IRISH GARDENING 



109 



Gardening in the Phoenix 

 Park.* 



An American Appreciation. 



Perhaps the most interesting and attractive of 

 flower beds I saw in Great Britain last autumn 

 were those in Phoenix Park, Dublin, Ireland. 

 3Iost of these beds were composed of a variety of 

 ever-blooming and foliage plants, and many of 

 them were large and elaborate. The j)lants were 

 not all of one height, and were grou])ed so that 

 the low-growing ones formed a ground-work, and 

 constituted an admirable setting for the taller 

 plants that were grouped between. The general 

 j)lan of these beds can be conveyed to the mind 

 more intelligently by a photograph of one I 

 took on August 17th, while spending some tinie 

 at Dublin. This bed had square corners, and was 

 probably 25 by 12 feet in size. The day was 

 Iji'ight and beautiful, and many ])eople were in the 

 I'ark. Two little Irish girls were on the near side 

 of the bed, and at my suggestion they went to 

 the rear, and you see theiu posing back of the 

 flowers. Back of the distant trees at the right 

 is the old city with its wealth and poverty, its 

 line homes and its .-jqualor. But all, rich and poor, 

 can visit the beautiful Park and enjoy the sun- 

 shine and lawn and flowers, and breathe the pure 

 air from the surrounding hills and sea. 



The bed shown was bordered with a double 

 ow of Leucophyton Brownii, with Achyranthus 

 Lindenii between. The former is a silver-leaved 

 dwarf jilant, and the latter has red foliage. These 

 plants enclosed the bed, which was carj^eted with 

 white Violets, with dwarf Semperflorens Begonia 

 set a foot apart aiJiou<,' tlx-m. Then, grou]>ed 

 among the Violets and Begonias, at a distance of 

 .1 feet apart were specimen ])lants of Fuchsia 

 Hriliiant, each plant 5 or t> feet high, sup])orted 

 l»\- a neat stake. The blooming plants were all 

 covcri'd with flowers, and made a showy and 

 pleasing disjjlay, for in the cool, moist climate of 

 Ireland Violets, Begonias and Fuchsias are hardly 

 surpassed as bedding plants. 



In other beds in this Park Heliotropes were 

 used with good effect. One bed was edged with 

 Cami)anula muralis, a low, compact plant with a 

 l)rofusion of lavender flowers. Xext to this were 

 silver-leaf Geraniums 10 inches high, with pink- 

 eyed white flowers. The third row was of Fuchsia 

 Heinrich Henkel, 15 inches high, the flowers 

 scarlet, in terminal clusters, the foliage dark, 

 bronzy red. The body of this bed was of I^obelia 

 .Morning Glow, 2 feet high, mixed with Eucalyptus 

 viiuinalis, bronzy-red stems and narrow leaves, 

 and here and there plants of Calceolaria flexi- 

 cardus. bearing golden flowers in clusters. 



In Kew and other gartlens in England I haijul 

 more or less of this promiscuous planting, the 

 <'ffc(,t always ])leasing : but in no place ditl I see 

 auv l)eds that cotiijiared with those at Pho'nix 

 Park in th<- diversity of j. hints used and the 

 lastt'ful maiuu-r in which they were groujied. 

 The disjday indicated much exix-j-iencc in planting 

 aud good taste in contrasting the colours to secure 

 the mosi admirable effects. 



* From Parks Floral MagazuiC, ha l*ark, 1' 

 .lime, Itn.-). 



Hints to Novices. 



By a. 31. Pollock. 



Layering Carnations. — This may be done 

 during the montli, and is the most satisfactory 

 way and the method usually adopted. It is quite 

 simple, and after layering a few plants one gets 

 very " nippy " at the work. The best material 

 to use and the easiest to manage, if it is obtain- 

 able, is pure sand, Vjut if this is not to be had, 

 tine soil with a mixture of leaf mould will do well, 

 and if slightly danxp can be conveniently managed. 

 All flowering shoots on the plants which are to be 

 layered should be carefully tied u}) out of the 

 way, fork the soil round the plants lightly, and 

 place a thick layer of the fresh soil round these 

 plants. Select good strong shoots, and with a 

 sharp knife cut a tongue upwards about an inch 

 long, passing through a joint, then with a peg, 

 made either t)f wood or wire, peg the cut .shoot 

 down into the soil in such a way as to keep the 

 tongue open, and cover firmly and neatly with 

 soil. Water the soil if the weather keejis dry, 

 but do not disturb the layers again until they are 

 fit to cut. If cuttings are to be pitt in, take the 

 same class of .strong shoot, cut them ofl' with a 

 clean sharj) knife just below a joint, and dibble 

 them firmly into a i)repared spot in a shady 

 border. 



" Prepared spots," " shady border,"" and such 

 like expressions always suggest that there is an 

 endless amount of room. This may be so in large 

 gardens, but it is not the case in villa gardens, 

 and semi-attached, or terrace gardens, and then 

 there is no reason why if cuttings are put in they 

 should not be just dibbled in anywhere where 

 there is space in the Ijorihi-. |ireferably near the 

 front, where they can be w ;il( hed and not allowed 

 to suffer from drought or ■^ct covered over. The 

 few that would be required in a garden where so 

 little space was available would not cause any 

 over-crowding, and by the spi'ing they w(nild be 

 rooted, or not, as the case may be. 



Some of the single Pinks, correctly known as 

 Dianthus, make charming rockery plants, 

 especially where bright effects are called for, as 

 well as in moraines and the rock garden. Some 

 are very easily managed and grow freely, others 

 are more fastfdiovis, and they all have a very up- 

 setting habit of suddenly going off for no ai)parent 

 reason. Surely the mere fact of some of them 

 being, in places, difficult to grow should tempt 

 many gardeners to try their luck. Most people 

 know the Cheddar Pink, Dianthus ca^sius, and 

 those who do know it w?ll jjrobably j)lace it some- 

 where rather high among those they i are to grow. 

 But for others who do not know it, it m\ist be 

 described, and to do it full justice in a description 

 is difficult, as it is one of those colours about 

 which there is some imcertainty. Books give it 

 as rose, rosy-pink, rosy-purple, and magenta, 

 according as the writer inctures these colours, 

 but it is very pretty. The flowers are small, 

 delicate, clean cut and single, borne on 0-inch 

 stems which rise out of tufts of glaucous green 

 foliage. It is a si)lendid plant lor walls and very 

 easilv raised from seed. 



A.s'a comi)anion to this may be notetl 1). suavis, 

 just as easily grown and just as simple in its 

 requirements'. Here again the foliage is in close 

 clumps, but dark green, and covered in early 

 sununer with small, flat, pure white single flowers 



