IRISH GARDENING 



55 



when 1 took Mr. Keg. Farrer with me in Arola 

 to show liini the same sight, and he was so glad 

 tliat li,e made me a drawing of the flower with 

 his dedication. 



In gardeiis the plant is rather difhcult to keep 

 all right. It likes moisture, but not stagnant 

 humidity. Peat is a good soil for it. It is very 

 e^sy to raise from seeds. This plant is special 

 to the alpine chain. It is an alpine creation. 

 It only goes, to the south, a little farther on 

 the Apennine chain to middle Italy, and is 

 nowhere to be found out of this. 



The other mountain chains ha\e their special 

 alpine forms of Columbines, and you will find 

 in e\eryone of the big European mountains 

 some Aquilegia which is special to them. 



The Pyrenees have the very good and easy 

 to grow A. pyrenaica, a dwarf form of alpina 

 with shorter stem and smaller flowers. The 

 maritime Alps have the A. Reuteri, which I 

 found last year abundantly in the Tende Valley. 

 It looks like a smaller form of alpina, but lighter 

 blue with an abundance of golden stamens. In 

 the (.)riental part of the alpine chain there are 

 two very good forms which are nearer to 

 pyrenaica than to alpina — I mean A. Bertoloni 

 and Einseleana. 



I found two years ago in the Tombea 

 mountains a new Aquilegia which Padre 

 Porta, the botanist of the Lago di Garda, 

 recognised to be a quite good and distinct 

 species. I called it glutinosa because the stems 

 of it, as well as the leaves, are covered with a 

 glutinose viscosity, giving the whole plant a 

 very strange appearance. It is, however, quite 

 different from A. viscosa, and has nothing to do 

 with the Siberian A. glandulosa. It grows 

 in the rock debris, very sunny, and is very 

 difficult to get, as the roots are very thick 

 and deep. 



Nerines. 



By T. W. Briscoe. 



For some inexplicable reason the Nerines have 

 never attained that popularity which their 

 merits deserve. They are bulbous plants of 

 remarkable beauty, the flowers being showy 

 and bright, and generally produced in the 

 autumn months, when outside bloom is bc- 

 conung scarce. 



Although some cultivate a few in warm, 

 sheltered borders, it is as a i3ot plant that 

 Nerines excel, and as such I shall refer to them 

 in the present article. Amongst the most note- 

 worthy are N. Bowdeni. a pretty pink species 



from Cape Colony ; N. curvifolia, bright glittermg 

 scarlet ; N. Fothergilli major, a splendid plant 

 with large umbels of scarlet-crimson flowers; 

 N. sarniensis, the Guernsey Lily, which has 

 deep salmon pink blooms, but there are one 

 or two choice varieties such as ingens and 

 venusta. 



There are also \arious hybrids such as N. 

 Manselli (flexuosa x curvifolia), N. atrosanguinea 

 (Plantii x flexuosa) and Powell's new hybrids, 

 which vary in colour from pink to dark crimson. 

 In addition to these, Mr. Elwes has raised many 

 seedlings, which have recei\'ed the Royal 

 Horticultural Societys Award of Merit, and 

 they will no doubt become extremely popular 

 when there is suflicient stock for general dis- 

 tribution. 



Cultural Remarks. — Nerines must not be 

 frequently repotted, as most spikes are produced 

 when the bulbs are close together, and the soil 

 is full of roots. When the necessity arises a 

 mixture of loam and leaf soil, with a little sharp 

 sand included, will make a suitable compost. 

 Ample drainage should be given, and fairly 

 firm potting is needed. In some instances a 

 top-dressing of good soil will suffice, and this 

 may be carried out when the flowering season 

 begins. Directly the spikes are cut the growing 

 season will commence, and every encourage- 

 ment must be given the plants to make strong 

 healthy growth. During this period a light 

 position in a warm house should be chosen, but 

 some cultivators select a shelf in a cool green- 

 house, others a frame which is placed on a mild 

 hot-bed, while I have seen the pots stood hi a 

 tray which contained an inch or two of water. 

 Personally I think a little warmth is necessary 

 while in active groAvth. when each plant should 

 be kept well supplied with water. When the 

 leaves show signs of decay the water supply 

 nuist be gradually decreased, and Anally \\ith- 

 held as the foliage disappears. From this stage 

 and until the flowering season the plants must 

 be kept quite dry at the base, and be placed in 

 a cool house or frame where they can be fully 

 exposed to the sun's rays. To secure a full 

 crop of bloom it is essential that bulbs arc 

 thoroughlv ripened. Propagation is effected by 

 means o{ offsets, and they may receive the same 

 kind of treatment as established plants. The 

 chief points to observe are fairly warm treat- 

 ment while in active growth aiul a decided rest 

 after the foliage decays. 



The Guernsey Taly is imported occasiojially, 

 usuallv in the month of August, and when the 

 bulbs are received they ought to be potted up 

 at once. l)ut care must be exercised in regard 

 to watering. 



