in. 



Carnations and pinks as they grow should be secured 

 to their stakes, reducing the number of flowers should 

 the plant be weakly. They may require shading during 

 the brightest part of the day. Do not allow them to 

 suffer from drought. 



Auriculas, primroses and polyanthuses, when removed 

 after flowering, should be carefully broken up (not cut) 

 and planted on a north border to make good plants for 

 planting out next October. Sow seed now and prick 

 off in boxes when large enough to handle. 



In the shrubbery tying up and mulching is the chief 

 duties. Some shrubs are best if carefully pruned after 

 flowering, such as ceanothus, exochorda, loniceras, &c., 

 especially if trained against a wall. They then throw out 

 nice young shoots which will be fully ripened before the 

 autumn, and will flower well the following year, while 

 presenting a compact tidy habit. As the rhododendrons 

 and other American plants go out of bloom remove the 

 seed-pods and give an occasional good soaking with 

 liquid manure water. Trim box-edings during dull, 

 showery weather, and generally maintain a clean tidy, 

 surrounding to 3'our flowering plants. 



1 he Fruit Garden. 



By G. DOOLAN. 



THINNING THE FRUIT.— This work is usually 

 overlooked by fruit-growers, although it is an 

 important factor in the production of extra 

 choice fruit in addition to the benefits which accrue to 

 the trees. One reason for this neglect is, no doubt, the 

 rarity of heavy crops, for continuous crops are the 

 exception, not the rule. Growers have to contend with 

 many causes — such as frosts, hail, or pests — with the 

 result the thinning is often done in a drastic manner, 

 hence only under favourable conditions is a good crop 

 assured. It should be remembered that all fruit trees 

 store up food for the succeeding year, but if an extra 

 heavy crop has to be borne the strength and resources 

 of the trees are over-taxed. This is very noticeable 

 after an excessive crop, when the trees are more or less 

 fruitless the season following. Thinning the fruit when 

 the crop is an extra heavy one is therefore very neces- 

 sary. All small and deformed fruit should be removed, 

 and fruit in clusters reduced to two or three of the best 

 shaped. Different varieties vary in cropping capacity, 

 so it is difficult to state definitely the amount to be 



