ii6 



IRISH GARDENING 



furiens lias <.'n>\\ii into a tiiu- l)iish. anil lixikcd 

 liaiuls(»iiK' in its dark lmccu Icatliciy Icavrs. 

 aiul earlier in the season licais (|iiantities ot 

 small white li(»\vers in lacenu-s. lv\t ii>nicly 

 interestin<l was Ligiistruin W'alUeri. the Ceylon 

 l*ri\t't. an instance of what ean 1h' uMown at 

 ivostrevor. Later on Rhododendron Zeylani 

 enm was seen, and it too hails from Ceylon. 



Olearias of inan\ kinds rcxei in the s\inshine 

 and warmth, and seed |>rnt'iisely. seedlinirs 

 sj)rini£iiiji np in (juantity. not a few showing 

 t-ousiderahlc xariatioii. so that it is not improb- 

 able that there may l)e some natnial hybiids 

 among them. Hetula trlobis])iea. a rare l^ireh. was 

 grow ing away freely, and seemed likely to make 

 a iiiee tree : in general a])pearauee it is much 

 like an Alder. .Innii)erns Cedrus had made 

 snrprising growth, and was a])parently as lia|)py 

 or ha))])ior than on its native mountains in the 

 Canai-it's. Of Acacias there are many species 

 mostly in |)erfect liealtli, and in a few years 

 many haiulsome specimens will be fonnd 

 through the collection. 



At a future date I hope to be able to give an 

 account of the ])rogress of some of the ])lants and 

 also of the wonderful collection of trees. 



Daisy Hill Nurseries, Newry. 



This was the only commercial garden visited, 

 and Readers need no inti'odnction to what is 

 |)robably the most coiu|ireheiisive trade col- 

 lection of hardy ])lants. trees and shrubs in 

 Kuropo or anywhere else. If it be true of some 

 large establisliments that they can suj^ply any- 

 thing from a needle to an anchor, it is equally 

 true of Daisy Hill, that there practically every- 

 thing necessary for the furnishing and em- 

 bellishment of a modem garden can be obtained, 

 excejjting ])erlia])s purely tropical or stove plants. 



Meeting many plants as one journeyed up and 

 do^\^l the steep slojjcs of Daisy Hill, there %vas 

 no time to separate Alpines and herbaceous 

 plants from trees and shrubs, and here they are 

 set forth as they occur in my notebook. 

 Saponaria Boissieri was there in good form , a 

 fine rock plant, and suited to the moraine, now 

 so popular, \\-ronica canescens was noted that 

 dainty tiny 8])eedwell so easily lost in winter, 

 not because it is unduly tender, ])ut because 

 the thread-like cree])ing stems are easily missed, 

 and may be taken for dead while only resting. 

 Campanula fragilis, a gem for the rockery, w^as 

 there in plenty, as also was Silene Elizabethie. 

 a rock plant of nuich charm bearing pink flowers 

 on short stems. Gaultheria oppositifolia is a 

 pretty shrub for a ])eat bed, and the charming 

 little Gaultheria trichophylla, with tiny leaves 

 on slender stems, and in its season bearing 

 small pink bells, was seen in quantity. The 



dainty I'lrcpct ion rcnifoiinc. or as it is pi-oju'rly 

 .•allr<i Niola licdcracca. is always a fcatun- a"t 

 Daisy Hill, and was there as usual in robust 

 health. \»'ib('na radicans. a low -grow ing cret^|)- 

 ing species with finely cut leaves and corymbs 

 of l)liiish violet llowcrs. was attractive, as also 

 was tlH> white llowered (ia/.ania montaiui. 

 .Ktliionema amo^num. here as elsewhere in the 

 noitli. was \cry line with its spikes of large 

 soft pink llowcrs. and an extremely brilliant 

 shrub was seen in Cytisus Daisy Hill fulgens. 

 < lee per and nioi'e st liking in eo Nun- than the now 

 wcll-kn(.wn C. Daisy Hill. 



Dianthus c.esius 11. pi. was most attractive, 

 the pme white double liowers suggesting a nice 

 eflfect on the rockery ; very pretty, too, was 

 Dianthus I'liehaidii, another double form with 

 piid; llowcrs. .\s usual, the Dabaeias were 

 noted in great (piantity. and a neat little shrub 

 is Andromeda nuuiai\a. now called Pieris, and 

 a native of America ; it belongs to the Erica 

 family, and bears small clusters of white and 

 ])ink fiowers in s])ring. Clethra alnifolia allx)- 

 rosea was recommended as a good and desiral)le 

 ])lant for a peaty (^r non-calcareous soil. Iris 

 sibiriea atrocarulea and I. sil) azurea were in 

 vt^ry fine form, and were two of the finest forms 

 of this popular waterside Iris I have seen. 

 Iris tenax was nuignificent in full fiower. 

 Primula grandi.s. with spikes of small yellow 

 fiowers quite bel_\ing its name, was noted near 

 by some hybrids of Iris tcjuix x 1. douglasiana, 

 wliich were smothered in fiowers of various shades 

 forming one of the finest sights in the unr.se ry. 

 Veronica virghiica alba was s])lendid seen in a 

 mass, and at once showed its worth for the 

 herbaceous border in deep cool soil. 



The little golden-leaved Sibthorpia in a cool 

 house was attractive, and should be useful for 

 an edging in the greenhouse. Kniphofia 

 Quartiniana, seen in the distance in full fiower, 

 showed its value for bold massing, and a bush 

 of the golden-leaved Blackberry suggested its 

 suitabiht}' for providing colour in a large 

 shrubbery. 



Calceolaria alba, often a difficult subject 

 outside, flourishes at Newry, as also does that 

 lovely native of the Scotch mountains, Azalea 

 or Loisleuria procumbens. Of the lovely Cam- 

 panula Zoysii there was a good stock, also of 

 Primula glutinosa, Q<]nothera brachycarpa, 

 Xeroi)hyllum as])hodeloides, Aletris farinosa. 

 Anemone Pulsatilla chinensis which has red 

 flowers, Gentiana cruciata. and the quaint and 

 charming little Phyteuma comosum, so much 

 sought after by lovers of true alpines. These 

 and many others I saw and admired, yet left with 

 the knowledge that another day or two would 

 scarcely exhaust the treasures of Daisy Hill. 



B. 



