IRISH GARDENING 



VOLUME X 



No. 1 16 



Editor— C. F. Ball. 



A MONTHLY JOURNAL DEVOTED TO THE 



ADVANCEMENT OF HORTICULTURE AND 



ARBORICULTURE IN IRELAND 



OCTOHKK 

 1915 



Tulips for the Rock Garden* 



eoTA 



Oak 



While many people are acquaintetl witli 'J'tilips 

 for beds and borders,, there may be some who 

 are less familiar with the beautiful wild species, 

 many of which flower early in the j^ear and are 

 eminently suitable for planting in sunny nooks 

 in the rock garden. Tulips generally are sun 

 lovers, and this is particularly true of the wild 

 typeS; the majority of which come from the 

 sunny warm 

 countries of 

 Asia Minor 

 and rejoice in 

 tlie best posi- 

 tion w e can 

 give them in 

 our compa- 

 ratively cool 

 climate. In 

 the rock gar- 

 den in early 

 spring many 

 pretty pic- 

 tures are pos- 

 sible by plant- 

 ing little colo- 

 nies of these 

 wild Tulips. 

 A position at 

 the base of a 

 large stone, 

 facing south 

 and sheltered 

 from the 

 n o r t li and 

 east,will])rovi 

 groundwoi'k 



TULIPA FOSTERIANA. 



le a comfortable home, and a green 

 )f some creeping, low-growing 

 alpine will enhance the beauty of the Tulips and 

 prevent them from becoming disfigured by 

 heavy rains should they occur during the period 

 of bloom. 8()ine of the stronger growing kinds 

 will come up through mossy Saxifrages and such 

 like quite well, but the smaller growers like a 

 lighter covering, and may be planted through 

 such things as Veronica Allionii, Arenaria 

 Bertoloni, Thymus serpyllum and many other 



plants which remain low and do not form too 

 thick and dense cushions. When planting 

 through a groundwork it is probably better not 

 to plant too deeply, as the bull),s like to feel the 

 influence of the sun, and indeed in their native 

 countries are accustomed to being thoroughly 

 baked, a condition whicli no doubt conduces to 

 free flowering. The size of the bulbs helps to 



determine the 



depth to plant 

 — the smallest 

 bulbs two or 

 three inches 

 below the 

 surface and 

 t h e largest 

 tour or fi ve 

 inches. When 

 ilibbling in 

 1 lie bulbs the 

 holes should 

 lie made suffi- 

 ciently deep 

 to permit of a 

 (|uantity of 

 ^ a n d being 

 placed in the 

 I) o 1 1 o m, on 

 w h i c h t h e 

 base of the 

 1) u 1 b should 

 rest firmly. 

 This provides 

 a clean, sweet 

 medium for the young roots to i)ush into and 

 helps to preserve the base of the bulb from 

 decay in case of a superabundance of moisture. 

 During hard weather, after ])lanting, a sharp 

 look out must be kept for signs of mice attacking 

 the bulbs. Tlu^se little de])redators are very fond 

 of eating both Tulip bulbs and Crocus corms 

 when other food is hard to find, and if not early 

 trapped or poisoned will soon cause grievous loss 

 and disappointment. An additional charm of 

 many of these Tulip species is that, given a 



