1^4 



IRISH GARDENING 



C. carjiatira i.s i'Vtryln)(l\ 's> i>l;iiit. making; 

 (.ninpart tufts of givy-givcu foliage aiul_lM aiinj,' 

 quautitii-s oi hluc, mauvi' or whiU- Huwiis, witli 

 t>|>eii iii[is, uu^six-incli .steins. 1 scaictly iiiia^'iin' 

 that theiv i.s now in rultivatioii any (ilant that 

 might be ri-cogiiiz.-d as the ty|>f ('. <ar|>ati<a, it 

 crosses so< interniinably with (". turhinata and 

 Si'uds itself ,so readily that searctdy any two foiins 

 are exaetly ahke. Var. Kivi-rslea' with ste«d-l)hif 

 liowers, var IsaUd with wide o|>en llat lihic 

 liowers, and var. _J.,i.ssa dell White, a ereiiin-wliiti' 

 form witli viidet tinge at hasi-, are all good, and 

 in ahjiost every garden one eomt-s acro.ss good 

 unnamed I'orriis of tliis plant. The trui- ('. 

 earpatica, I am t<dd, should liave upright Ixlls, 

 two or three on a .stem : true ('. turhinata. 

 hanging bells, singly. 1 ha\e a (••dlettcd (". 

 turbinata alba which is a. prett\ thing, sligiitl\ 

 hairy, gre\ish fidiage anil hanging white bdls, 

 iMirne singly. This is probably trui- and is a much 

 smaller and neater |dant than the carpatic.i 

 f jrms, which seem usually toj) heavy anil inclined 

 to Hop; but none of these plants have any fails — ■ 

 they will grow, increase and seed ^themselves 

 apparently in any soil or situation not too arid 

 or d-ink, and llower profusely. 



C. Collina is a beautiful ])lant, with large 

 tlowers of deei) imperial j)uri>le, it needs a rock- 

 bound pocket, as it is a most invasive plant, 

 increasing rapidly by underground runners; it 

 makes a wonderful [latih of colour in any sunny 

 spot in loam, but unfortunately its flowering 

 l)eriod is rather short. Anotlier dwarf rain|)er 

 which must be adnutted with suita))le precau- 

 tions is the acaiilis form of the common C. 

 glomerata., whose blue Canterbury Bells are 

 absolutely stemless. 1 have received plants 

 l)ractically identical with C. glomerata acaulis 

 from nurserymen under the names of C. Incurva 

 and (*. Leuitweinii. 1 can iind no authoratitive 

 description of either of these plants, and therefore 

 cannot siiy whether all three are really, 

 synonymous. 



(To be coiilinued.) 



Rose Growing for Novices. 



Yeah afteryear one observes with much regret 

 the misdirected energy with which a great number 

 of peoi)le who are api^arently llower-lovers 

 attempt to beautify their garden-beds with highly 

 coloured combinations of the commonplace 

 varieties of annuals which, though admirabli! 

 enough in their own way, still have only a tran- 

 sitory interest and a])peal. An equal, or even 

 less, amount of ai)plication and time properly 

 utilised in the formation and growung of a liose 

 garden would produce what would be not only 

 an object of iinmediate beauty and ])leasure, but 

 one that w<juld increase in value as years go by. 

 It is well known that many are deterred at the 

 outset from becoming Rose growers by the jargon 

 of professional wiseacres whose little vanity is to 

 babble of what seems to the uninitiated as secrets 

 of the trade. This should be treated very lightly, 

 when one considers that the most high-browed 

 professional was at one time the veriest novice, 

 wdth aU his troubles andso-caUed secrets yet to 

 learn. 



There is no mystery about successful Rose 

 growing Prize blooms can be equally produced 

 in the small cottage garden and in the most 

 luxuriant garden where the staff is numbered by 



the score, given the determinat i.oi. ..nee tiie start 

 is made, interest and kutiwledge ijuickly grow, 

 .ind the pri«le of conquest is not^the least l)r one's 

 pleasures. 



J{o.>5eb can be grown In the must modest of 

 gardens and in any .soil wliicli is n..t .k (uailv un- 

 workable or incapa"ble of b.-in? elraru d. W'iilther 

 you wisli to jdant a dozen >>v .i lumdred the 

 metiiod is the same. l''ach plant rnpiires al)<>iit 

 two cubic feet of^rool room, .ir yuu have tii.- 

 energy and leisure, dig^deeper. and the results in 

 a few vears will aiiiplv reward the extra attention. 

 If the'.soil is_naturally iieavy and retentive of too 

 much moisture, \du must see to pr.qier drainage. 

 A laverof broken brick or 'v;tones sliould be phic. d 

 at the bottom of^tlie hole. On this could be added 

 a l.iyer of turf, broken, not t<M. small, witli lli.. 

 grass downwards, and tiead liiinlv. .Nothing is 

 hett.'r for Hoses than a good basis of old farm- 

 >aid mamii'e, ami six ijiches is not too nuich. 

 Over the manure shovid in the linest and cleanest 

 soil you have, and press again Iirjnly7 The actual 

 planting will now require .some care. Examine 

 the roots, and any that are bruised or broken 

 should be cut olT and any tai)roots shortened. 

 Previous to i)lanting they wliould have been 

 soaked for at least half an hour to plumiilhem up. 

 Some l{o.ses having longer sto«-ks will require to 

 be more dee])ly i)lanted. (Jauge the depth so that 

 wJien the various roots are .separated and spread 

 out w ithoutoverlapping. the junction of the J{o.S(> 

 and stock is about two inches Ix'low the level of 

 the soil. Shallow planting is as fatal as too deep 

 jilanting, and too much attention cannot be given 

 to this ])oint. In the former case hard frost 

 nuiy i)rove fatal, and for most Roses of moderate j 

 growth the loss of summer heat for the roots | 

 cannot be easily remedied if the latter method is < 

 adopted. When the i>roper dei)th is reached cover 

 the roots with tine soil ; old i)otting stuff is ex- 

 cellent for this. The coarser soil can now be 

 added and pressed well down, but not too hard 

 if the soil is too wet or sticky after heavy rains. 

 Give a good watering to Jix the clay about the 

 roots : half a gallon is not too much. Another 

 SHuill layer of maniire will be most beneficial, ' 

 and the hole can be filled in with the remaining 

 soil. Finish the operation by adding a little 

 i'lne soil about the neck of the jilant, and, if the 

 w-eatlier is frosty, heaj) up some, cone-shaped, that 

 will offer sufTTicient ])rotection. A layer of strawy 

 manure is often advocated, but this has a bad 

 effect when the soil is heavy, and is not at all 

 necessary. 



In most districts, except probably in some 

 places in the north, the effect of frost is not 

 serious enmigli to make one nervous if the Roses 

 are properly [)lant<'d. Any long stems should be 

 shortened to a])out a foot or so to prevent any i 

 damage during strong winds. I 



The roots of Standard Roses need not be jnore 1 

 than four inches below the soil, and here the I 

 greatest care must be exercised in fixing the | 

 sui)i)orting stake firmly in the ground. This ] 

 should be done before the i)lanting of the tree, 1 

 and the stake should be long enough to reach 

 above where the Rose is budded on the briar. 

 You will find the benefit of this if the growth is 

 very vigorous and requires tying. 



Roses can be planted any time between 

 November and March, w^hen the groiind is free 

 from frost and snow and not too wet. Before the 

 hard weather sets in the hardier Hybrid Teas and 

 Ilyl)rid rei-petuals could ^)v got down, butjtjs 

 often safer to defer the planting of the weaker 



