I02 



IRISH (;AKM)KXING 



Lawns and their Upkeep. 



15V .Iami> Mm 1>.'V m.d. IMvMI.S. 



r.'.iuiiv.l a v.Tv cuMshlrrahl.. .•.i.h.uut, ..f ^kill 

 .111.1 .nricfiiliatinii of .luiK'v 1>) k.T|. tin- Imf to 

 Ihr iv.niii,,! sill. ... 11m. -ss. Willi Hi.- lawii- 

 iiuiwiiiir iiiaihiii.- Ihf u.H'U is ..f a iiior.' m.'cliaiii- 

 .al iiatiir.'. an,! 111.' law iis hav.' sutV.T.-.l ac- 

 ]-'i;.i.M vfiv carlv liiii.-s lawns lia\.> lic.ii snl>j.< t> c n-.iiimi \ . 



..f .-ousiilrraM.'" impuilaii..'. Our ..wn .■..iiiitrv Tli.' iV-.-hl.' an. I li..ai\ tai.' .<( tli.- ()\f..r,| .-..l. 



has always .'X.-.-lU'il in lli.'ir .nltiin-, an. I !lic \,-ixr -ar.l.-n.r. uIp. i> i'.|.ut,-.i t.. hav.-sai.l Uial 

 h.-ritaj,'.' K'fl hy our falh.Ts .1.'s,t\ .s li-..ni ns a lawns iv,|iiii ,■.! ..ntnii.- .,1 inr^ia innial i.al cul- 

 .■..nliiuiaiiff ..f 111.- sani.- .aiv an.! all.'nli..n tiiiv 1.. -.1 lli.ni ,>1 a l.li>|i,-.i , lias i..iitc Ilmmi 

 wlii.-h tlwv irav.-. s.. lliat w .• max .■..nlinn.' lli.' .• \ | .1. .it ,-.1 . l.aun-^ .an !„• {..ini.-.l in a f.-w y.-ai-s 

 |.iv-cniin.-ii.f lli.'v li;iv.' I...|u.'al h..! 1.. ns. Th.' ..!• a l.w ni..nths. a.c.r.l in- 1.. tin- skill* aii.i 

 ..Ul lawns stall. -iimI alMiul tin- c.unlix in ..p.-n .ii.'iiiy ilis|.la> i-.l in lli.' M..ik. On.- r.-asini wliy 

 l>laccs and in .r.iwd.'tl <ili(>s arc n«. nican Ic^^'acy. ..ccasi.mal laiinrcs ucciii- with lawns is Ihal vt-rv 

 Tin- oUl f,'ar(lcn.Ts WIT.' i.nni.l (if tli.-ir lawns - litllc nolle. • is lak.-ri ..f Uic p.-ciiliaril i.-s of tin- 

 or lii-ft-ns. as they wcr.- faniiliarh callftl and soil and silnation. If w«- wish to plant ti-ct-s oi- 

 inslaiut-s ar.- fi-i'(nu-nt Iv rt-c.i.l.-d .>f tin- caii-fnl slii-nlis we j,'(-n'-iallv l;ik<- car.- to s.-lccl vai-it-t ics 

 an. I skilful niann.-r in"wlu.li Ih.-y lransfoi-in.-.l suilahl.- for tin- l.Malily. hut with lawns it is 

 unsiu'hllv places inio scenes of pleasni-.-. I nia\ soimt inns .-onsidciid that urass is .iidy ^,M-ass. 

 in.-nti.>ii"a r.-fer.-nce in this direction hv that lin'r and \,i\ litt',' .;uv is -iv.-n t.. t h.- .h.iic.-" .,f sorts 

 ohl writer. l-:\.-lvn. 1'. a sp..t n.-ar ..ii r "l 1 1 1 1. II.- lik.-K to sii. ■.•,■.■, I. Not ..niv is this s... h.il . 



AXDKU.SACE 



writer- : " One needs to k<' n.i f\irth.-r to see the 

 effect of this husbandry than to St. James's 

 Park, where, before the Canale, I reniciuber ail 

 tliat pleasant valley now yielding most rich 

 ]iasturage (with the lish decoy and walks 

 jilanted with fragrant lime) was notliing but a 

 noisome, unwholesome bog or morass of moss 

 and rushes." The gardeners of the past were 

 clever men, and it is due to tlieir ability that 

 there are sucli line old lawns in the country. 



But, fascinating though the subject of olfl 

 iawnsand their guardians may be. the modern lawn 

 and its u]jkee]> is the theme which most interests 

 us. The lawns of the past were well ada])ted 

 for the days of chivalry, and the old " gardens 

 with their broad green walks " are being copied 

 very freely by the modern landscape gardener. 

 With the advent of the Lawn mower, a great 

 change occurred in the treatment and condition 

 of lawns. The scythe was an implement which 



* Reproduced by permission of the President and 

 Council of the Royal Horticultural Society from the 

 Society's Journal, Vol. XL., Part 3. 



because grasses will uiow anywhere, the i)re- 

 l)aration of the ground is n.d always so thorough 

 as it should be. 



When it is renuMnh(-7-ed that the ideal lawn 

 consists of myriads of grass plants, all equally 

 healthy, it wall be readily seen that great care is 

 required to get svu-h a condition of affairs. In 

 making a lawn the lo(-al i)eculiarities have to be 

 carefxilly considered, and as these vary very 

 greatly, it is impossible to give directions that 

 will be alike a])plicable to all. A ])ractical de- 

 monstration in lawn-making is equally out of 

 the question. I will, bowever, explain how we 

 made lawns at Ilarpenden this year, and illus- 

 trate the work by reference to the figures. 



Fig. 96 shows a general view of the turf nur- 

 sery. The idea is to gi'ow a bed of each of the 

 most useful varieties of grasses, each divided 

 from the others by a narrow gravel ])ath, so that 

 they can be kept in every way quite distinct. 

 The two ends are treated so as to get the best 

 results in lawn turf culture, while the centre is 

 allowed to grow on for the variety to develop 

 itself fidly. Two sjiaces near the centre are 



