IRISH GARDENING. 



H7 



Zenobias. 



THE g-enu-s Zenohia contains only one 

 species, which was introduced from the 

 South United States in iSoo. Tliough in- 

 troduced so long ago, the zenobia is seldom seen, 

 yet its merits entitle it to a place in any good col- 

 lection of hardy shrubs where lime does not pre- 

 vent the family of EricticccE from being- grown. 



The zenobia g^rows naturally in boggy, peaty 

 spots, and in cultivation does well in any cool 

 place in peaty soil. If peat cannot readily be 

 procured, leaf-mould mixed with fibrous loam 

 will be a good substitute. Andromeda ciissince- 

 folia is another name for Zenobia sprciosa, and 

 the waxy-white flowers 

 in racemes, like the lily 

 o'i the valley, are some- 

 what suggestive ot an 

 andromeda. T li o u g h 

 the type plant is certainly 

 good, Z. speciosa pulver- 

 ulenta is far superior. 

 This powdery zenobia 

 is a stronger grower, 

 making a spreading bush 

 about 3 or 4 feet high ; 

 the leaves are covered 

 bv a bluish-white sub- 

 stance resembling the 

 bloom of plums, and 

 similarly rubs off when 

 roughly handled. When 

 thriving, it is one ot 

 the most beautiful oi 

 the smaller shrubs, for 

 its hanging white bells 

 are produced freely, and 

 are sweetly scented. The 

 anthers make a small 

 brown centre to the 

 flower, and are curious, 

 being four-awned. In 

 some localities the 

 zenobias produce seeds 

 freely, which may be 

 raised in the same way as 

 the rhododendron ; where 

 it will not seed, layers 

 may be put down and 

 rooted. C. F. B.\ll. 



Sea Kale. 



THE sea kale {Crambe marilima) is a native plant 

 belong-ing to the crucifermis family. It fre- 

 quents sands and stony places by the sea-shore. 

 Ill its cultivated and blanched state it forms one of our 

 most delicious of forced vegetables. The plant is 

 smooth-skinned and of a (jlaucous-green colour. Its 

 large leaves, grown in the light, manufactures much 

 starch, which is stored abundantly in its thick perennial 

 stock. It is from this reserve store of readily available 

 food that the forced leaves growing in the dark obtain 

 their daily supplies of nutriment. The roots of the 

 plant are long and stout (often called "whips" or 

 " thongs " by gardeners), and they, too, are stored with 

 reserve food. .\ peculiarity of the sea kale is that the 

 roots when cut or otherwise injured are able to pro- 

 duce buds— the "adventitious" buds of the botanist. 



Photo by} 



Zknobia Speciosa Pulverulenta 



-oin a Specimen grown in a Donegal Garden.) 



