IRISH GARDENING. 



Ja> 



only to be conquered by tree planting. I iiave 

 come to the conclusion that the way to fight 

 furze is to plant with laurels. They can be 

 simply layered in as cuttings (a long cutting, 

 then lift sod with long spade, lay cutting under 

 sod both ends out, beat the sod down hard). 

 Laurels in our climate grow very rapidly and 

 very strong — they form a dense and black mass, 

 under which both furze and seedling furze 

 would soon die. The laurels make splendid 

 firing when a few years old, and if ultimately 

 the land is wanted they are easily grubbed, 

 whereas the furze is cut and grubbed one year 

 and up the next — a hopeless business ! 



I found myself, in 1870, with a bare little house 

 perched on the hill-side, with very little room on 

 the east, rocky hill north, but a nice fall to 

 to south and rise to west. Then I was obliged 

 to let the house, and it was not till 1878 I was 

 really able to begin the garden. About this time 

 this old photograph was taken. The garden 

 was largely hewn out with a pickaxe ; not that 

 solid rock was too near the surface in most 

 parts, but the whole soil was a mass of " pencil 

 slate," and 1 remember well my brother saying 

 to me — " You'll never be able to make a garden 

 here ! There is no earth, its all chips of rock ! " 

 However, he was used to good limestone, heavy 

 land, and did not realise the possibilities of those 

 same "chips of rock" for tree, shrub and 

 flower growing. 



\To be continued.^ 



The Annual Border. 



By William Davidson, Carton Gardens, Mavnootli. 



IN a collection of annuals we have a most 

 effective group of flowering plants, and 

 there is a wonderful combination of colour, 

 form and perfume in a border composed of those 

 useful garden flowers. To make a successful 

 show it is absolutely necessary to form some 

 definite scheme and to take into consideration 

 the space to be occupied. There are two 

 classes of annuals, hardy and half-hardy. Some 

 growers recommend autumn sowing of the 

 former, and they support their theorj- by point- 

 ing to the fact that seeds falling, self-sown from 

 the plants, quickly germinate and surpass in 

 strength those sown by hand in spring. 



It is not always possible to carry out autuinn 

 sowing however, and where slugs and other 

 destructive vermin abound it is perhaps advis- 



able to allow the annual border to remain in a 

 rough dug state during the winter months. 



The half hardy-annuals require our first 

 attention in the spring, and I think it is a good 

 plan to sow asters, antirrhinums, salpiglossis, 

 marigolds, chrysanthemums, scabious, and all 

 such in hotbed frames. If they are sown rather 

 thinly in lines they will require no transplanting 

 until ready for planting out. 



By sowing on a gentle hotbed about the third 

 week in March, and after germination to admit 

 air on all favourable occasions, they will be fit 

 for planting whenever congenial weather sets in. 



During March and the first fortnight of April 

 is the best time for sowing the more tender 

 annuals. They may be sown thickly in boxes, 

 and, when fit to handle, pricked out into boxes 

 and gradually hardened off until ready to remove 

 to their final quarters. 



The nicotianas, nemesias, verbenas, some 

 asters, browallias, zinnias, helianthus, &c. , 

 are best treated in this way. Sweet peas are 

 successfully grown in boxes and planted out. 

 Some prefer sowing in turf to avoid disturbing 

 the roots at planting, but if seeds are sown in 

 lines two inches apart across the boxes in 

 ordinary loam they can be handled without anv 

 damage being done. 



A ridge of sifted ashes surrounding the lines 

 ot seedling alter planting has the effect of keep- 

 ing off slugs. 



The hardy annuals are usually sown where 

 they are intended to flower, about the first week 

 of May, and as half-hard\- plants are to be 

 planted out beside them later on, care has to 

 be taken to see that colours blend, and due 

 attention given to height and form. 



Shirley poppies, nigellas, larkspurs, lupins, 

 and eschscholtzias represent a few suitable 

 hardy annuals. Those, when they have made 

 some growth, require to be well thinned out to 

 prevent the plants becoming weak and spindley. 



Toward the end of May, as a rule, a good 

 many plants grown as annuals may be planted 

 out, such as pentstemons, calceolarias, chrysan- 

 themums, and violas ; those, like the other 

 occupants of the annual border, require to be 

 planted in bold groups, with due attention to 

 colour effect, and later, when the less hardy 

 plants are put out, it is necessary to fit them in 

 so that the colours harmonise with the plants 

 already in the border. 



In an annual border there is a wealth of 



