IRISH GARDENING 



49 



such species as Batalini and linifolia, and by 

 taking- up these bulbs they go on from year to 

 year. Such varieties, however, as the Darwins 

 and Gesneriana are never so good the second 

 year. 



With Hhes we have not had much success. 

 Pardahnum and Pyrenaicum do well, and we 

 have flowered Martigum album, Chalcedonicum 

 Speciosum and Auratum, but on the wiiole they 

 are not very satisfactory. 



A corner should if possible be found for a 

 diminutive water-lily pool. The stronger forms 

 of the Marliac varieties flower freely and well, 

 and the water hawthorn, Aponogeton Dis- 

 tachyon, is a pleasure during^ most of the 

 year. 



Fuchsias do well, and it cut down and covered 

 with turf-mould they stand the winter perfectly. 

 There is always a strong element of chance as 

 to what plants will or will not do in a town 

 garden. Every gardener, therefore, should 

 experiment freely according to his fancy ; his 

 failures and successes will be alike unexpected. 

 We have flowered well such unlikely plants as 

 Cypripedium Calceolus and Iris Tingitana, 

 whereas no amount of nursing and coaxing will 

 ever induce such an ordinary plant as Monarda 

 Didyma to do anything but languish and die. 

 My last word, therefore, to town gardeners is — 

 venture freely and find out for yourselves what 

 will grow in your gardens. 



Shrubs for Town Gardens. 



By J. W. Besant. 



IN some ways, perhaps, the cultivation of 

 shrubs in towns is of more importance 

 than in country districts. In the country 

 nature is generous, and wherever one wanders 

 trees, shrubs or plants of some kind are present 

 around the cottages as well as the mansions. 

 In large towns it is different, and although 

 public parks and gardens are annually increas- 

 ing in numbers, yet migrants from the rural 

 districts miss the flowers and shrubs they have 

 been accustomed to at home. Many are the 

 pathetic attempts made to grow a few flowers 

 or a shrub or two in the small plot attached to 

 the house, and even window boxes are called 

 into service in the endeavour to have something 

 green amid a waste of bricks and mortar. 

 There is, of course, a great difference in the 



atmosphere of different towns. Large manu- 

 facturing cities are notoriously smoky, and 

 there the cultivation of plants of any kind is 

 decidedly difficult. There are other towns and 

 cities where the staple industries do not involve 

 the production of large quantities of smoke, 

 and in these it is possible to grow a fair selec- 

 tion of plants of all kinds. In every city, how- 

 ever, there is always a pall of smoke more or 

 less dense obscuring the sun's rays, and there- 

 fore plants which bear a certain amount of 

 shade often succeed better than those which 

 naturally demand abundance of light and the 

 pure air of high altitudes. 



Another circumstance which militates greatly 

 against the growth of shrubs in and near large 

 towns is the miserable nature of the soil about 

 the houses. There are some old gardens in 

 large centres like London and elsewhere that 

 rival many in the country. This is no doubt 

 due to the fact that they were in existence 

 before the streets which now surround them, 

 and the original soil has been kept in condition 

 by good cultivation. That many fine trees and 

 shrubs continue to live and grow in such gar- 

 dens leads to the conclusion that a sweet and 

 healthy rooting medium is a distinct advantage 

 in assisting the leaves and branches to carry 

 out their proper functions even in the presence 

 of smoke, dust, &c. From some experience of 

 the preparation of small suburban gardens I 

 have found that the soil of these tiny plots 

 usually consists of the subsoil which has been 

 spread over the original surface in the throwing 

 out of foundations, drains, sewers, &c. As the 

 work of erecting the house proceeded this sub- 

 soil became mixed with cinders, wood-shavings, 

 pieces of wood, lengths of wire, iron hoops, tin 

 cans, rags, &c. ; in fact, there is no telling 

 what may turn up. 



There is only one right way to deal with this 

 state of affairs if shrubs are to be grown, and 

 that is to trench the ground two feet deep and 

 remove all rubbish as the work proceeds. 

 Usually, the original top-soil will be met with 

 in the trenching, and some of this should be 

 returned to the surface to be mixed with the 

 subsoil which has reached the top, as shown 

 above. As the trenching proceeds, the surface 

 should be made as level as possible, as then it 

 will be easier to finish all off with a rake. The 

 subsoil remaining on top will, after being ex- 

 posed for some time to the action of sun, wind, 



