IRISH GARDENING 



125 



Hints to Novices. 



By K. M. Pollock. 



The staking of the tall avitvimn flowering ]jlants, 

 if not already attended to. must be done at once. 

 Such varieties as Michaelmas Daisies, Autumn 

 Chrysanthemunis, Dahlias, Sunflowers, »S:c., 

 should all have good strong sup^jorts, and be 

 securely tied to them. Something stronger than 

 bast matting must be used, and a ball of medium 

 strength tarred twine is just the thing. Bast or 

 raffia is all right for the present, but it will not 

 hold jjlants like Michaelmas Daisies when they 

 are heavy with flower, and ])ossibly wet too. 



Guichard, Leontine Gervais, Lady Godiva 

 (Dorothy Dennison), Ruby Queen, Jersey Beauty, 

 Goldfinch and Blush? Dorothy Perkins and 

 Crimson Rambler are not the only pebbles on the 

 beach, nor are they the only Climbing Roses with 

 a free and easy habit. 



The long shoots, which on most of these 

 Wichuraianas are several feet long when the plants 

 are in flower, should be tied in early in the season. 

 In their present state they are soft and very 

 brittle at the base, and often snap off in high 

 winds. This type of Rose can also be easily 

 rooted from cuttings, but it is hardly worth while 

 when such splendid value can be had for Is. 

 from any of the Rose growers, and they can be 

 guaranteed on their own roots. Tn light, dry 



HABEKLEA KHOUOPEXSL:: 



(See page 1 i:i). 



The heavy large heads of the Sunflowers get very 

 knocked about in the wind, and should be 

 securely tied to their stakes. The different 

 methods of staking have been mentioned more 

 than once in these pages, but the use of sniall, 

 short i)ea stakes — dead twigs as stakes — answer 

 the purpose very well, and give just the right 

 amount of su])i)ort to nuiny straggly growing 

 plants, which must be staked to show off their 

 (lowers. Geuni Mrs. Bradshaw is a case in point, 

 and here the short ])ea stake just give the flower 

 stems sufficient siii)p()rt. 



It is in August and September we appreciate 

 tile late flowering Roses, those of the Dorothy 

 i'crkins type, but why is it that Dorothy Perkins, 

 Ciimson Hambler and Lady (iay are the only 

 popular ones fi*om this group, when there are 

 many mi)re, just as cheap, just as free, just as 

 vigorous and just as charming ? What about 

 .Mberic Barbier, Excelsa, Hiawatha, .lean 



soils occasional waterings with weak liquid 

 manure will be beneficial, but it uuist only be 

 applied after a thorough soaking of plain water 

 or after rain. 



Hedges may be clipped any time now. and it 

 is easier for the clipper if it is doiu' early, as then 

 the shoots have not got tough and hard, and are 

 easier to clii), and the work will take nuich less 

 time. There is considerable art in cli])i)ing 

 hedges, and it is one of the garden operations 

 which looks far easier than it really is, but it 

 gives a garden just tliat toucli of neatness which 

 it so often wants in August, when the flowering 

 ])lants have been battered by wind and rain. 



Summer ])runing of fruit trees when i)ro])erly 

 done is of advantage to the trees, and makes 

 eyes at the base of shoots fill, which would other- 

 wise renuun dormant and never become gt)od 

 buds. It is impossible to state what exactly 

 should be done, as each tree must be pruned 



