IIIISII (lAIJDKNING 



pi.tifiit ami lint rusiiij; caic. If wr ^'laiicc at 

 thr st'lu'iluU's (if a lUodciii ll«i\\('r show we lind 

 tlu" miiin rlitssos arc tiinsf for Zonal I'clai- 

 j»oiuuin.s, Ciiu'iarias. Miuufiu'ttc. S|iiia>;is. 

 Priiiuilus. CiwiMtious, Stlii/aiitlius. ('idtiis. 

 tiilMTows au<l other tvprs «if Jic^ioiiias. \'c.. aiiil. 

 of roursf. actonliii'i to st'as«in such sjitnialit ics 

 iks Uiksrs. ('hrvsantlnimims. Hyacinths. 



At rtHTiit Duhliii shows old - fashioned 

 piftlonors will have noted with ])leasure the 

 re-apiu'arance i>f eliksses for such old favourites 

 jws Show IN'lar^oniuius, Amarvllis (or Hi]»- 

 peastruni. ;us we should now call them), and 

 (doxinias. It is not for me to say if these facts 

 are indicative of advance or deciMh-nee in indoor 

 ^riinlenini: ; I have not suflieient tenuTity to do 

 •»o, and I therefon' must leave readers to inter- 

 prvt iweordintr to their free will and inclination. 

 I must, however, place on rec(»rd that the 

 standard of cultivation (»f the.se soft-wooded 

 jilants is distinctly hij^h and in advance of what 

 it formerly wits. 



In outdoor ^ardin'nji; de\ elo]»ments have been 

 more vleasiim and. it is to be hoped, permanei\t, 

 as on all sides there is evidence of more culture 

 (or .should it at the present moment be written 

 '■ Kultur "■ '.). refinement, ta.ste, and of accurate 

 knowledge and thonaighne.ss in thi.s particvdar 

 branch than in any previous period in the 

 history of horticulture in Ireland. Proof of 

 this is forthcoming in tlie fact that the only 

 section of outdoor gardening; which is ra])i(lly 

 declining in extent and in i)o])ulaiity is beddhig- 

 t)ut on mathematical lines and general formal 

 ganlening. Outdoor gardening must be dealt 

 with in two phases — gardening for ])Ieasure and 

 ganlening inr profit. 



In such a vast subject as outdoor gardening 

 there is o])ening for every variety of taste and 

 of work, and, therefore, especially in sniall- 

 sizwl gardens and amongst amateurs, .specialisa- 

 tion is practically compulsory, .so we find 

 gardeners devoting them.selves sometime.s exclu- 

 .sively to some branch or sec-tion, such as Roses, 

 Sweet Peas, herbaceous plants, Narci.ssus, 

 Violets, trees anil shrubs, alpines, or to the more 

 practical and useful fruit and vegetable grow ing. 

 In all the.-e the advance in both Uya and 

 cultivation is marked, of which there "is ample 

 evidence both in the garden and on the show- 

 benches. By type 1 mean the standard of 

 grace, beauty, shape, colour, and general form 

 which all reflect the good taste of the flower- 

 growing public. The reaction again.st mere size 

 IS strong, and we lind sucli things as decorative 

 Roses and single and decorati\e Chrysanthe- 

 mums gaining in favour each year, and steady 

 support given to varieties with moderately-sized 



tlowcrs. as against mere size often accoiiijianicd 

 bv coarseness. If We take the Narcissus as an 

 example. I contend that such varieties as King's 

 Xorton and (ilorv of Xoordwijk are huge, 

 coarse, and ugly, whereas King Altred. h'lorence 

 Pearson. Mad. I)e (iraaiT ari' beautiful and 

 rciined. and many of the new Tiiandrus hybrids 

 are of gri'at merit. In Sweet Peas the advance 

 is very markinl. Here there has been increa.se 

 (»f size, in most ca.ses w ithout coarseness, a wider 

 range in colour, iininie.ss and length of stalk, 

 aiul ])ractically no loss of ])erfume. In the 

 oi)iniou of many ex])erts and good judges 

 sullicient advance has been made in size, and a 

 lew varieties, by fi.ssion or by duplication of the 

 standard, are tending tt) hea\ iness and lack of 

 grace. Other genera in which i^dvance is 

 marked are (Jladiolus, I)el])hinium. Aster or 

 Michaelmas Daisies, Astilbe and Spiraa. The 

 varieties of Michaelmas Daisies now ofTered are 

 very welcome additions, and we get a ])rolonged 

 flowering season at a time of year when flowers 

 for house decoration are getting .scarce. The 

 \w\v ])ink varieties of Astilbe and of Si)iraea are 

 roteworthy and meritorious in.troducti(ms, mo.st 

 usefid for margins of lakes, pcnds, streams, 

 and for the bog garden, or even for the 

 herbaceous border where the soil is deep and 

 moist. 



In flowering .shrubs there is ever increasing 

 variety, and as many of the new .species and 

 varieties have high (|ualities to recommend tlu in 

 there is corresponding increase in the attention 

 and care they are receiving and in the space 

 devoted to them. Such genera as Rhodo- 

 dendron. Spiraea, Philadelphus, Deutzia, Ber- 

 beris, Pyrus, Prunus, Cotoneaster, and Cytisus 

 have furnished us with splendid novelties such as 

 Cytisus Dallemorei. Berberis Wilsonse, Phila- 

 del])hus rosace, Deutzia gracilis vcnu.st?., 

 Spira-a Veitchii, Prunus microlepis var. Smithii, 

 or as it is inore gen.erally called P. miqueliana, 

 many of which have been described in the pages 

 of Irish Gardening. Further references to 

 these pages will indicate the amount of .space 

 devoted to al])ines and to rock works, and the 

 number of articles written on the.se .subjects 

 during the last five years, which fairly reflect 

 the growing interest taken in this class of 

 gardening. The cultivation of al])ines is now 

 mucli better understood, and the results are more 

 satisfactory ; hence probably the increasing 

 attention given to them. Tlie number of deaths 

 is less and the miinber of "" impossibles " has 

 been largely reduced, not that the plants have 

 become less exacting, but simply because their 

 requirements are more carefully studied and 

 more intelligently administered to. A moraine 



